전생자

나민채

차용운
 – STORY –

[Would you like to reverse time?]

[All stats will be reset]
[Please pick a date.]

“February 28th, 1985. The day I was born.”

Wealth, I will seize all the money in the world.

Monopoly, I will seize all the dungeons in the world.
At this time, while the world is still peaceful.

– GENRE –

Action Adventure Drama Fantasy

Mature Seinen Slice of Life Supernatural
[Would you like to reverse time?]

[All stats and abilities will be reset.]

[Please pick a date.]

“February 28th, 1985. The day I was born.”

I stated the date while clenching the old and bloodstained talisman.

***

This constant rhythm that heralded the beginning of my world was my mother’s
heartbeat, and it was her amniotic fluid that covered my naked body.

So, the darkness that spread in front of me when I opened my eyes was comforting
rather than foreboding, as the dungeons had been.

I was in my mother’s womb.

Her heartbeat gently carried away my memories of the grim days and the despair
that forced me to reverse time and escape to the past.

Since mothers will always be mothers, my eyes grew heavy, just hearing the sound. It
had been such a long time since I was able to do so.

I felt a deep pleasure as my mind grew dim, and the thought of finally being able to
sleep pleased me. Until this moment, sleep had eluded me. I tried to hide my eyes
with both hands to fall asleep again.

However, my tiny arms and legs were out of my control, and they touched the walls
of my womb. My mother’s voice was a mumble, and her heartbeat was louder than
her words.

Still, from the lightness of her tone, she probably woke my father to boast the strong
movements their baby had made.

***

The reason I chose the day I was born instead of the next day or after I had grown to
go back was because of the trait he had. The process of gaining a rare achievement
was a secret more important than life.

I had discovered what he had kept hidden. He had Awakened in advance in his
mother’s womb. He had to be the only individual who had the memories of being a
fetus and a pre-Awakener. I knew of his achievement and the power of Overcoming
Adversity. This achievement had made him the most powerful of the Eight Evils and
Eight Virtues.

However, the mechanism of achieving this trait was not something anyone would go
through since it was the process of being pushed out of a mother’s womb through
the birth canal. The distinction of having accomplished this achievement was
whether one could overcome the hardship and pain involved.

No one remembers when they were born. Even the one who Overcome Adversity,
who had the memories of being a fetus, could not remember the details of the agony
of their birth.

He was the same, as he had spoken that the most painful moment of his entire life
was when he was being pushed through the birth canal, and if people could
remembered that moment, we would be as inevitably self-centered as he, after going
through such an ordeal to be born. This was the reason for his extreme narcissism
despite his plain face.

Was going through the birth canal such a painful experience?

***

Something had to be going wrong. I knew that this would be a painful experience,
but everything went awry.

The pressure that was suffocating me from everywhere overwhelmed my senses.

There was little left of the amniotic fluid that would have protected me. Also, my
body had grown to fill my mother’s womb since I was just about to be born.
I was being crushed in this narrow space since I had to endure it as a frail fetus. I
thought my fat was melting, my muscle were being shredded, and my bones were
being crushed.

He had not been lying.

My soft flesh which burst under even the slightest pressure did not protect me and
was on fire as I was going through the birth canal.

I knew that screaming would waste all my efforts without anyone telling me so.
However, I was about to open my mouth to scream when something fluidlike
threatened to fill my lungs.

I would have committed a sin if I had opened my mouth to scream. It was not about
me dying, but my mother’s life also hung in the balance.

My mind grew white.

I knew only pain, and I believed I would ally with the Eight Evils and Eight Virtues if I
could escape from this hell a moment earlier.

The pain when my skull was compressed at the end of the canal was above anything
I had imagined. My head was going to be crushed, and I would die, feeling my brain
squeezed out through my nose and eyes. The only way to end this pain was to wrap
my neck with the umbilical cord.

It was that moment I heard my mother cry softly.

Hello, mother.

***

I did not think more than thirty minutes would have passed in real-time. However, it
felt like more than thirty hours to me, as the endless pain slowed down my sense of
time.

Maybe something really went wrong. How can birth be this painful? Did everybody
go through this hell just to be born?

I could not believe humanity continued on in this fashion. The only reason I did not
give up was because of my mother. I could feel the pain of giving birth from not only
her moans but from the walls of the womb.

I was not alone in this fight. My mother was with me.

My mother pulled together her strength with tears, and the direction of the pressure
that threatened to kill me was suddenly reversed. I added my own power in the do-
or-die moment that pushed me onward, despite it being the feeble attempts of a
new-born baby.

The moment my skull escaped the clutches of the birth canal, I let out the scream
that I had been repressing for the pain.

I could now cry. The world became brighter. Mother, I thank you with all my heart.

“Gaa, gaa.”

[You have accomplished the achievement of “Overcoming Adversity.”]

[You have gained the trait “The Man Who Overcome Adversity” as the first-time
bonus.]

This was the obscenely powerful trait that would make an S class to an SS class!

[The Man Who Overcome Adversity(Trait)

Effect: The moment you are incapable of fighting, all stat levels and skill classes
increase by one rank. Also, there is a minor healing effect, and you will feel no pain
until the duration ends.]

The additional system messages such as duration time and cooldown timer
appeared in front of my mother’s face.
My eyes suddenly opened as I felt I was falling off a cliff.

I saw with unfocused eyes and a small arm moving of its own accord. The arm
belonged to my body but was not mine yet. My body was out of my control at the
moment and was only performing reflex movements irrelevant to outside stimuli.

Modern science said that this happened as an infant’s immature brain activities.
They were right, as my brain was not fully grown yet. However, modern science
would not be able to illuminate my current thought processes. They belonged in the
religion category since the reason I could think like I am now was thanks to my soul.

I moved my gaze with difficulty to the two people who were looking down on me. My
undeveloped sight only saw shadows of their faces, and my hearing was about the
same. My mother had said that she had given birth at home instead of a hospital
because of our poor finances with help from her sister, who was a nurse.

So, the two people staring at me would be my mother and my aunt.

While I could not see much, the system message windows were clear. Reading them
and my current eyesight seemed irrelevant, and probably functioned on the same
basis of being able to think with the underdeveloped brain of an infant.

The messages went straight into my brain. I read the messages that appeared in
front of me.

[Quest ‘Become Healthy 1’ begins.]

[Become Healthy 1 (Quest)

Mission: Drink breast milk three hundred times in one month.]

I finally knew why the First Evil was one of the most powerful beings from the ‘Day
of Advent.’ He had accumulated points from when he was an infant, and in other
words, he was a cheat.
 ***

“You have to wrap the arms and legs of a baby, or they wake up surprised and
floundering.”

“But my son is crying so much. There’s nothing wrong with him? He has all his
fingers and toes, right?”

“You’ve asked me that three times now. He’s crying for you to feed him.
Congratulations on a healthy son.”

“Thank you.”

Junghee washed the afterbirth off the baby and let Mihee hug Sunhoo. Mihee was
crying not out of pain, but of gratitude for her baby being healthy. She still could not
understand that she had become a mother and gave birth to a baby.

However, Mihee could not take her eyes off her baby clamoring for her milk. She let
Sunhoo drink from her breast and saw that her worries about not having enough
milk for her baby were unfounded. Sunhoo sucked at her nipple and gulped down
her milk.

“He’s a fierce eater.”

***

It was interesting to feel my mouth move instinctively the moment my mouth was
pressed to my mother’s breast. It was an involuntary movement similar to my flailing
arms and legs, and I felt like I was inside a small animal.

I knew a person who used Soul Transference as a major skill. That individual would
have observed his targets like this, inside their bodies but without control, before
completely swallowing their souls.

However, this was my body, and my limbs and lips that moved as they pleased were
just reflexes. I did not need to fight with another soul because of Soul Transference.

I felt a lukewarm liquid down my throat without tasting it much. However, l felt the
liquid pour down my throat and stomach like when drinking water just after waking
up in the morning.
I could focus on drinking breast milk because my limbs were not moving, thanks to
my aunt wrapping me in a blanket. My mother carefully supported my neck, and I
could feel my stomach becoming full in the midst of maternal love.

This was bliss, and I thought I might cry of sheer happiness. I felt relieved that I
could not burst into tears yet. My mother would be astonished to see her son cry
after feeding him breast milk for the first time.

I did not remove my lips from my mother’s breast until I could not drink anymore,
and my lips stopped moving in reflex when I felt full.

A message popped up. I only wished it didn’t cover my mother’s face.

[Become Healthy: Drink breast milk 1/300]

My aunt lifted me and she began to pat my back. I was starting to feel stuffed after
being full, but I could not throw up what I had swallowed alone.

I thought something was stuck in my stomach, but it was only a burp. I felt refreshed,
and the sound of two women laughing was music to my ears.

It was time for me to sleep when considering my mother had spent most of the early
morning giving birth to me.

However, I could not sleep because my body hurt everywhere. The pain I had
suffered when going through the canal dissipated with my mother’s milk. The
torment I felt now was reduced from the pain I had felt then.

The pain chased away my sleep whenever I tried to close my eyes, and truthfully, I
did not want to sleep.

My aunt’s hands were as gentle as my mother’s and the time I spent lying in her
arms as she supported my back and neck was too dear and comfortable. However, I
wanted to be in my mother’s more awkward arms.

I cried until my aunt handed me to my mother and did not stop even when my aunt
rubbed my back and sang to me.

When I immediately stopped crying the moment my mother held me, I heard the two
women laugh again. I already began to feel sorry because I needed to drink breast
milk at least ten times a day to complete the mission.

I had to drink about twelve times a day to accomplish the quest safely, which meant I
had to ask for my mother’s milk every two hours.

I saw to what extent my mother would have to sacrifice herself. She would lose
nights and weekends.

***

I must have fallen asleep and woke up feeling hungry. I could repress crying out in
hunger or wet diapers since my thought processes were not those of an infant.

I wanted my mother to rest today. 1985 did not have postnatal care centers, and
mothers lived with their babies by their side in this era.

Moreover, my mother could not ask for help as both of my grandmothers had passed
away, and my aunt had to go back to work.

Since she had to raise me without any postnatal care, my mother’s pelvis began to
show problems in her forties.

The Day of Advent was still far ahead, and I had thirty days before the deadline for
this quest expired. So, my mother should rest at least for today since she would not
be able to sleep at night from tomorrow.

I began to endure the void in my stomach and was reminded how weak infants were
as hunger was starting to turn into pain. While it did not hurt much, I felt like
someone was poking my stomach.

So, this was why babies could not endure being hungry. I had gone against the Eight
Evils and Eight Virtues and had overcome the adversity of the birth canal with my
mother. I could not ruin my mother’s only day of rest because of this hunger.

However, when the time came, my mother let me suck at her breast, and the survival
instincts of an infant kicked in reflex.

I should not do this, at least today…

[Become Healthy 1: Drink breast milk 2/300]

 ***

[Become Healthy 1: Drink breast milk 9/300]

……

[Become Healthy 1: Drink breast milk 10/300]

……

[Become Healthy 1: Drink breast milk 11/300]

Despite my efforts, my mother could not sleep at night from the first day. My father
had begun work at this time and could not help my mother out.

Father…

Also, raising babies was solely the mother’s responsibility in this era. My mother
never looked anywhere else when she was alone in the house with me.

She would wrap me up carefully whenever my limbs would flail out of the blankets
even if she dozed. She tried to help me sleep after feeding me and helping me burp.

My mother’s daily routine was an endless repeat of feeding me, burping me, and
helping me fall asleep. I pretended to fall asleep when my mother wanted me to in
order to help her out. She could only sleep for an hour or so during when I
pretended to fall asleep.

I saw my mother cry for the first time after a week.

I heard her wearily weeping, although her silhouette was still vague. Her sobs were
the opposite of the bright laughter I had heard with my aunt. My mother had to be at
her limits since she had not slept well even once during the week.

I was the first and only child, and thus it was the first time my mother had raised a
child. She could not go to the bathroom alone, and the maximum amount of sleep for
her was an hour at a time.

So, she burst into tears, and I realized how difficult it had been for her to raise me.
I saw her stop crying to feed me, and around that time, I cared no longer for the
quest. It mattered little to my plan, whether I failed my first quest. I could go hungry
for a day if it meant my mother could sleep soundly for a day.

However, my mother became anxious and called everywhere when I repressed

hunger pangs and did not cry out.

Twelve times a day every two hours.

My mother fed and burped me again as if she had not cried. My ultimate goal was not
far away or something in the future. It was here right in front of me.

I placed two words on the top of my list of goals – filial duty.

My growth did not progress according to my will, and my mother suffered for it all
the more. She worried. She started to worry when I first started shaking, and her
expressions of dread reminded me of when I first faced a dungeon. My movements
were natural from suppressing pain, but she thought they were from epilepsy or
seizures.

The doctor comforted my mother, saying that they were a temporary phenomenon
resulting from a growth spurt, but she could not help fretting over the trivial things
like all mothers.

There was no internet, and she had to learn how to take care of a child by herself.

I started to cry intentionally after I realized that crying made her worry less than
when I trembled silently from growing pains.

Last night my mother had massaged my limbs after not being able to get a moment’s
sleep because of me, and now it was morning.

“I’ll see you soon. Son, your father is leaving now. Honey, I’ll try to come back soon
today if possible.”

My father went to work from the early morning, and as always, I could hardly believe
I was seeing him again. The memory of being told my father had passed away was
still painful in my mind.

Then, I realized that I heard my father’s voice clearer than usual, and I could focus on
the outlines of the objects in my view. I had grown up more than when I first started
the quest, but my babbling was the same. I could only say vowels that were easy to
pronounce, no matter how hard I tried. I could say ahh, uhh, ohh, and nothing else.

“My son, are you singing?”

While I could not bring out the status window, I was satisfied with my mother
enjoying herself. My babble gave my mother strength, and she smiled despite being
tired to the bone.
“I know you came out of my stomach, but you’re too cute. Who do you take after to
be cute like this? Yes, yes.”

My mother did not kiss my lips or cheeks, but she found my toes sticking out of the
blanket and kissed them multiple times. She then raised her t-shirt naturally and
lifted me up.

The quest would be completed after this feeding time, and my statistics were also
increasing in other ways. This would be due to my growth, as babies around my age
developed that much their first month from their mothers’ sacrifices, even if they did
not have superhuman abilities.

However, points were a different matter, and it was a supernatural ability only the
Awakened could accumulate. I sucked at my mother’s breast, and my taste buds were
working better than before, along with my sight and hearing.

My mother looked at me with loving eyes as I swallowed her milk that tasted of
coconuts.

[Be healthy 1: Drink breast milk 300/300]

I was full and though my lips kept moving from survival instincts, this should stop
when I was a bit older.

[You completed the quest ‘Be Healthy.’]

[Your Health increased by 1.]

[You have accumulated 3 points.]

[Total points: 3]

[Quest ‘Be Healthy 2’ has started.]

***

The youngest memory I have was a day in 1988. I was watching the Seoul Olympic
opening ceremony on TV, and I held a doll of the Olympic mascot often in family
pictures. The only memory I have of 1988 is that single fragment, which felt like an
old dream. Therefore, I only heard about what kind of life my parents had from 1985
to 1987.

My mother and father were said to have suffered a lot during their honeymoon days,
and it was true. We lived in a single room and shared the bathroom with the owner’s
family and used their kitchen when they were not using it.

It was a day when my mother had been working in the kitchen carrying me on her
back. I saw fish cakes and knew today was the day. She had spoken of this day often,
that she had stolen a few slices of the owners’ fish cakes because she wanted to eat
them so much and did not have the money to buy them during the first few years of
marriage.

The reason my mother had not forgotten that day was that she had been discovered
by the owner’s wife, who had then violently berated her.

Things were happening according to history, as my mother glanced around and ate
an uncooked slice of fish cake. She seemed to have wanted to eat only one, but her
hand instinctively reached for another.

I had to cry as best as I could since while it seemed trivial, this day had become a
traumatic experience for my mother. I cried out loud, and my mother’s hands
reached for me instead.

“Hey, I’m sorry.”

My mother spoke with a teary voice and rushed out of the kitchen. She met the
owner’s wife on the way, but nothing happened. This trivial matter will not change
history, and even if it changed, I could live with that for my mother.

***

The news said that the current president, who was from a military background,
visited America with a formal invitation from the American president. My mother
could relax a little that month, as my growth spurts died down, and I could keep
quiet. Also, my father had given her his first month’s wages.

I pretended to sleep as I lay down with my mother as I was being fed until she fell
asleep. I stopped sucking from her breast when she started to snore. I twisted my
body sideways as much as I could. While my limbs did not work as I wanted them to,
I could toss and turn.
I turned my body after numerous tries, and finally found space where I could freely
move my lips. People said babies started to speak after about eighteen months.
However, I had rested enough for the past fifty days to wait that long.

I needed to be able to call on the status window more than I needed to control my
limbs. My goal was to open the bronze box that was given as a bonus item the first
time someone opened their status window.

I was fairly certain that the first person to open the status window would have
incredible benefits, as the title of being the first always has been. If it was the title of
being the first Awakened…

However, I only could babble vowels, and my s pronunciations sounded like wind
coming out of balloons since I did not have any teeth. However, the System was
generous enough, so a perfect accent was not necessary, and I just needed to be
understandable. I started practicing again today, next to my sleeping mother.

***

The television was hectic after my mother turned it on. They were focusing on the
results of the summit between South Korea and America, and the news highlighted
the scene where details such as having agreed on direct conversations to take place
between South Korea and North Korea, were explained to the three party
representatives. It was as if the president had been a hero who had achieved
greatness, despite the fact the current government was a military dictatorship. It was
an era in which our government was continuously growing. The television only
stated hopeful news such as the number of domestic registered cars was over a
million, or that we had become a country great enough to provide humanitarian aid
for our enemy North Korea and poor Ethiopia. The news hid the dark sides of this
country, and I could not help but laugh.

It was because the history of this time, as well as the state of affairs in Korea or the
changes in the world was unreal to me.

Humanity had not been prepared at all for the Day of Advent. I had been born and
grown up in an era where the Cold War between two ideologies had just ended, and
human beings were starting another battle under the name of capitalism.

However, our culture had so easily crumbled in the future as we faced supernatural
events that were ignored as being unscientific. Our politicians, economists, and
financiers all had been useless.

The most serious problem was that we had not stopped fighting against each other,
and the results were the Eight Evils and Eight Virtues.

While there were those who were called heroes, there was no one who could be truly
called heroic. The boundaries between good and evil blurred, and those closer to
being S classes were considered virtuous, and those far away were considered evil.

At least, that was the future to me, and I was not too fond of the idea. After all that, to
me, the sight of our president pretending to be solemn and the condescending
expression on the American president’s face looked like a children’s play going on in
an antique television.

Every trace of the lives you people had filled with ambition and greed will fall!

“Oh, my son!”

My mother seemed to have been surprised at me watching the television so

seriously. However, she talked to me often because she had no one to boast of such
things, and now the time I had been waiting for came.

My mother had fallen asleep feeding me as she always did, but I stayed awake with
the television still turned on. Today, I felt something good would happen since I
could hold my tongue when it had been like an eel before. It was the result of
practicing whenever there was time.

I ignored my lisps and focused on completing the words. Status window, status
window, status window, and status window. I started again when a vowel
sandwiched unintentionally. I finally managed to speak the words, albeit
misshapenly.

[Name: Sunhoo Na, Characteristics (1)]

That was all I could see, and while my Health, Strength, Agility, and Perception
statistics had continuously increased, I still had a long way to go before those were
added to the status window.

[You have received a ‘bronze box’ as a reward for awakening.]

I had expected this much, and the next step was the important one. Please pop up,
please!

[Congratulations! You are the first Awakened!]

I had been right and felt jubilant enough almost to scream when I saw the sentence.
My small heart was beating so fast that my chest shook, but the next sentence sent
chills down my spine.

[You have received a ‘challenger box’ as the reward for being the first awakened.]

A challenger box! I knew that the first reward would be amazing, but I had not
expected a challenger box. It was a reward all S classes craved in the future, and I had
only handled one once. It had given me the chance to go back in time through an
astronomical improbability. The time I spent saving points just to open one
challenger box was an unimaginable ordeal. A two-month-old baby being given one
scared me rather than making me happy.

I thought that I perhaps had twisted the System structure, or I had become one of the
chosen ones like the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues. However, I was now sure of
one thing, and that was the fact I was now First in the Race.
[The bronze box will be opened.]

I calmed down and stared at the message, and the image of the bronze box appeared.
A beautiful light spilled through the bronze chest, and the sight made my heart beat
faster.

Most awakened get their abilities when they open their first box, and bronze boxes
tend to hold low-level rewards. However, I was anticipating an increase in stats
rather than an ability since I already gained the super S class trait of the Man Who
Overcome Adversity. I wanted the Perception stat to increase more than anything
else since my infant body needed to develop Perception first.

Fortunately, my mother had fallen deeply asleep, so she would not to know of the
supernatural events occurring next to her.

The chest opened with a whooshing sound.

[Your Perception has increased by three.]

[Current stats: None (4)]

Yes! This was what I had hoped! Perception was the stat that increased control over
my physical muscles rather than Strength, and therefore necessary for infants. I
always felt my limbs try to move out of their own accord when I was wrapped in a
blanket. However, now they were composed.

This was why I prioritized the status window reward rather than excersizing to grow
the muscles in my limbs. Also, there would have been benefits even if Health or
Strength had increased instead of Perception. Now, it was time.

[The challenger box will be opened.]

The challenger box can be opened only once or twice, even for S classes, and none if
they were not patient. I clearly saw the beautiful box, and it was a completely
different light from the bronze box.
A mesmerizing and brilliant light shone as if to light up the entire world, and I had to
close my eyes shut. The light of a challenger box was said to be able to heal wounds.

I did not have any wounds under my mother’s care, and I should be proud that the
light of the challenger box disappeared without any effects.

I opened my eyes after bracing myself. It was not an item since the light would have
continued to shine if the box had contained one. Then, it would be an ability, a skill,
or a stat increase. I would have liked anything else than an item unless the item
exceeded S class.

***

The Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues. They were called by this title in cultures that
used Chinese characters, and others called them by different names.

While they had many names, one thing was true about them. When they had
appeared on the stage, the war with the Unknown had changed to a civil war
between human beings.

We had not learned much about them, because we were fighting against each other,
when studying the System and battling against monster invasions should have been
more than enough.

They were the sixteen strongest S classes. The eight who followed the System were
called virtuous, and the eight who rejected the System were called evil.

Just by the fact those who followed the System were called virtuous, it could be seen
that the majority followed the System. Anyway, there were many points of conflicting
points between them and their viewpoints.

The biggest point of contention was the Virtuous said that a supernatural being who
was categorized as an absolute good, possibly God, had taken pity on us and gave us
abilities in various ways using the System. The Evils said the System itself was a cruel
trap, tormenting humanity in various and strange ways.

Another was that the eight Evils who had denounced the System used it to become
stronger. Of course, I belonged to neither groups and actually they had both been my
enemies. It was not that I was as strong as them, but I had concluded that the civil
war between humanity could only end when they were stopped. There were other
events I did not want to remember, and the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues hadn’t
even noticed that I had fought them.

To them, I had been… No, I would have been like a mosquito bothering an elephant.

I still remembered the Sixth Virtue, who had been a child young enough to boast of
his skills but had been strong enough to be one of the Eight Virtues. The name of his
main skill had been ‘Odin’s Wrath.’ It had been a very powerful buff skill that could
be utilized in various ways.

The reason I had explained about this skill is because this as of yet unborn child’s
skill had come out of the challenger box.

[You have gained the skill ‘Odin’s Wrath.’]

Amazing!

***

I had been crying when I woke up, and I realized that I was wailing out loud. It was
the day I gained the main skill of someone who had mocked me and completed my
first quest as my Perception increased by three and Health by one. While I should
have been baking in happiness, my dreams had been nightmarish.

I saw the calendar, and the date was May fifteenth. So that was why…

“Son, did you have a nightmare?”

My mother looked into me as she lifted me up. She had been so young these days,
and the way she smiled with her eyes had been beautiful even when she had become
older.

No son would have been unable to stop crying when he saw his mother smile down
at him like that. My mother praised me that I was the best son ever when I
immediately stopped crying. However, the dream that had made me cry was still at
the back of my mind.

That day had been terrifying for everyone. Up to the moment when the True
Nightmares had poured out from the rips in dimensions, the leaders of the powerful
nations had announced together that not only could humanity overcome the crisis,
but we could control the monsters that came in the early waves.

However, I saw the videos in the assembly hall where we had gathered as reserve
troops that there were monsters that were vulnerable to our weapons and monsters
that were stronger than what modern science could fight. The latter destroyed our
culture as we had known it.

Their attacks forced countries with nuclear weapons to use them, and my nightmare
had been about that day far in the future.

We soldiers had been regretful that we could not go to Japan because eastern Japan
was contaminated by radioactivity due to the tsunamis in 2011. However, perhaps
Japan had hidden them or there had been transactions or pressure, but countries
including Japan exploding nuclear weapons in their lands made us wail in despair.

The first one to cry had been an old man, and his sobs had made everyone feel the
helpless situation humanity now faced. The True Nightmares had survived the
nuclear attacks.

I remember crying that day until my tears dried, even when I entered the tests, and
also as I became an Awakened.

***

My quests were made to fit my growth process. I received the quest to stand up
alone after I finished drinking breast milk, turn over, and sit by myself. I had
mentioned that the stats raised by completing quests were those that could be raised
by natural growth, and ordinary people could also achieve them.

However, the Perception stat raised by the bronze box had made me grow faster than
other infants around my age. For example, as I managed to control my body better, I
could more accurately control parts of my body as I wanted, and it helped my
muscles grow and become stronger.

Have you seen a baby who can stand up by himself after only two months? My
growth rate was faster than anyone could expect despite the fact I had to grab
something to stand.

[You have completed the quest ‘Be Healthy 4.’]

[Your Strength increased by 1.]

[You have received 3 points.]

[Accumulated points: 12]

My mother had been doing the laundry, thinking I was asleep. Washing machines
were rare those days, and while the owner family had one, we would have never
been able to afford such a luxury. Thankfully, the weather was warm these days, and
I did not have to see her chapped hands anymore.

I heard a sound outside, and I quickly sat on the blankets and lay down. I then smiled
at my mother with an innocent look. The smile came naturally when I saw my
mother look at me with love, and I used my facial muscles as I had never had before.

“You smile whenever you see my mother. Do you like me that much? Am I that
beautiful?”

Yes, you are. I love you that much. So, I had to be more careful. My mother would
worry over a baby who stood by himself in two months. My mother was beginning to
notice that I was different from other babies, and I overheard her ask questions to
my aunt over the phone this morning that I seemed to recognize her, I had stopped
mumbling, ask her for milk, flail my limbs around, and was growing suddenly
heavier. They were words half-filled with worry and the other half with love.

“Son, just grow healthy. I love you so much.”

My mother lifted me up and whispered, and I silently answered that I loved her too.
The man who had been cornered into announcing a peaceful change of the
government and an end to the dictatorship was a historical footnote on the
Constitution Day celebration ceremony. It was July seventeenth, 1985, the Korean
Constitution Day, and the 140th day since I was born. The man shown on the
television now was a deep wound for the 386 generation, who were born during the
sixties and were university students during the eighties. He had left a deep mark on
all Korean citizens, whether they had participated in the student movements and
fought for democracy, or merely looked on.

(EN: I think that the author is refering to the June Democracy Movement against
President and Dictator Chun Doo-hwan. However, the announcement promising free
elections should be in 1987. Please Google for details.)

(EN: The 386 Generation is the generation who participated in the Democracy
Movement of the 1980’s. A nod to the latest Intel 386 chip, it was in reference to people
in their 30’s, who attended university in 1980s and were born in the 1960s.)

My father turned off the television with a rigid expression and lifted me. I could not
move freely just because I grew faster than others. I had to maintain an appropriate
level of development, so that I would not become an international sensation.
Therefore, I floundered my limbs and mumbled my pronunciation, despite being
able to say recognizable words and stand on my own.

“Apapa. Abuabu.”

My father worked on weekends but was home today, and my plans to complete the
walking alone quest during the morning were squashed. My father held out his
forefinger, and I knew what he wanted. Since my survival reflex movements didn’t
occur on their own, I intentionally grabbed my father’s finger.

“Mom! Our son’s strength is amazing!”

I felt strange because I had seen my father only a few times in this life. While I was
not used to seeing my father in his twenties, I was grateful for it since he was alive
now.
 ***

I chose the day I was born as the point of my return because of two factors, the trait
‘The Man who Overcame Adversity’ and the rewards from being the First Awakened.
Since I managed to get an S class skill, I began to be dissatisfied with the current
situation. It was difficult to pretend I could not do things that I was actually able to
do. Therefore, I slept during the day and waited for the night to come. My time began
after my father came in drunk and fell asleep late at night.

An infant has a high temperature, and my mother had covered me with a light
blanket on this hot early summer night. However, I was satisfied that the old electric
fan’s creaking sound and my father’s snores were louder than usual since that meant
I would be able to move more freely tonight.

I quietly crawled out after pushing away the blanket, and I moved like a cat since my
mother was right next to me. The first thing I did was to change my diaper, because I
could sympathize with babies crying when their diapers were wet, and the sogginess
bothered me. While I grew up enough to stand on my own, my small bladder was
still a problem. My diaper was already wet despite my mother changing it before she
went to sleep.

There was a basket for my diapers since my mother washed a day’s worth at a time.
Since there were so many, one or two more did not make a difference. I threw the
diaper, and it went in the basket. Now was my time, and I had already finished
standing up without support. I had marked a place that would not make a noise
when I fell, and so I moved to the corner where my parents had stacked the blankets.

Seeing a baby change his diaper and practice walking at four months, late at night
when everyone was asleep was a creepy rather than a proud sight, and people might
feel fear. Since I had time, there was no need to hurry, and I began to practice, not
waking my parents the priority. I promised myself that I would fall towards the
blankets when I lost my balance. I didn’t pay attention to the time and repeated my
movements until my infant body gave out.

[Strength is raised by 1 stat.]

[Sense is raised by 1 stat.]

[Agility is raised by 1 stat.]

This was not due to a quest, this was due to my growth, reaching a level that the
increase could be measured and quantified. My grip had become stronger, and I had
been feeling more muscle pains recently. I calculated that my senses were the
highest because of the reward I had received from the bronze box. In my previous
life, I could go against the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues despite my low level
because of my abnormally high senses since I had S class senses.

However, my weakness was that while I could harass them, I could not meet any of
them face to face. My one encounter had been disastrous. My ideal growth was
balancing all of my stats and yet maximizing my class advantages (and minimizing
my class disadvantages), understanding, and training my traits and skills. An
unbalanced growth would be viable only in the short term, and those whose abilities
were one-sided were made fun of and then thrown out.

I straightened my posture and carefully balanced myself with my arms stretched out
like I was on a tightrope. I finally took a step.

[Be healthy 5: Walking alone 1/10]

Two steps.

[Be healthy 5: Walking alone 2/10]

Three steps.

[Be healthy 5: Walking alone 3/10]

However, after the first step, I lost balance and fell with flailing arms, just missing the
blankets. I hope my mother did not wake up.

***

I failed in completing the Walking Alone quest that day since I managed only to take
four steps when the mission was ten. I crawled to my mother’s arms and buried my
head against her breasts. This was something I could do only now, and my mother
liked me snuggling against her. So, it was part of my filial duties.

***

I took ten perfect steps the next night.

[You have finally completed the quest arc ‘Be Healthy’.]

[Your strength increased by 1 stat.]

[You have received twenty points.]

[Accumulated points: 32]

A light burst.

[Congratulations, you have fulfilled the growth conditions necessary for

independence.]

[You have received a ‘bronze box’ as your completion reward.]

I read the message over and over again. Another bronze box? While the bronze box
was the lowest grade, it still took three hundred points to get one, and so it should
not be this easy. My mind went blank from surprise, and I realized that I had been
wrong.

I had thought that the Man who Overcame Adversity trait had made him the
strongest individual alive since the trait was an SSS rank cheat that made S class
skills into SS class skills. However, I realized that the Man who Overcame Adversity
trait had been only a part of his strengths. It was an amazing advantage to start
quests before the Day of Reckoning because of the plentiful time and the fact that the
quests were aligned with a person’s growth process. I could accept that a challenger
box reward was given for being the first awakened, but the bronze box that sprang
out as a quest reward now was beyond my comprehension. The quests were simply
part of the natural part of human growth, but the reward was a box worth three
hundred points.

If the beginning was like this, who knew what would happen in the future? It had not
been a coincidence that he had been the strongest since the Day of Reckoning.

[The bronze box has been opened.]

[Your strength increased by 3.]

I had planned to remove him before the Day of Reckoning, but now it became clearer.
While I did not know much about him, I had to find him no matter the cost and
removed him. He was a danger to humanity as he did not follow even basic human
ethics. I should not be relieved that I had the power of being the first awakened.
Unfortunately, the system was benevolent to those ranked second, and he will regain
what had already been his soon in the future after he is born.

(EN: The “he” Sunhoo Na is talking about is the “First Evil”, the leader of the Eight Evils.
The author makes this clear in chapter 2, right after introducing the first Become
Healthy quest.)
I could say that I was a baby easy to handle, as I slept deeply during the day and did
not cry without a reason at night. However, I existed because of my parents’ sacrifice
for me during my childhood, before my return. As every child does, I had made my
parents suffer for my sake.

I had nearly died from swallowing a piece of apple when I was a year old and made
my parents worry because I did not talk until four, and had been hospitalized for
more than two months because a motorcycle had hit me. Of course, I did not
remember any of that, and my mother had told me of all these incidents. Things I
remembered from my childhood were mostly about my ‘firsts’ rather than my
wounds and illnesses.

Those memories were fragmented like old pictures, like when I watched fireworks
with my cousin, the first day I went to play at a friend’s house, and the first day I
went to visit my grandfather at the hospital. I didn’t remember about my parents’
sacrifices, which made me realize how selfish a child could be.

***

“Mom, mom, mom.”

This was the first time I said the word to my mother. It was not meaningless
mumbles, and I spoke with our eyes meeting each other. While my mother could not
know, this was my apology for having made her worry that I could not talk until I
was four. The biggest reason, however, was because of a quest.

[Let’s grow up 1: ‘Mom’ successful.]

[You have completed the quest ‘Let’s grow up 1.’]

[You have received 5 points.]

[Accumulated points: 37]

My mother seemed not to care whether I called her intentionally, or I was mumbling,
and she just enjoyed the moment. She lifted me and walked with me in her arms for
a while before setting me down on the floor. The new compound quest was about
linguistic development, which was amusing because it underestimated a returner
like me. Except for my pronunciation, which was not yet complete due to my lack of
teeth and awkward tongue, I did not have any language skill problems.

My next mission was to speak sixteen words, which is a piece of cake. Quests I had to
risk my life for were now only memories of my past. The everyday quests I am doing
are not what I was used to since there are no risks. Moreover, I gained five points for
completing this quest when I had received two points for disposing of an F class
monster. To think that moving my lips a few times with a body like this would have
more than double the effect of killing an F class monster. I honestly could not hide
my joy.

***

This would be the final quest of the compound quest ‘Let’s grow up.’

[Let’s grow up 5 (Quest) Mission: Choose a particular individual and speak more
than ten sentences.]

My father was on a business trip, and I could not risk my mother’s peace of mind as a
sacrifice for my quest. I first thought of the owner’s wife, as she was jealous and a
mean person. She gave birth to a son, her third child, about the same time I was born.
Therefore, she could not help comparing her son and me when there was a chance.

She scared my mother by saying that I would become a harelip if I were too quiet,
and if I spoke out anything in response, she would denounce me, saying that I had
been possessed by a ghost who died because it could not speak. She was someone
who one could not stand other people and would even enjoy my mother looking
uncomfortable.

There was another reason why that woman was my choice, and that was because she
was a firm believer in shamanism. I had seen many talismans riding on my mother’s
back, including ones on the front door, in the kitchen, and on the way to the owner’s
floor.

I stood in front of the door that led to the front yard. Everything was big to a child’s
gaze, and a simple door looked big as a massive and oppressive gate. The door would
not open just by pushing, and I had to push after turning the doorknob and removing
the spoon-shaped locking device set through the rings. I could see the spoon-shaped
device and the doorknob by fully tilting my neck back. I could not reach them by
jumping up and down with my arm outstretched.

My small heart began to beat faster, and I felt like when I had entered a dungeon. My
spine chilled, thinking that my mother might be watching me. I looked around to find
something to step on, and my gaze focused on the hard pillows piled in the corner of
the room.

It was past midnight, and a suitable time since the owner was absent like my father.
Jindol, the dog tied to a post in the front yard, wagged its tail when I appeared. The
dog looked different from when I could look down on it from my mother’s back.

The large beast’s eyes glistened under the moonlight, and it would be me
overthinking things that Jindol’s lead looked slacker than usual. The moment the
lead broke or Jindol got loose, the dog would be like a boss monster in the wild
mountains of Hwasung to me.

Wait. I stopped at that moment because I had just thought of something. My original
plan had been to complete the quest using the owner’s wife by pretending to be a
child’s ghost and terrifying her in the process. However, why had I only thought of
talking to an adult?

It would be Chuseok when I would meet my cousin, who was four and would be able
to speak. (EN: Harvest Festival, very much like Thanksgiving in America.) Chuseok was
not far away to proceed with a plan that did not have the risk of waking my mother
up.

***

“Why is my baby not smiling today? Are you shy, son?”

I wanted to nod and wanted to give Odin’s wrath to my aunts who were playing with
my genitals. There were many babies on Chuseok, and since my younger cousins
were not born yet, everyone was older than me.

Jiae, one of my cousins, walked towards me. She was born three years earlier than
me and was already pretty. While she did not like the small mole under her left eye,
that was her charm. Her mole, vivid eyes, and a sharp nose reminded me of how she
would look as an adult. My aunts moved so Jiae could come near me because they
were curious how cute we would look during our first meet.

Jiae had beauty, the merits of being a graduate of a prestigious university, and the
title of becoming a prosecutor after passing the bar exam. She had a golden future
who would be the pride of the family, but Jiae would become missing on the Day of
Reckoning and must have been attacked by monsters.

I wanted to advise my aunt to encourage Jiae to take up sports instead of studying,

even if she showed great talent in the latter. While her physical abilities would not
guarantee her survival, it would be an important factor. At the very least, her legal
skills did not help Jiae.

People would need to train their bodies at least before the Day of Reckoning or have
to go through a terrifying, brutal experience.

“He’s your dongsaeng, and please play and look after him like an older noona.” (EN:
younger brother and older sister)

Jiae’s mother put our hands together, but Jiae hugged me instead and rubbed my hair
this way and that with rough hands that were unused to holding a baby.

“Hello, Sunhoo.”

She had a cute voice, and I also gently whispered to her ear.

“Hi, noona.”

Jiae’s hand stopped moving in surprise. My mother and her other relatives were
focused on other babies at that moment, and I quickly told her that I could only talk
with her and not to call other adults. It was that moment when I finished the quest
with cute sentences with Jiae.

[You have finally completed the compound quest ‘Let’s grow up.’]

[You have received a ‘silver box’ as the first completion reward.]

What?

[Congratulations. You are the first one to complete all quests available in the
tutorial.]

[You have achieved the conditions to skip the tutorial.]

[There are no quests available from now on.]

This was just the tutorial?

[Will you skip the tutorial ‘Infancy and Childhood?’]

I found a difficult choice in front of me, but I had to stick to my parents’ side for the
next few years, which meant that my movements would be largely restricted.
However, I was still hesitant because skipping meant I could not enjoy my parent’s
younger days. But, my parents should not be surprised or scared because of my
mistakes, like how the First Evil grew up…

I will skip the tutorial because the real one was waiting for me, which is the Chapter
of Beginning.
The darkened world became bright and faint noises became clear at once. I knew
where I was the moment my vision cleared, and I was in a classroom. A young male
teacher was teaching English in front of young students. I held a mechanical pencil in
my hand, and an incomplete scribble was drawn on my notebook.

I saw that my English textbook was for middle school first graders. I was sitting
alone near the window at the back of the classroom. I had always sat in the middle
when I had been a student, and the past had been slightly changed.

“Status Window.”

[Name: Sunhoo Na. Health: F (2) Strength: F (20) Agility: F (13) Perception: F (20)
Accumulated Points: 87. Properties (1)]

I had F class on all my stats. While a person with these stats would be considered an
ordinary person after the Day of Reckoning, it was not bad at all by current
standards. My body was that of an average adult male, and my strength and
perception were above some athletes.

The stats I had increased during the tutorial must have affected the time I skipped.
The past had changed. My arm was long and full of hard muscles way above the
middle school level, and I could feel the power in my biceps and fascia.

I was clenching my fist when my eyes fell on the scribble in my notebook. I had
thought that I, as an ordinary middle school student, had merely been passing the
time, but the drawing depicted an F class monster. The monster was a beast type and
one that walked on two legs. Its Identification number was KF-07, and the number
was clearly written in the upper part of the note in a messy scribble that looked like
mine. K was for Korea, F was the monster’s level, and 07 was an arbitrarily given
numeric identifier. Actually, Korean awakened called them ‘Guard Dogs.’

I thought of something, and it proved to be true. The previous page of the notebook I
flipped back noted an address of a mountain in the Gyeonggi Province and its price.

***
I guessed that I had lived the life of a returner during the skipped time, and that was
why I had trained and prepared to conquer an F class dungeon. I would first have to
buy the lands where the dungeon lay before releasing its seal. I ran home right after
the classes ended, and our family lived in the Miari area at this time.

The house was as I remembered, and the key was in the milk basket. I opened the
locked door and managed to remember that Mother had been working at the local
curtain shop around this period.

I was much too excited about finding out how much I had been preparing during the
skipped period to think more about my childhood memories.

A picture that looked like it was taken at my elementary graduation ceremony last
year was framed in the living room. I was already completely grown by this time, and
it would be credible to believe that this picture was for someone graduating high
school.

I was relieved to see that my parents looked happy in the picture. As I entered my
room, I saw that it was definitely not one for a teenager. Even if I did not remember
how my room had been in middle school, it was evident that the room was different
from my past life.

The blankets were folded with military precision by me, and my desk didn’t have a
speck of dust. I searched my room everywhere and looked wherever I would hide
something like zip drives and floppy disks. (EN: Remember, this was the ‘90s)

However, it seemed that my physical growth and my changed relationship with other
students due to the former seemed to have been all that had been changed in the
past. I seemed to have just begun to plan how to conquer a dungeon about now, and I
sort of agreed to that sentiment. I should have been close to my parents, at least until
elementary school.

Now, the real me will be the one who oversees the proceedings.

***

While I had not bought the sealed dungeon area or had been earning money,
choosing the mountain in Hwasung, Gyeonggi Province, as my first conquest, had
been a wise choice. I could guess how I had searched the market price, but since I
would have destroyed all traces like bus receipts, I gave up on that route.
The first area was a large mountain about 1300 million won, and an F class sealed
dungeon was waiting there until the Day of Reckoning. I had many things to prepare,
such as buying the mountain and installing security systems. They all cost money.
(EN: 2.5 million US in 2020)

Since I knew the past, earning money would not be difficult. However, while the
500,000 won I had saved during my skipped period may be adequate capital, a
minor can only make a minors’ stock account, which forbade speculative
transactions such as future options transactions. Even if I managed to establish a
corporation, it would be difficult to make the investments I was aiming for, and that
meant I desperately needed a proxy. I thought of several names, Jonathan, Gillian,
Cheongsoo Kim, Jessica, and others. (EN: About $1000 US in 2020. Amazing, he has a
thousand dollars in Elementary School…)

There was only one person I could trust, and that was Jonathan.

***

He would be a young man at twenty-five in Wall Street. Jonathan had reminisced that
he and his comrades at that time were the ‘Wolves at Wall Street’ because the
financial company he worked for had the word Wolf in it. 1997 was a year when the
internet was still in its infancy, and it was the first time that websites were being
created.

I searched a financial company that included the word Wolf in its name at Wall
Street, and I found a link on the American search engine APE. The internet was
extremely slow, and the picture of the employees appeared at crawling speed. Since
Jonathan had been at the bottom ranks at the time, his picture came last. I saw a
younger Jonathan smiling amid the picture that showed up bit by bit.

Jonathan looked like he was saying that he was a Wall Street elite, and the rage and
despair of a man who had lost everything were not there. I sent an email.

-Hello, Jonathan. I have sent this email to ask your opinion on whether the Thailand
baht is being exchanged for an overvalued price at the present.

***

Jonathan had often boasted of his role in the 1997 Asian financial crisis that had
brought the IMF to Korea. He had said the best time of his life had been 1997, and
even as he had attained the title of an A class hunter that everyone had wanted, his
nostalgia for the past could be heard whenever he talked about that time.

I was certain that Jonathan would take the bait, as he had been anxious at the time
being convinced that the Global Hedge Funds would attack the Thailand baht first. If
he had made more aggressive investments from the beginning because he believed
himself, the best time of his life would have been Epic.

However, he had been unable to do so since Jonathan had been playing catch-up
before 1997.

-The Thailand baht is not overvalued.

I saw his reply in my Inbox before going to sleep.

-I apologize. I thought that if the Thailand baht was overvalued, it would be a

justification.

The reply came back immediately as if he had been waiting for my answer.

-Please inform me who you are and which firm you belong to.

I expected this, and his bite on my fishhook was strong.

-Aren’t there other conditions that could be used as justification? The Asian foreign
exchange reserves and the dollar’s continuing strength would be easy solutions to
the Hedge Funds consortium’s problems. I expect that they will be attacking the
Thailand baht this month, but their ultimate goal will not be Thailand. If they do
attack, this would only be the beginning.

***

Jonathan was astonished. It had begun with an email from nowhere.

“Thailand would only be the beginning…”

The sender was certain that the Hedge Funds would attack the Thailand baht and
even included the names of the most likely ones. Jonathan held his head after looking
across the cubicles. His colleagues were all busy, and come to think of it, this
situation did not warrant someone else’s advice. It was an opportunity.
The fact that large amounts of investment funds had poured into the Hedge Funds
mentioned in the reply was no longer a secret. Those who worked in Wall Street
estimated that where those funds would go next would change the entire situation.
Therefore, Wall Street was tense nowadays, and this email had come during this
wait.

Jonathan focused on the fact the sender had used the word ‘justification.’ Only
someone that knew what was going on in this field could use that word in this
context. He was more curious about where this mail was coming from than who was
sending it. This may be a test. Jonathan breathed deeply and put his hands over the
keyboard.

-My office is open, and I will be waiting. If you cannot visit me, you can reach me at…

Jonathan’s hands shook as if he had seen a ghost.

Jonathan had sent me more than ten desperate emails since yesterday. I intentionally
did not answer him back even as the Sammi Group, ranked 26th, filed bankruptcy
after the Hando Group on the same day. Of course, I read the emails Jonathan sent
me.

-I do not know when you will check this email. The attack on the Thailand baht you
have mentioned seems to have started. Please conact me as soon as you see this, as I
have something interesting to show you.

I could see that Jonathan was still hesitating by this email. If he was going to dive into
the currency war with confidence, he would not send me an email like this. He would
establish his own investment corporation and would be busy day and night funding
investments through the connections he had made up to this day.

However, during the Asian financial crisis, Jonathan would jump in August when the
battlefield had already moved to Hong Kong. While he had a sharp eye, he lacked
financial power. On the other hand, Jonathan had achieved what he called the best
time of his life because he was so skillful. I mean to say that even I would have a
tough fight against him if he had begun to move as soon as he was certain that the
Hedge Funds were attacking the Thailand baht.

It took about fifty days in 1992 for a Hedge Fund to break the English pound on
Black Wednesday. Therefore, he and others would position themselves on the
assumption that the Thailand baht would also be brought down the same way by the
Hedge Funds, but the baht would not fall to a single strike. Thailand would hold the
advantage at one point and cause massive damage to the Hedge Funds during the
protracted struggle. However, the Thailand baht would crumble on July 2nd, which is
more than three months from now.

Anyway, I checked the investment product that Jonathan had attached in the email,
and it was what I had thought. The product had bet on the Thailand baht falling in
May. It basically said that ‘the Hedge Funds would finish the battle within fifty days
like in 1992 and would emerge as glorious winners.’ This Investment Product could
be said to symbolize the atmosphere of Wall Street at present. (EN: Investment
product is the umbrella term for all the stocks, bonds, options, derivatives and other
financial instruments that people put money into in hopes of earning profits. )

-Please contact me if there is a product that bet on the Thailand baht increasing.

Jonathan seemed to have been constantly refreshing his Inbox despite his busy
schedule, and the reply came back in less than ten minutes.

-Have you not been predicting that the Thailand baht will fall?

-I’ll make a suggestion. If you would establish your own investment corporation, I’ll
provide my investment proposal. I expect 51 percent of the corporation shares.

***

The investment product Jonathan had sent to Sunhoo was given to only a few VVIPs.
While Jonathan had taken on a large gamble, the result was disappointing enough
that he could not even sigh.

‘Come to think of it, while the email had mentioned that the Thailand baht would be
attacked, it did not mention that the attackers would win. Yes, there was no mention
of it.’

The attack on the Thailand baht would succeed without fail. Jonathan and the
entirety of all the corporations on Wall street agreed that Thailand would not last
after being chosen as the Hedge Funds’ prey. How could Thailand last when England
failed? That was Wall Street’s honest opinion.

However, Jonathan had been disappointed by the last sentence. How could someone
request 51 percent for an investment proposal?

‘A swindler got me… what had I been expecting?’

Jonathan furrowed his brow and grabbed his phone. He had wasted a lot of time
because of an unknown scam email. Now was the time to call the VVIPs (Very Very
Important Persons) before he lost big accounts to other firms or colleagues. Wall
Street had already finished betting.

However, Jonathan lowered the phone again. He felt like he was missing something,
and if he could not figure it out, he continued to think about it.
Jonathan’s keyboard made aggressive sounds. His performance was low, all the more
because his travel date was approaching.

-On what grounds do you believe that the Hedge Funds will fail?

Jonathan bit his nails without realizing as he waited for the reply. The answer came.

-I seem to have caused another misunderstanding. I am not saying that the Hedge
Funds will lose, but the Thailand Bank will use many protective measures in May.
Malaysia’s Negara Bank in 1994 is a prime example, and the reciprocal agreement
the Thailand Bank made with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
central banks in 1995 and the dual exchange rate system still remain viable options.
Therefore, my conclusion is that Thailand baht will rise for a short period.

(EN: A dual exchange rate is a setup created by a government where their currency has
a fixed official exchange rate and a separate floating rate applied to specified goods,
sectors or trading conditions. The floating rate is often market-determined in parallel
to the official exchange rate.)

Jonathan actually let out a gasp and the shock that spread through him made him
completely forget his initial disappointment. While he looked like he was sitting
without moving a muscle, his brain was whirring like never before. He thought that
he could hear his neurons firing one by one in slow motion.

‘It, it is possible!’

Jonathan’s eyes caught the investment product manual for the VVIPs, which had bet
on the baht price falling in May. His colleagues were doing their best to sell this
product, since everyone assumed the outcome was a given, this was a sweet
opportunity for them to increase performance and build trust with VVIPs. The empty
pages here and there were those of colleagues who had already quit to establish
their own firms. If the baht does not fall in May, they would be beggars.

Jonathan gulped. Should he notify the board that this scenario may be possible and
strongly suggest that the risk should be minimized?

He thought things over for a while and then typed with shaking fingers.

-We have no investment products that have bet on the Thailand baht rising, and
unfortunately, we have no plans to develop such a product.
-That is why I am suggesting you establish your own firm.

-A 51 percent share without conditions means that you will control my future and
capital. It is too much. Who would sign such a contract?

-Think things over. My offer stands until the end of May.

-Should we not talk in person? As I said, my office is always open.

That was the end. Their communication ceased even after Jonathan sent his second
email saying he would be willing to travel to meet in person.

***

When the Hedge Funds decided to conquer the Thailand baht, the baht falling was
considered a given. However, reality said otherwise. Even as the Hedge Funds
continued to attack the Thailand baht, it would not budge. Therefore, Jonathan’s
company was tense as it had focused on selling the investment product that bet on
the Thailand baht falling.

Jonathan had been the only fund manager that had not sold the product, and the firm
wanted him out and away from the VVIPs. While Jonathan had not bet actual money
like others, he was betting something even more. Jonathan had bet his record and
future as a fund manager. Even his clerk criticized Jonathan and asked to leave him.

Jonathan felt like he lived in another world on May 14th and 15th, as he was alone in
his office. Those were the days the Hedge Funds had attacked the Thailand baht with
everything they had.

It had been enough for a fall, and Jonathan’s colleagues had been shouting screams of
joy in excitement. However, as time passed, their joy turned to something else…

“Damn! Damn!”

“It’s insane! This cannot be happening!”

The entire office erupted in chaos. The phones did not stop ringing, and Jonathan’s
colleagues were red-faced as they screamed out.

“Jonathan!”
Jonathan’s clerk came in, running through the door, and his face was full of surprise.

“You were right! The baht is rising! How can this be…”

The clerk showed Jonathan the record of the ASEAN central banks aiding Thailand
by 120 million dollars.

“They are scared stiff that there will be a loss of at least 3 million.”

“All right, leave.”

“Can, can I do anything?”

Jonathan did not even look at his clerk as he waved his hand. He was about to faint
from relief and also did not want to face anyone who had looked down on him and
laughed. The two months he had spent being criticized and despised as a coward had
felt like forever. One of Jonathan’s colleagues showed his head through the door.

“Harry wants you.”

Jonathan became exhausted at the jealous gaze. Harry was the largest shareholder of
this company and its main trainer. While Jonathan did not want to see anyone, he
wanted to see the face Harry would be making.

There were three VVIPs in Harry’s office, with whom Harry had worked for a long
time, and they had suffered big losses due to this incident. Harry planned to
introduce Jonathan as the company’s new hope to assuage their anger and overcome
this crisis.

However, that was Harry’s idea. Jonathan handed his name card to the clients after
entering Harry’s office before speaking.

“I’m going to establish a new investment firm after leaving Wolf, and my contact
address will not change. If you want an investment consultation…”

“Jonathan!”

Harry hurriedly took Jonathan out of the office.

“Why? Didn’t you want me to go? I’m doing what you wanted me to.”
“Where? Do you already have a sponsor?”

“I do now. Everyone in Wall Street knows that I’m the only one without damage, and
what I had bet on was this.”

“You think succeeding once will get you anywhere?”

“When did Wall Street ever need a second success?”

“What?”

Jonathan smiled faintly, and Harry’s shouts behind him did not interest him
anymore. He returned to the office amidst jealous and envious gazes. While he was
organizing his things, there was one thing he needed to do.

-I quit my job, which means that I’ll agree to your terms. I must be going insane. Let’s
talk about specifics in person. Where can I meet you?

-Please come to Seoul immediately.

I was bored reliving my middle school life. The joy I felt at seeing my friends, who I
had almost forgotten, lasted only a day. My grown physique was the center of
attention in this school, and thanks to that, my life went on without much incident.
The seniors, let alone my classmates left me alone. I was already about six feet
despite being a first-grader in middle school, and I could not help being more
interested in the teachers’ adult lives rather than the young students.

It was break time, and I saw that the staff room window was full of people as I
passed by. Male teachers were talking about stocks as they smoked, and their
expressions looked better than yesterday. Even as major firms such as Hando,
Sammi, and Chamro were going bankrupt, their ruin had not affected the teaching
profession yet. Therefore, the currency war starting from Thailand would not affect
them at all. It was enough for them that the stock they had bought the day before
was rising.

I heard that the bell signaling that break time was over, and students began to run to
their classrooms. The corridors emptied in an instant, and at first felt strange and
awkward at the sight. However, things had not changed after two months, and the
silent corridor made me think of things I would rather not, like my memories of a
city where all of its citizens lay dead…

***

I headed to Gimpo Airport after school, as Jonathan was scheduled to arrive at seven
o’clock in the evening. I waited at the entry place with a small sign that had
Jonathan’s name (in english) on it. Since I had already seen his younger picture on
the website and from our emails, I thought that I would not be surprised at how
young he looked. However, that was not the case. Jonathan was not wearing the
protective gear he had gotten from a silver box and instead wore a black suit, and
instead of an iron club, he came in holding a 007 bag. (EN: Bags inspired or modeled
after the Bond movies) Eyes only possible in a peaceful world looked up and down at
me and my sign.

Jonathan did not have a grave expression like his picture, and his skin had a sheen. It
seems the long flight had not been stressful, as he must have had good dreams as he
flew over the Pacific to meet me.

“I’m Jonathan.”

He approached me and spoke. It was the first time I heard a lively voice and saw
hopeful eyes on my old friend…

“Let’s go somewhere else to talk. Please, follow me.”

I spoke fluent English, and he looked a bit surprised at that. I had found an
unpopular restaurant in the airport, and Jonathan’s confident footsteps followed me
from behind as I led the way. He must be thinking that he would meet the individual
that had sent him the email there, and it was a logical assumption. How could he
think that a young teen like me with a backpack had sent him those emails?

Jonathan must be thinking of a stereotypical elite Asian guy, with a round face and
gelled hair. He would be thinking that the man would be wearing a slightly larger suit
than his frame, wipe his glasses, and ask Jonathan for a handshake after meeting
him.

However, there was no one where I had led Jonathan, and I sat across the table from
him. Jonathan blinked and even shrugged as if to ask what was going on.

“I sent you those emails, Jonathan. Thank you for coming all the way here to meet
me.” (EN: No honorifics. I think the author was making the point that Jonathan was
Sunhoo’s friend in his past life, and following American societal norms, by using his first
name, he’s making Jonathan think Sunhoo is fairly close to his own age. And Jonathan
forgot this was Asia, so he didn’t notice all the flags going off when Sunhoo left out
honorifics. Silly Jonathan.)

Jonathan stared at me for a long time and covered his face with his hands. He sighed
in despair. He did not move his hand as he stared at me through his fingers.

“I came here to bet everything on your prank. Do you know what you just did?”

Jonathan did not raise his voice, but I could see how angry he was only by his eyes. I
knew them. He had those eyes as he glared at the monsters and mumbled that he
would survive.
Jonathan stood up without saying a word and looked down at me. I felt the rage in
his eyes, something that would kick me down and beat me until I stopped breathing.

“Does Wall Street judge people by their age?”

I answered, and that was when the waiter went back after coming to check our
orders. This atmosphere was too tense.

“How old are you, eighteen? Twenty?”

“Someone will call the police if you continue to stare at me like that.”

I nodded to the counter, as the restaurant manager and the waiter were whispering
about us there.

“You can go back, but it’s courtesy to give a gift to a guest who has flown across the
ocean to come here.”

I took out an investment draft proposal I had written last night from the bag and
handed it to Jonathan. He grabbed it out of my hands not to confirm the contents but
to rip it apart in front of me. He gripped it with both hands to rip it apart before
suddenly stopping because his fiercely glaring eyes noticed the chart on the report. I
spoke again.

“Please sit down.”

***

“Today’s Asian financial crisis was inevitable as soon as the American government
had let Asian countries borrow an infinite amount of American Dollars. They spoke
of how the twenty-first century will be Asia’s and created the legend of the Four
Asian Tigers. The hedge funds only placed their spoons in that.”

“Spoons?”

I used the spoon I was holding to mimic eating some food, and Jonathan nodded as
he understood. He turned back to read my report from the beginning again.

“How is Wall Street?”

“What do you think?”

Jonathan replied in a distracted manner. However, the most important points were
missing from the report no matter how many times he went over it.

I only showed the big forest in the chart, and the roots and branches were hidden
beneath the leaves. The dates were missing.

“The trends will flow like that.”

I pointed to where the chart dipped again.

“You won’t tell me the dates until I sign? Well, you think that the attackers will be
able to break the bhat.”

“Jonathan, you’re from Wall Street. Have you seen anything like this situation before
seeing my report?”

Jonathan was unable to answer easily, and he would not be the only one. This was
the day after the Thailand government had punched out the hedge funds, and the
battle that had been considered one-sided now became uncertain.

That would be how Wall Street felt now, and it would last until the Thailand
government announced their surrender on the coming July second.

Jonathan quieted down and flipped through the report. It was not difficult for me to
piece together the process when I already knew the results. The traces of fierce
battles occurring in the Thailand foreign currency market and the New York
currency market were in the report, and I had organized the numerous charts and
graphs to point to a single path.

It took less time than I had expected for Jonathan to arrive at a conclusion.

“The attackers will win if a certain condition is met…”

Jonathan stared at me, and it was clear he wanted to test me.

“I’m not the one that should be answering, Jonathan. You should, so I can decide
whether you are someone I can work with.”
Jonathan laughed at that, and his face looked even refreshed now.

“Isn’t my money, my record, and my time not enough for you?”

“It’s enough if you want to step back from management, from being my true partner.
Will you?”

Jonathan smiled as if he considered the question one that did not deserve an answer.

“I have bet everything. What are you betting?”

“Opportunity cost. How much do you think I would have earned if I had chosen
someone else? Even as we speak, I’m losing money I could earn.” (EN: the loss of
potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. “idle cash
balances represent an opportunity cost in terms of lost interest”.)

Jonathan stopped himself from replying, as he also knew the situation. Since
everyone at Wall Street had bet on the baht falling, he knew that I could have earned
an astronomical amount of money by betting on the opposite side.

“Haven’t you decided yet?”

“I need some time to think. In spite of everything, you’re… something else.”

“All right, I’ll wait until June third.”

I stood up.

“Hey, wait. Why June third?”

Jonathan also hurriedly stood up and even blocked me as if I would disappear like a
ghost. His eyes followed my gaze to the report he was holding. He flipped the pages
with a shout and put the report out to show me my estimated short-term baht
exchange rate chart. Jonathan’s finger pointed to where the chart fell, where the
short-term baht uptrend stopped. Since no one knew when the baht would stop
rising in this situation, me telling him the exact date stunned him.

“This is June second, right?”

“Now, you only need to calculate how much we will lose until the date.”
“You can guess trends, but not dates. Unless you’re a god.”

Jonathan spoke firmly.

“Well, then you just might have met one.”

“Damn! I met a lot of people, but someone like you…”

“You have until June third, and if you cannot decide on then, I’ll think that our
relationship is over.”

***

It was June third, and a mail arrived after a long lull.

-What do you think our company’s name should be?

“Did you regret going back to New York?

I greeted Jonathan with those words as he disembarked, deep in thought.

“In all counts.”

Jonathan immediately replied as he raised his head. Later on, in the same restaurant,
his gaze went back to the now useless investment draft proposal, which had only
covered until the baht exchange rate started to fall.

-June second

While Jonathan had highlighted the date with a red pen, he had been unable to use
the chance.

“How could you have known the date, even if you predicted the trends?”

“Calculation.”

“Will you show them to me in the future?”

Jonathan’s eyes shone.

“I’ll let you hear the ingredients.”

The hedge funds were planning a counterattack by borrowing on the Japanese yen,
which had a low-interest rate. Since this was already known, I felt no need to speak
of it.

“Only the ingredients? How about the recipe?”

Jonathan had completely changed his attitude in the past few days. He acted like a
young man raised in the country who just had his first look at the lights of the big
city rather than a successful financial manager in Wall Street. As I did not know what
Jonathan’s personality was like when he was young, I could only understand and let
him be. I smiled silently, and Jonathan left it at that since he still had his pride as a
manager.

“I still don’t know your name, and that should be corrected.”

“It’s Sunhoo.”

“Sun, who. It’s not bad. Can I call you Sun?”

In my first life, Jonathan had shown me his bright side only twice, and they were
when he boasted of his prime in 1997 and after he had cleared a dungeon, surviving
to the end. He was like a wounded beast at other times. He would drink whenever
there was no work and called out his daughter’s name when he had nightmares of
his deceased family. Compared to that, this younger Jonathan, still retained his bright
personality. Since I remembered how he had looked the last time I saw him in my
past life, I liked seeing him smile like this now.

“Jonathan and Sun Investment.”

Jonathan spoke suddenly about the name of the company we were about to
establish.

“The shares are 51 to 49, so my name is first. It would not be wrong to say it would
be my company.”

“Remove my name out of it.”

I spoke.

“You seem to be past the age of being coy.”

“I don’t care about the company name. How much capital?”

“Sun, you’re too wily, which is why you succeeded in this crazy deal. I will fund the
capital and hand you 49 percent of the shares.”

“I need 51 percent.”

“What?”
“If you don’t like that, I don’t care how little capital you fund.”

“Even if it’s just ten thousand dollars?”

“As you wish.”

“Where does that confidence come from?”

“Will it be ten thousand dollars then?”

Jonathan held out four fingers and spoke on.

“Four hundred thousand dollars. While I want more, that’s all I have.”

Since I have a 51 percent share, I have gotten a little more than two hundred
thousand dollars for free.

“Don’t you have any funds to help, Sun?”

“If I did, I wouldn’t have called you to Korea.”

“Why was it me? How did you know me?”

“From the website.”

“…Only a website? You didn’t care who it was as long as you could establish an
investment firm in America?”

An investment firm in America? I wanted to start one from a tax haven if possible.
However, considering Jonathan’s savings, I could not.

“Are you disappointed?”

“No, I just think that opportunities come strangely. It never came when I desperately
wanted one.”

It never came when I desperately wanted one.

The words felt like deja vu. When Jonathan had opened a master box with the points
he had accumulated after risking his life and nearly dying several times, he had given
up on life. He first had a grand plan of not opening any boxes below a challenger box
until he had enough points. However, after a series of events that cornered him
mentally, he had opened a master box.

Therefore, he had wanted an item instead of a skill or a trait from the master box. If I
think back to what Jonathan had said, he seemed to have been planning to sell it and
live like crazy in the red-light district until he died.

However, a miracle happened to him, as a skill at the level of a challenger box came
out of the master box. That was the second time I had seen something of a higher
level come out of a lower box. Only twice. Not even one of the luckiest men I had ever
seen had managed to do this, and it was on that day Jonathan had walked away to
seek his revenge despite my trying to stop him. That was the last memory I had of
him, and I heard of his death by rumors.

***

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are you honored that I acknowledge you as an
‘opportunity?’ From what you have shown me, you’re my chance. My own Sun. I only
need one since I’m ready for it.”

I saw Jonathan’s excited face after coming back from my memories.

“Will you bet everything you have if I said to go all-in?”

“All-in?”

Jonathan smiled with meaning.

“Just because I changed the investment product doesn’t mean that I stopped being a
trader. I invested in you, which means that I’ll give you all I have.”

Jonathan placed his 007 suitcase on the table with a loud thump, and documents that
warranted the sound came out of it. Those were documents needed to establish an
investment firm, and he had already signed wherever he needed to. Jonathan had to
be the initiator and the CEO since he was an American citizen. He needed my official
documents from the Korean government to prove my identity, like my resident
registration certificate.

Jonathan’s brow furrowed deeply, seeing it, and he stared at me in confusion. I

pointed at my name.

[Sunhoo Na (850228 – *******)

“That’s the only document that will prove my citizenship. That’s my name, and those
two are my parents’ names.”

“What are the numbers?”

“They are the Korean equivalent of social security numbers, and they are called
resident registration numbers. Proceed with this. I’ll send you my passport as soon
as it’s issued.”

“Hey Sun, this number. That’s not your date of birth, right?”

“It is.”

“85 does not mean 1985, right?”

Jonathan asked in surprise. A long time passed during which he simply could not
speak from the shock. He needed me to confirm something unbelievable…

“You’re thirteen? Thirteen?”

Jonathan was surprised on two accounts. His co-founder was thirteen, and he
already looked like he had finished growing. Jonathan covered his face with one hand
like the day he had met Sunhoo, but the eyes peeking through his fingers were
different this time. Actually, a bigger thrill than his initial anger burned in them.

“So, you’re an Asian genius.”

***

Jonathan had evaluated my preparedness and tenacity, but now, he thought of my

genius as my best asset. The young Asian financial genius. Jonathan looked at me like
a westerner who traveled to Tibet and Japan to chase an eastern fantasy. While I
would have liked to punch him in the eyes, I threw a date instead of a punch.

“The second week of June, from the ninth to the thirteenth.”

Jonathan’s posture changed as I spoke of actual dates.

“I’m certain that stocks will fall by ten percent during that period.”

“You think that Thailand will surrender during that week?”

Jonathan leaned a bit toward me and tried to erase the excitement in his eyes.

“It’ll take longer for that.”

“What do you think will happen in the second week of June?”

“Do you remember what I had said before?”

“That Thailand would be only the beginning?”

“The battle between the hedge fund coalition and Thailand has come to a situation
where no one can expect the outcome. So far, the results have been that people think
that Thailand would be able to successfully defend themselves.”

“However, we think that they can’t.”

Jonathan used the word we.

“If Thailand’s stock price falls by more than ten percent during the second week, it
will be a turning point. The atmosphere will change, and the fear will spread.”

“People will panic.”

“Reinforcements, like sharks scenting blood in the water, will follow the hedge fund
coalition that is attacking the baht, and the fear will spread all across Asia. The hedge
fund coalition will change battlefields to harvest as much as they can, and their
ultimate goal is…”

I stopped and waited for Jonathan to answer.

“Hong Kong.”

Jonathan replied without hesitating like he had been thinking about this issue for a
long time.
“You’re wrong. It’s South Korea.”

Jonathan frowned.

“Is that because it is your country? Korea is in a completely different situation

compared to Thailand and others. The attackers cannot attack the foreign exchange
of this nation. What are you talking about?”

“You’re right. They cannot manipulate the Korean exchanges market, since they are
blocked from funneling in funds from outside of Korea.”

“Yes.”

“However, the hedge fund coalition’s funds will not be attacking Korea. It will be the
fear that has spread across East Asia that now Korea has to face. Jonathan, the hedge
funds are creating fear that the creditors will pull out the foreign investments that
are in this country.”

As he imagined the financial crisis from Thailand storming through Asia and, finally,
Korea, Jonathan had become quiet. It would be quite a sight for someone on Wall
Street. Jonathan’s hands were tightly fisted now.

“Sun, you want to stop it? An individual like you? That’s very patriotic, but this is not
my country.”

He shook his head.

“It’s the same for me. People like us, our devotion and love is only for money.”

Jonathan did not sneer or smile, and he silently nodded as he waited for me to speak
the conclusion of this long tale.

“The hedge fund coalition will fight the war, but the day after the war is over, they
will know who has benefited the most. They will be surprised.”
Even if I could be certain that stocks would fall by ten percent tomorrow, the stock
market fluctuates randomly until reaching that point. The market may rise by one
percent before falling by three and rise by two before falling by two. Then, in a
second, the market collapses as investor fear reaches a tipping point. That’s why
trading skills become more important than strategy as the leverage ratio becomes
higher.

(EN: Leverage results from using borrowed capital as a funding source when investing
to expand the firm’s asset base and generate returns on risk capital. Leverage is an
investment strategy of using borrowed money—specifically, the use of various financial
instruments or borrowed capital—to increase the potential return of an investment.
Leverage can also refer to the amount of debt a firm uses to finance assets.)

If the leverage is fiftyfold, if the product value falls by only one percent, the loss
becomes fifty percent. Regardless of the final closing price, even a two percent fall in
value results in one hundred percent loss, which means the entire investment. It’s as
simple and as cruel as that.

The reply I expected from Jonathan came back from America.

-You’re saying to put up the entire four hundred thousand dollars into fiftyfold
leverage? Do you trust me? Or do you not care because it’s not your money?

Fiftyfold leverage means that we will be investing twenty million dollars. Our profit
is fiftyfold, and our loss is also fiftyfold.

However! If the product’s temporary price falls below two percent, the game cannot
be played any longer. It’s called margin call, and the stock exchange will forcibly sell
the product after one ignores the warning. That was the biggest risk of the leverage
effect. But Jonathan was a man who succeeded in having the greatest year of his life
by his trading skills alone, when the hedge fund coalition had suffered in Hong Kong
around October.

(EN: A margin call occurs when the value of an investor’s margin account falls below
the broker’s required amount. An investor’s margin account contains securities bought
with borrowed money (typically a combination of the investor’s own money and money
borrowed from the investor’s broker). A margin call refers specifically to a broker’s
demand that an investor deposit additional money or securities into the account so
that it is brought up to the minimum value, known as the maintenance margin.)

(EN: So if the temporary price falls below $400,000, game over.)

That meant that Jonathan was a man who could survive in those rough waves if he
believed in the trends that I had shown him. My answer had already been decided.

-Believe the trend, and from now, it’s up to you. I’ll be waiting for the good news.

Jonathan could not know that the chance to mobilize fiftyfold leverage for stock
index futures was only now.

***

I met with Jonathan at Gimpo Airport on July fourteenth Saturday. He notified me

that he had to meet me in person and came to Korea. A week had passed from the
ninth to the thirteenth, and he had not contacted me once. Jonathan now came with a
tired face, and he must have come as soon as he could after finishing trading. He
would buy and sell, and do the same process again and again. I knew how hard he
would have worked to maximize profit in a set timeframe. Jonathan must not have
slept a wink, and he seemed tired as he looked for me at the gate.

Our eyes met. He came walking towards me with renewed strength and spoke a
number first.

“Seven hundred.”

“Thank you for working so hard.”

“You’re not even asking me what that is? It’s not a percentage, but I’m talking seven
hundred times. Seven hundred times, two hundred and eighty million dollars!”

Jonathan looked like he had charged a monster and won despite overwhelming odds,
and he hugged me with all his strength. He kept screaming ‘Jackpot! We’re insane!’
and of course, we caught the attention of everyone around us. I bowed to the
approaching airport police and separated myself from Jonathan. He had not been
this excited when he had received a challenger-box level skill from a master box. He
hugged me again with crazy eyes, and I again apologized to the airport police.

Jonathan was going through countless emotions that he had suppressed all week,
and as I dragged him out of the airport, everyone kept staring at us.

“Have you taken care of the positions?”

“Of course! Be happy!”

Jonathan had earned more than I had expected.

“You finished exchanging the money for dollars, right?”

Of course, he would have done so, which means that we had taken out two hundred
and eighty million dollars from Thailand’s foreign currency reserve, which was being
emptied in the first place. Dollars have become more valuable than gold, and our
funds were enough to affect the Thailand currency war. Thailand will surrender to
the hedge fund coalition on coming July second, and the baht will fall on that day.
This was the previous history. History could not change due to our intervention,
which means that Thailand would not surrender earlier. However, two hundred and
eighty million dollars…

“You did well, Jonathan.”

“That’s all?”

“You did better than I expected.”

It was made possible from knowing the trends and being able to bet one’s entire
savings on a thirteen-year-old Asian kid.

“Better than expected? All right, you can say that to me. However!”

Jonathan scratched his head and raised his voice.

“70,000%. It’s an unprecedented earnings rate. We turned four hundred thousand

dollars to two hundred and eighty million dollars. Me! Us! We became major players
with this one shot! I can’t believe this. This… What have we done?”

“You should sleep, Jonathan.”

“The most inexplicable factor is you, Sun. You’re a mystery. My most plausible
explanation that you are the winner of the Chinese Mathematics Olympiad.”

“You’re in Korea, Jonathan. How long had it been since you slept?”

He seemed to have been unable to sleep on the plane.

“I’m already dreaming.”

His red eyes did not move from my face.

“Let’s calm down first.”

I pressed down his shoulders as hard as I could. He did not complain of pain and
looked up at me as he sat down.

“I can’t have a heart attack in front of two hundred and eighty million dollars!”

***

“Mother, I’ll be sleeping at Sungho’s house today. Father’s on a business trip, right?
Lock up tight before going to sleep.”

Sungho was not a name I had made up, and he was one of my closest friends during
my teenage years in my previous life. I would see his face in the same classroom
when I go to school on Monday. I had been genuinely happy to see Sungho, at first,
because he had disappeared since the Day of Reckoning. Like when I saw my
relatives again.

However, I realized that we would never be close again when I met the young
Sungho’s eyes. Actually, I simply couldn’t afford to become his friend, in my second
life. I had come back with a goal, one more important than mere friendship. So, the
Sungho I had spoken to my mother was someone who existed but was an imaginary
friend to me.

I got out of the phone booth and went back to the room. Jonathan had only showered
and had still not slept. Beer cans were everywhere in front of him in that brief
interval.

“Oh, my Sun!”
Jonathan made me laugh by acting like he was greeting a goddess in his shower
gown, which was no mean feat.

“Are you really not sleeping? There’s tomorrow, which is a weekend.”

“We belong to the hedge fund coalition, right?”

“……”

“We became a hedge fund when we made the exchange, with only us as the board! A
hedge fund worth two hundred and eighty million dollars.”

Jonathan was basking in the fact that he had joined the major players in this
currency war. As he had said, there was more meaning since we had succeeded by
using only his capital rather than managing the hot money of big investors.

“We were merely two-bit speculators yesterday, and we’re millionaires today. It’s a
great night.”

“Come here and sit if you’re not going to sleep.”

Jonathan did so gladly.

“Let’s suppose that Thailand brings in a floating exchange rate system.”

(EN: A floating exchange rate is a regime where the currency price of a nation is set by
the forex market based on supply and demand relative to other currencies. This is in
contrast to a fixed exchange rate, in which the government entirely or predominantly
determines the rate.)

Jonathan breathed in, and his eyes changed. He knew that Thailand was basically
surrendering.

“Let’s also suppose that on D-day, we bet all our funds to the highest leverage. There
will be no rallies as the baht falls that day. There will be no stops as it free-falls into
oblivion.”

Jonathan hiccupped and waved his arms.

“You’re betting over two hundred million dollars without a risk hedge? I have never
heard anything more utterly insane until now.”

Jonathan was speaking the truth, as no one had done this ever before. One would
prepare a hedge for the risk in accordance with the fund amount. As Jonathan had
said, if one was not God, no one could estimate tomorrow’s market.

“How much do you think the two hundred million dollars would become?”

“…I have to do that? I can’t. Do you think that the hedge fund coalition would remain
still when two hundred million dollars are bet at the highest leverage for the baht
falling?”

“We have to leave something for them. As I told you before, the war is theirs.”

“If the D-day is wrong, we lose everything. Two hundred, actually no. Two hundred
and eighty million dollars.”

I continued to speak.

“We have to confirm how much we had taken out of the Thailand foreign currency
reserve in percentages.”

“You say it so easily, but it’s not easy to find that out. Impossible, really.”

“Why do you think I said two hundred million dollars? Where would the eighty
million go?”

“…Are you really thirteen?”

“Do you think you can contact the president of the Thailand Central Bank?”

“You’re going to give them eighty million to take a look at their warehouses? Does
that even work?”

It does, as I only need to compare it with the situation on July second that had been
recorded in history.

“Jonathan, go to Thailand. It’s urgent.”

“We’re going to be shot, the president and me. And if they refuse?”
We would lower the leverage and set a date for July first. It would mean a much
lower earnings rate.

“Eighty million dollars for letting us see a piece of paper in secret. Would you refuse?
The eighty million dollars will not go to the president alone.”

“Then who?”

“The president of the Thailand Central Bank is a member of the royal family.”

“That’s even more dangerous!”

“There would have been secret arrangements made, and the royal family must have
guessed that they would lose. If they want to think about the future… they will need
money. They will accept the eighty million dollars.”

Jonathan scratched his head.

“You’re saying that you would be able to estimate by seeing that?”

“Yes.”

The hedge fund coalitions will hold the war, and I will reap the actual benefits.
However, the history of the financial crisis across Asia will not differ all that much.
Since the hedge funds had seen how enticing the spoils of the war had been as they
were taken away in front of their eyes, they would charge all the harder to Malaysia,
Indonesia, Hong Kong, and South Korea.

“Sun!”

Jonathan shouted my name with an expression made from a dozen emotions I could
not name.

“1997 will be the best year of our lives. Let’s bet two hundred million dollars on it.”
The Odin’s Wrath the Sixth Virtue used was actual lightning. Even though he had
been an immature young man despite his powers, in his hands any weapon became
Mjolnir, the myth made real. A mere club struck like a weapon that came out from a
platinum box or above, a sky shattering crack of thunder with every strike. A weak
punch became a hit from the God of Thunder, capable of shattering meters of solid
rock. In the aftermath, after he stormed by, there would be no bodies, human or
monster with intact limbs left. The limbs that looked like an angry beast had bitten
them off and spat them out were burnt, and as they rolled on the ground they
discharged sparks of electricity, left over from the residual charge.

I still was not able to forget. He had gone away after finishing his business, but I
could not recover the kids’ bodies. The blue flames he had left on the ground and in
the air made the place like a burnt down charnel house. That kind of destructive
power lay dormant in the Odin’s Wrath skill.

***

It was early summer in South Korea, and the hotel room was cool thanks to the air
conditioner. However, sweat dropped like rain as I bent down. My entire body was
drenched in sweat, but there was not even the slightest sign of my stats increasing. I
still had some stats I could raise by physical training…

Anyway, I had to prepare until I began conquering the dungeons in earnest.

I made the necessary movements with various imaginary weapons as I imagined

that a F class Guard Dog was in front of me. At the moment I became tired enough so
I could not move, the phone rang.

<Is this Mr. Sunhoo Na? Someone is on the line for you from overseas.>

Thankfully, Jonathan contacted me before I had to return home, and his voice rang
my ears.

<You were right. They acted like they had been waiting for us, so I avoided being
lined up against a wall and shot.>
<So, what’s the percentage?>

< In the early twenties. It’s touch and go.>

By touch and go, Jonathan was not speaking of the current situation Thailand was
facing. He had said that Thailand still possessed more foreign currencies than we
had thought and was starting to doubt the currency war would end with the hedge
fund coalition’s victory. I ended my calculations.

<We agreed on all-in, Jonathan. Do you have any opposition?>

<Wasn’t that over when we gave away eighty bloody million dollars just to see how
much they had?>

<Thank you.>

<One thing is certain. No matter the result, we’re doing something crazy, so I just
hope it’s for the better. So? When is the D-day?>

<It’s July second. The ingredients are the application of the floating exchange rate
system, the maximized fall of the baht, and the highest leverage. Put the spurs to her,
boil them as you wish.>

Our stage had moved from the Thailand stock index futures market to the foreign
exchange future market.

<July second?>

<That’s right.>

I heard Jonathan’s breathing.

<It’s crazy. I can’t even imagine this. If your calculations work, we… You know hedge
funds such as the Dragon Fund->

<That they are Pied Pipers?>

(EN: Like the Pied Piper of Hamelin, leading the horde of rats in search of food. )

If a famous hedge fund like the Dragon Fund attacked a country, they’re inevitably
followed by smaller companies that follow them, like hyenas, fighting each other for
the scraps left over by the Lion. While individually smaller, their total size consisted
of dozens of smaller entities that collectively dwarf the hedge funds that brought
down the big prey. That’s why hedge funds were scary. It was not their capital, but
the hungry pack of investors and banks that followed them. Their relationship was
similar to the one between the Eight Evils and Eight Virtues and the lesser ranked
hunters around the world. A fight between them led to a country’s ruin, brought on
not by the main battle, but the hordes fighting over what’s left.

<Yes, that’s an accurate description. I couldn’t ask for a better one.>

It had to be accurate, as that was the exact term Jonathan had used to describe the
hedge funds whenever he boasted of his best time during 1997 in his past life.

<So, Sun. If your calculations are right, we will harvest all the capital of the
worldwide investment funds at once.>

<Are you saying that you want me to be wrong?>

<I’m saying it’s a problem if you do, as my weak heart won’t be able to stand it.>

<You’re stronger than you think, Jonathan. Don’t be scared by unnecessary

assumptions and prepare for the conquest.>

<Conquest? That’s… an apt word.>

In other words, the fall of the baht on July second, 1997 will mean that I will be able
to monopolize an S class dungeon.

***

July first was the day in history that Hong Kong was returned to China. It was
inevitable that the media would continue to show Hong Kong’s seashores where
celebratory fireworks were exploding. The same clips showed the British Military
Units leaving and the Hong Kong troops of the People’s Liberation Army running to
take their place.

“Son, do you know how Hong Kong became British?”

Father had come home early today, and I heard his voice from behind my back after I
was about to go back to my room after greeting him quietly. His intention was clear,
and I came back to sit on the sofa while Mother came with some cut fruits.

“There’s that Chinese film your mother likes so much.”

“That’s Once Upon a Time in China, right?”

My mother laughed silently as she had loved the film.

“You listen too. Maybe what I say will deepen your interest. The film’s background is
the Opium War, as the Western Imperialist powers began to invade Asia.”

Father began to explain, and he was more passionate about my education than in my
past memories. How the Opium War started, and what had happened before the
Nanjing Treaty was signed, and Hong Kong was ceded. He thought of those
explanations as education. However, history repeated itself. The current version of
the Opium War was again happening in Asia. The Western investment funds will
push dollars instead of opium to weaken a country’s economy and attack the said
country by pouring in their currency instead of cannonballs.

Have I said that history repeats itself? The reason that there had been a terrible civil
war in Asia in the future was not that the Eight Evils and Eight Virtues had clashed
due to their ideologies, but due to an S class dungeon that was in Asia. A member of
the Eight Virtues and those who followed him had been the main players, and their
guild had already been notorious for their pro-western racism. I have no good
memories about them. Therefore, I may have furrowed my brow and let out a sigh. I
lowered my gaze quickly as I met Father’s eyes.

“Hey, if you had to go to the bathroom, say so. Wash and rest.”

Father spoke.

“There was nothing much at work today?”

“Is that something a middle school student would say? Yes, nothing much, kid.”

***

I didn’t even have a beeper, let alone a cell phone. The only way I could communicate
with Jonathan was by email, and it was still quiet. We could transact about ten billion
dollars in foreign exchange with a capital of two hundred million. Even if we wanted
to bet all of it on the baht falling on July second, it was only possible if those in the
opposite position permitted it. I had been waiting for Jonathan’s email because of
this since the baht market was already narrow.

Currency had grades, and if the dollar was an S class, baht was an F class. The baht
traded less than ten billion dollars a day in the foreign exchange futures market. I
was not worried that the baht would fall, but the amount I wanted would not be
finalized. So, what we were going to do was to monopolize the position that the baht
will fall tomorrow.

I kept refreshing the page, and I had been clicking every hour, but the intervals
became shorter from thirty minutes to ten minutes. My eyes widened when
Jonathan’s email came in the empty mailbox. I had to say that the speed I clicked my
mouse was as fast as lightning right then.

The email had no title, and there was only one sentence. However, it made me stand
up after kicking my chair.

-Preparations for conquest complete.

It had been a long time since I had heard those words. My fists tightened until my
nails bit into my palm. I felt like that time I went into the dungeon with a bag full of
supplies. We had thrown ourselves into the dungeon despite no one being certain we
would survive.

However, this time it was different. While my heart started to beat as I had gone into
a dungeon, the cause was different. I was certain I would succeed despite not putting
my life on the line. I would not feel the emptiness one felt when the points one
gained with hard work became useless due to luck! No language could describe that
emotion.

Now, a box was in front of me again, and I knew what would come out of it. An
astronomical amount of dollars! The only thing I had to do was wait. We
monopolized tomorrow!

-Thank you. I’ll decide when we will liquidate.

I replied to Jonathan. Was it because my infancy had been comfortable? Has peace
become a habit? While it has been less than a year since I returned, subjectively, my
past life, which I had lived out intensely, seemed to be something a long time ago. So,
I recited Jonathan’s email, over and over to myself, so I would not lose my
determination to fulfill my goals.

-Preparations for conquest complete.

The power of money! In my past life, Jonathan and I had agreed that the power of
finance was an SSS class skill, since financiers like Jonathan and me were the love
childs of 21st century capitalism. However, the beneficiaries of the New World, the
Awakened, were at the position of criticizing that notion, but had not.

Money… While I had never participated in elementary school class, (in either of my
lives) I could not concentrate on the male teacher’s words at the lecture desk, even
more so today. I felt that the sound of the clock ticking was deafening, and as the
minute hand and the hour hand overlap, it was noon in Korea, which meant that it
was ten o’clock in the morning in Thailand. The Thailand Central Bank is planning to
announce that it will carry out the floating exchange rate system in thirty minutes.
That’s when things will begin.

According to the previous history, the Singapore foreign exchange market, where the
baht is transacted the most, is shocked and the widespread terror is like it had
received a nuclear attack. It was the day the guilds, I mean groups, who had bet that
Thailand would surrender, will see heaven. The groups that bet on Thailand
surrendering in mid-July and those that had bet on Thailand winning would fall into
hell. However, due to my aggressive intervention, those who had bet on the baht
falling TODAY were just us and a small number of investors whose position we had
been unable to take away. All others were tied to the baht rising, so we were waiting
for the bomb to fall.

It was twelve-thirty, and the fourth period had ended. The Thailand Central Bank
president came out for a press conference at lunchtime, that time of the day most
loved by elementary students. I stood up to go to the teacher’s room. As always,
when I moved, the students’ eyes focused on me and looked away.

I could not remember the young woman who was my homeroom teacher even after
returning, and I should have if she looked as cute as she did. She gave the impression
of being a cute puppy, and her head just reached my shoulder. She looked up from
where she was sitting.

“Sunhoo, you seem to get taller each time I see you. How tall are you now?”
I was over six feet and simply nodded instead of speaking.

“I need to leave school early because I feel unwell.”

The woman blinked.

“You probably feel better than me.”

However, she was not hostile, as I was a student who did not cause problems in spite
of my physique and got good grades. She seemed to remember that it was the first
time she had heard my voice in a full sentence. She thought things over for a moment
and waved her hand.

“Go.”

“Thank you.”

“But Sunhoo.”

“Yes.”

“I know that it won’t happen, but no one is bothering you, right? The reason I’m
saying this is that you seem to be alone all the time.”

“…My personality is like this, and I’m more comfortable alone. Thank you for caring,
teacher.”

“You even speak like an adult. Go to a hospital and see you tomorrow.”

The young teacher’s gaze was fixed on me even as I went out of the teacher’s room.
She seemed to be deeply interested, and I didn’t understand why…

***

The sound of the PC accessing the internet through a modem sounded loud since my
house was empty. While the phone bill for last month was over one hundred and fifty
thousand won (EN: Over a hundred dollars), my parents had not said anything. After I
skipped the tutorial and came to this period, I was already a son like that. For
example, I was always smiling in the picture albums, but my parents knew that I was
smiling for the sake of them. I was always expressionless whenever someone took a
picture without me noticing them, and the background was almost always a field
filled with exercise equipment, including pull-up bars.

The pictures that were taken without me noticing were usually when I was
exercising. Of course, my parents had taken them, and I could feel why they had
taken those pictures. I was a lot bigger than those my age, and my mental growth
was the same. I was quiet and serious on all accounts. As my homeroom teacher had
let me go with only a few words, my parents did not scold me with a communication
expense of over one hundred and fifty thousand won, even if that was quite an
amount for our family during this time. Anyway, the internet via PC communication
was always slow. The speed with which I could access the Singapore foreign
exchange site and the lag on the GOL messenger I used to communicate with
Jonathan was excruciating. The Singapore foreign exchange site, which should be the
fastest, was even slower than the messenger serviced from America. Too much traffic
so I received the message first.

-J: Sun!

-N: It’s me. (EN: Sunhoo is his family name, N = Na his given name.)

-J: Tell me your full name.

-N: I like you being careful. It’s me, Sunhoo Na. Has the announcement been made?

-J: It has.

-N: How is our position ratio?

-J: 70% on 34 baht, 15% on 32, and 15% on 30.

-N: The average is 33 baht.

-J: Right.

-J: The foreign exchange information site has shut down, so I can’t check the market
price. Have we come to our price range by now?

Jonathan suddenly became quiet, and I had tried to keep calm. I had consoled myself
that anyone could earn the money when knowing past trends. However, I was at my
limit. I tapped each letter with shaking fingers, and the silent Jonathan made my
heart beat faster.

-N: Jonathan?

Jonathan must be losing his mind. He tapped a few illegible words, and finally, a
coherent sentence.

-J: It’s 30 baht now. Our earning rate before liquidation is at 300, which is 60 billion
dollars.

Jonathan changed his attitude like an analyst who was reporting to his superior. It
seemed this was his method to TRY to calm down his emotions. While there have
been times people got this earning rate with small funds, we had bet about ten
billion using fiftyfold leverage from two hundred million dollars. As Jonathan had
said, it was crazy and something that could not be done unless one knew the future.

-N: We’ll be doing this until the market closes.

-J: The resistance from the opposition positions, whom we had raided from, is fierce.
I advise ending things now to confirm profit.

-N: As agreed in advance, I will decide the timing. You do not have to worry about the
resistance from the opposite side. The situation has become one-sided from today’s
announcement.

The decline would not stop until the market ended, and those resisting were not
acknowledging their defeat and loss. If this were about whose passion was bigger,
they would have some hope. However, as Thailand had announced their surrender,
there was no chance of emotion being a factor.

History was moving on. The difference was that I should be in school, listening to a
class lecture instead of trying to calm a fast-beating heart.

***

It would be some trillions of won. I realized that I would have an astronomical

amount of money now, and the numbers rang in my head. While I had never touched
this much money, I felt realization creeping up just by imagining the figure. While I
washed my face with cold water multiple times, I still felt the heat on my face.
Jonathan sent me a message every time the baht fell by 0.1. The messenger was
quiet, but the numbers rang louder than anything else.

-J: 29 baht.

-J: 28.9 baht.

-J: 28.8 baht.

It was fortunate that we were separated since I knew the answers, unlike when I had
opened boxes. If I had been with Jonathan, our excitement would have gone past the
limit, and I might have spoken of future plans like a drug addict. Even as I wanted to
believe that I would not do anything that stupid, no one knew what would happen in
front of such crazy excitement. I had seen things like that happen many times, and I
also had experienced such emotions. That was why I kept repressing myself and
tried not to think about the amount.

Damn. My life was not on the line, and I only had to receive the results. Why do my
hands shake this bad? I clenched my fists as hard as I could and opened it. It worked
a little.

-N: Start to close.

The Hedge Funds Coalition, desperate for the baht to fall, possesses only a small
portion of the futures market because obviously it was impossible for them to be
certain that they would win. If the coalition were absolutely certain of their victory,
there is no doubt that they would have massively increased their share of the futures
market where they could make a profit tens and hundreds of times more than their
investment. The futures market functions to disperse the risks in the spot market.

(EN: A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people
can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange.[1] Futures contracts
are derivatives contracts to buy or sell specific quantities of a commodity or financial
instrument at a specified price with delivery set at a specified time in the future.)

(EN: The spot market or cash market is a public financial market in which financial
instruments or commodities are traded for immediate delivery. It contrasts with a
futures market, in which delivery is due at a later date.)

The Hedge Fund Coalition’s main stage was, in the end, the spot market in the baht
war, and the futures market was only used for risk management, as one of the many
strategies.

Did they not believe in themselves? Of course not. It’s because the Hedge Funds
manage billions of dollars, and the money is coming from a small number of the
super rich. Using fiftyfold leverage is to take on a fiftyfold risk, and no fund would
risk billions of dollars like that. Such a fund is a group of swindlers, and no one
would blame them for being thrown into a bottomless pit.

However, that was exactly what we were doing now.

***

God only knows what tomorrow’s market price will be. No one had ever proceeded
with a ten billion dollar transaction with a fiftyfold risk, and of course, no such bet
had ever won!

Our massive profit was a problem, since it might become a historical incident that
could be used as justification to freeze the Thai futures market itself. This was
because the baht market was small and limited.

-N: Jonathan?

The futures market was a zero-sum game, as someone must lose when someone
wins. That also meant that the opposition had to accept the transactions in order for
losses and profits to happen. Jonathan could not answer, as he would feel that ten
copies of him would not be enough.

While he probably had not slept a wink to monopolize a position that amounted to
ten billion dollars, to liquidate them he would be so busy he wouldn’t be able to use
even the restroom.

The foreign exchange information site restarted again after being frozen.

“Umm?”

The Singapore exchange rate was rising, and the graph measured by ticks was
already steep. The situation was different from history. While the rate originally fell
without any recoil, after repeating ups and downs, the trend was now on the rise at
the end.

The spot market and the futures market were going in opposite directions—29 baht,
29.5 baht, 30 baht. The baht was dramatically rising up! We would only make a profit
when the baht fell down.

-J: The market mood changed due to our mass liquidation. I’m on it.

An urgent sentence came upon the chatting window.

-N: I apologize and won’t bother you. Please focus.

The chat was at a standstill for a long time. The meaning of us suddenly organizing
our positions translates to ‘it is not expected the baht will fall, and it will change to
an uptrend.’ It was true that our mass liquidation was changing the market mood,
but it was not that problematic.

Thailand applying the floating exchange rate means that they have given up on
defending the baht currency, and while no one knew how long it would last, I would
bet my life that the baht will fall. Such a thing was clearly evident to anyone who has
a little bit of financial knowledge, and our dealers were the global elite,
professionally successful and famous investors. Their eyes would be hungry for the
money they had lost in front of their eyes.

And it happened as I expected, as the trend changed to the baht falling again. The
baht had sharply risen to 33, but now dropped to 30. However, the speed was crazy,
as it did not take even five minutes for the baht to fall back to 30 after rising again to
31. I could feel the attention of investors worldwide gathered around here, and I
could not even guess how much money was passing hands now.

-J: Liquidation 80% complete and advise that the remaining 20% be held until the
expiry date.

I knew why Jonathan wanted to hold off on the last 20%. Completely liquidating our
position when everyone was absolutely certain that the baht would fall was idiotic.

-N: I understand your meaning but proceed as agreed.

The money we were earning was from their pockets. We needed to give the investors
a chance to make up some of their losses, so history would not diverge too much, and
the battlefield would change.

-J: The baht at 30 is stabilized, and risks have decreased.

-N: No, Jonathan, the battle is over, and only the feast for hyenas remain. Liquidate all
positions immediately and come to Korea on the weekend. The battlefield will
change soon.

***

Despite having said that, I knew that Jonathan would not wait until the weekend. As
he had in the second week of May, he came over the next day after confirming our
profit. I also went straight to Gimpo Airport right after my classes were over.

“The Thailand baht fell to a record low rate due to the Central Bank announcing the
application of the floating exchange rate system yesterday, and the baht was
transacted at 30.40 baht per dollar. There is a sense of crisis all over Southeast Asia
due to the fall of the baht…”
Yesterday’s news was mentioned on the television installed in the airport. History
had dramatically changed. Originally, it had been 28.40 baht per dollar after a 16%
fall, but there was now a huge difference of 2 baht. A 0.1% difference in exchange
rates and interest rates was higher than the sky and earth in the financial world.
Another reason why we should not deal with Thailand again was added.

“Sun…”

Jonathan approached me in an even worse condition than the second week of May.
He looked like he had participated in endless battles where he had bet his life and
actually looked about ten years older.

When we had conquered dungeons together, he had been an old beast that had only
malice left in him. He never fluctuated between hope and fears and only ran for
points that would allow him to open a challenger box. Therefore, Jonathan had been
a man who prepared for tomorrow even when he gained a great profit rather than
basking in immediate joy.

I had never seen him so completely tired before.

“……”

“……”

We started to stare at each other without speaking, and I moved first. The restaurant
we had our first meeting in was still unpopular like it had been then, and Jonathan’s
footsteps sounded heavy as we headed there.

The reason we could not find words to speak easily was evident because we had no
words to describe what was happening to us.

Jonathan sat on my opposite side, and since both of his arms were clearly shaking,
my eyes wandered toward them. However, Jonathan was not the only one doing so,
as the water in the cup I was holding was also making ripples. I swallowed the water
in a gulp and set the cup down.

The sound the cup made on contact with the table functioned as a sign, and Jonathan
started to lay down the documents on the surface. They were past transaction
records and the final profit in our accounts. The transaction records themselves
would make a thick book.
I saw only then that Jonathan’s fingernails were ruined, and his forefingers that
would have pressed the buttons were even more so.

“During the… liquidation… process, the… estimated profit… decreased.”

Jonathan’s voice was shaking as he spoke, and he now clenched his teeth to get a
hold of himself. Jonathan looked like he was waiting until he calmed down. My
insides also shook until Jonathan confirmed the liquidation amount with his words.

“That was inevitable.”

My heart was going crazy as it would burst out of my skin.

“The final liquidation amount is… fifty billion dollars!”

Ah! While I had made a guess, my breath stopped when Jonathan confirmed that
amount. We had hit the jackpot, and it was a different sensation from when I had
been lucky in opening a box.

I had felt bliss enough yesterday, and then what did this tremor mean? The emotion
overwhelming my body at the moment was similar to when I had met a boss
monster alone. I had been unable to think of anything as my entire body shook. Yes,
it was like that time, but…

An Awakened needed to be able to observe their own emotions and their body’s
state objectively. You could die in the dungeons by being unable to control your
emotions, particularly if your emotions have an external source.

Then what was this feeling coming over me now? Fear or joy? Why was my body
shaking? Come to think of it, was not a potential S class ability more valuable than
fifty billion dollars? I had not been this shaken then.

Yes, that was it. While Jonathan could not know, fifty billion dollars only meant the
beginning. I only had used two opportunities out of the many that lay ahead of me.
Knowing what would come tomorrow was this amazing, and people saying that it
was like being God to know what would be tomorrow’s market price was correct.

The best thing that could have come out of the challenger box, which was the
greatest of all boxes, was a chance to travel back in time. It was on the verge of being
a God! So this shudder would be the greatest joy I could feel, and I finally felt that I
had come back in time now.

***

“Are you all right?”

Jonathan asked me, and I nodded.

“Fifty billion dollars.”

Jonathan mumbled as he understood.

“Jonathan, we have to come to our senses and start working. The Asian financial
crisis is only beginning.”

“Ah…”

“Maintain your health well. We will not be entering Malaysia and Indonesia.”

Jonathan looked at me with aware eyes as I mentioned my plans for the future. He
did not ask why we would not enter those two markets. That may mean he had
complete faith in me now or had understood that the foreign exchange markets of
those two countries were not big enough for our intervention. We had grown that
big.

“We will enter Hong Kong soon.”

I knew that Jonathan was most confident in the Hong Kong foreign exchange market,
and his eyes glistened with a different excitement than before.

“I have a few things I need to ask of you.”

“Anything.”

Jonathan spoke like he would take his heart out if I asked him to.

“I need to buy some land in Korea.”

“You’re going to pay out a dividend?”

“No, even if I have a 51% share, it would be difficult to pay the profits to a Korean
minor.”

“I can do it if necessary.”

“The funds will be tracked. Jonathan, you must have realized it by now, but I do not
like attention, especially in my country.”

Jonathan started to say something but closed his mouth.

“My parents do not know what we are doing. I’m not meeting you but playing
basketball with some classmates right now. Can you understand if I say it like this?”

“Sun, you’re something. But you’re right, it is true that you would receive a lot of
attention. It’s not just your country. However, being famous would help us, and
actually is necessary.”

“Jonathan Investments, that’s our company’s name. Your name is listed as the CEO.”

Jonathan seemed to have understood my meaning, and he mulled things over after
scratching his head. The food we ordered arrived as he made a decision, and I could
smell the steak now after reading his emotions.

“Can I do that? I have to acknowledge you even if I did not want to. You did the
planning, and I did the trading, but even juniors can do trading with a rigged game.
What I’m saying is that your directions were everything.”

Jonathan of the future and the one here were two clearly different people, but one
thing remained the same. He had a conscience that was rare among Wall Street
elites, as he had not lost it even when I knew him in my other life, that shell of a
human being, driven only by revenge. That was why we could become comrades, and
I looked at him again.
“You can have all the fame that comes to Jonathan Investments. Think of it as
payment for using your name and me having more shares.”

Jonathan hesitated, but no one in Wall street would refuse fame. A famous celebrity’s
words held power to change the stock prices of a company. Then, what about
someone who was one of the pillars in the financial world? There was a reason
people said that earning money was low class and earning fame was high class.

“About the land in this country.”

“…Are you really all right with that, Sun?”

“That conversation is done. Anyway, there is no way to buy land in this country
under our company’s name. Foreigners and foreign firms are fundamentally blocked
from buying real estate here.”

“For now?”

“If the financial crisis comes to this country, the real estate market will open.”

Since the country would need dollars, I would be able to manipulate the laws.
Jonathan stared at me as I explained to him the next step. He was not touching his
steak, and me saying to eat before the food gets cold seemed useless.

“Sun, I now do not question your assertion that your country will go through a
foreign exchange crisis. However, I want you to clarify your intentions. It was only
twice, but you succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams in two fields, the stock
index futures and the foreign exchange market. But now, real estate?”

“Jonathan, real estate is only a small part. We’re going to participate in any market
we could make a profit.”

My words caused a stir in Jonathan’s eyes, and his pupils held me with a frightened
expression. His eyes asked, how much from here, and to what extent. Was fifty billion
dollars not enough for me? His surprise was turning to astonishment, and I may have
seemed to him to be a devil at this moment.

I had to ensnare him before he ran away in fear.

“I know that I’m a bit greedy and smart.”

I even smiled, but Jonathan’s expression remained stony as he grew serious. I waited
until he opened his mouth. A heavy silence filled the room, and the restaurant’s
classical music changed the tune a number of times.

“Sun, you and I, we’ll be fine, right?”

“Why, do you think I’ll eat you up? I’m just greedy. How can I not be when a chance to
earn money is in front of me? It would be unnatural not to grab that opportunity.”

“But you…”

“I’m thirteen, but do you see me as that age? It’s only a number written on
documents. Forget my age, since you have to consider me as an equal colleague for
us to work together.”

“I’m not saying that. I’m saying that… you’re special.”

“As I said, I know that. But that’s not a reason to be scared of me.”

My words seemed to have hit the spot as Jonathan swept back his hair with a rigid
face.

“You acknowledge that you scare people?”

“Of course. I made four hundred thousand dollars into fifty billion in two months
with two calculations. What could be scarier than that in a capitalist society?”

“I know that it wasn’t luck. You’ll go farther in the future. I can’t imagine how much
you’ll earn.”

I expected Jonathan’s shock, as he had been holding things in for a while.

“Let’s cut to the chase. Jonathan, will you continue to work with me? As an equal
colleague and not as the puppet of an Asian genius kid. If so, please eat. You’re more
nervous than usual now.

***

I ate my steak, as proficient with knife and fork as an American, and empty dishes
piled up in front of Jonathan. His expression lost its rigidness when he really could
not eat anything more. People needed to eat first, and when we entered dungeons,
most of the supplies we prepared had been food.

“Divide the company, using my shares as collateral. If you want to, you can invest in
as many common shares as you want.”

“Right now?”

“I’m saying that we should start preparing slowly.”

“I understand what you’re saying. How and how much exactly are you thinking about
when saying division?”

“The more complicated the structure, the better. I want us, as the original owners to
be undiscoverable. Aren’t there people who do such things?”

“There are.”

“The structure has to be confusing enough, so even they do not know what they’re
handling, which means that you’ll have to go through many firms.”

“You’re saying we should create hundreds of paper companies. It’s definitely not my
area. What’s the reason for going so far?”

“Fifty billion dollars draws too much attention. What will happen if the funds go
above five trillion?”

Jonathan did not say I was crazy, and he seemed to have decided to think of money
only as numbers after making his choice.

“Of course, I’m only making a joke.”

I said in a joking tone, and Jonathan did not think of my words as one and asked a
question. Of course, I had not been making a joke…

“Can we control that? Sun, I know that you’re a genius, but we’re only two.”

“We will get busier until we create an organization and have capable personnel.
Everything begins with dividing the company. As you have said, with layers of paper
companies underneath us.”
“I’m helping to plan the biggest heist imaginable.”

Jonathan smiled faintly, and he seemed to have regained enough control to see the
humor in the situation.

“You overexerted yourself. We will form a task force when entering Hong Kong. Do
not worry about their abilities, but only their trustworthiness and loyalty.”

“You don’t care about their abilities?”

“Yes.”

“…Then, there are some friends I know.”

“We’ll bring them in as the main team of the taskforce and fill in the other positions.”

“If we bring in results from Hong Kong, let’s takeover two medium investment firms.
For example, the Wolf firm, where you worked.”

Jonathan let out a joyful scream, and from the way he quickly shut his mouth, it
happened without him realizing it.

“You said to maintain my health until August?”

“That’s why you have to start finding people. Give them as much as you need, and I’ll
leave everything up to you. Bring in the best and make agreements with outside
operators if necessary.”

“Agreements? Money will triumph over loyalty.”

“That’s what I’m saying. Bring them with twice, three times the usual pay, like Jeffrey
Kay.”

“You… know everything.”

Jeffrey Kay, the firm hunter. His name was respected in the M&A field, and he was
also famous for having the highest annual income in his field. (EN: Mergers and
acquisitions (M&A) is a general term used to describe the consolidation of companies
or assets through various types of financial transactions, including mergers,
acquisitions, consolidations, tender offers, purchase of assets, and management
acquisitions.)

“He would save us money, but do not allow him access to how our company works.”

“Since we’re going to separate it?”

“His use is only for takeovers.”

“You’re speaking of something from my dreams, like saying that Jeffrey will work
under me.”

To be more exact, Jeffery would think that he was hired by an investment firm with
fifty billion dollars in funds.

“Once you finish dividing our company, I want one of them to be named Jeonil and
have it entered in this country. With that firm, I’ll start purchasing things here.”

“What’s the name for?”

“It’s my father’s name.”

“Will you tell your parents? Shouldn’t they know?”

“Of course, I’ll make sure they live comfortably. I’ll tell them when the time is right.
And Jonathan.”

“Yes.”

“Let’s work hard now so we won’t be swallowed up and spoiled by our money. Then,
won’t all the wealth in this world be ours?”

While Jonathan’s body had been weary and his spirit almost broken down when he
came to Korea, he was smiling as he left. We had built trust. I will buy the dungeon
and conquer it after the foreign exchange crisis when the real estate market would
be open to foreigners.

The Aliens Landownership Law would be completely revised in May 1998, but things
would speed up. I will intervene.
Yesterday, Ulsan became a metropolitan city from a former Company Town, after Sia
Motors Corporation went into default. I was in a boxing gym the next day. As my left
arm whipped back, my right punch hit the sandbag. (EN: Default is the failure to
repay a debt including interest or principal on a loan or security. A default can occur
when a borrower is unable to make timely payments, misses payments, or avoids or
stops making payments… Default risks are often calculated well in advance by
creditors.)

The sandbag violently rippled, and I was satisfied with the sound the punch made.
The entire gym suddenly went silent, and everyone exercising was looking at me.
The manager approached me.

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but are a pro? Who’s your coach?”

“I am not with any gyms.”

“Do you have a license?”

“No.”

“Are you twenty-one?”

The manager did not suspect a thing, and even I saw that my physique was that of
someone in his early twenties. Of course, it could not be helped that my face looked
younger. I nodded to maintain my disguise.

“That’s perfect!”

As the manager beamed, I shook my head.

“Exercise is a hobby for me.”

“Your talent is stunning. Hit the sandbag again, and let’s see the weight.”

The manager went behind the sandbag and hugged it. He tapped where I should hit
it with his palm, the manager’s response had been inevitable.

[Power: F (20)]

[Senses: F (20)]

My stats were near the initial stats of professional athletes. I could move fluidly and
accurately like those who have been trained.

I did as he wanted, and the manager smiled after feeling the weight being punched
into the sandbag. The manager called a young man, who was someone the gym was
raising as a professional. He told me to spar, and I did not refuse. The reason I came
to this gym had been for this.

***

“Damn!”

The young man could not control his anger and screamed right after spitting out his
mouthpiece. The eyes that glared at me were fierce as he shook with anger.

It was something unimaginable in the future. An ordinary man against an awakened?

It was the same for fights between the awakened. Except for comrades who trusted
each other, taunting another awakened like that was clearly asking for a fight until
death.

No country’s law nor military force would not intervene in that battle. The young
man was lucky. Blood was coming out of the ripped glove, and he had to go down
from the ring to stop the flow.

“Manager.”

I also spat out the mouthpiece. The manager spoke like he had been waiting.

“Hey! Hey! You don’t need to go anywhere, right?”

“Are there any others? I’m barely warmed up.”

“Gichan, go up!”
“Yes!”

A new guy called Gichan prepared to enter the ring. He glanced at me as he put the
boxing head guard on and bit into a mouthpiece. His gaze was somewhat familiar
because hunters looked at guild members from other countries like that. I was a
stranger here, too.

The bell rang, and the new guy was slightly better than the previous one. However,
he was still at an amateur level, and the only thing I could compliment was that he
endured the pain when I accurately hit him in the stomach. However, his movements
slowed from then and allowed me to dominate.

The feeling of hitting something was not welcome because I was too weak, compared
to the Awakened I remember being. Even as I gave the punch my all, he did not
immediately go down. Gichan stumbled and leaned against the corner.

“Gichan, come down!”

The manager shouted.

“I can go on.”

“What are you talking about?”

The manager came up to the ring and sent Gichan down, and began to prepare
himself. I didn’t stop him. While the trophies in the showcase were won by the
athletes affiliated with the gym, the old picture hanging at the most visible spot in
the gym depicted a young man in a fighting pose. He had to be the manager, and the
younger version had a champion belt around his waist. Even if he had retired, the
manager and previous champion were better than mediocre amateurs.

After allowing a few of the manager’s punches in my face, memories of my first

training when I had been an E class flashed by. I had done that training with eight
other E classes.

I took a clean hit, and I felt blood in my mouth even while biting the mouthpiece. The
manager was going on full force, and he let the muscle memories in his body do their
thing.

While his power and reaction speed were not like his professional days, his expertise
and skill were not lost despite the time. The manager knew that he could not face me
without giving his best, and his smiling eyes turned firm. I threw an uppercut under
his chin.

There were many ways to take the manager down when I found a gap in his defense,
such as a kick, elbow slam, tackle, and striking inside the fold of his joints. However, I
had to follow the rules of boxing since I was at a boxing gym. With a loud thud, the
manager staggered. I distanced myself and moved to the corner of the ring. The
manager acknowledged the situation.

“Hey! What was your name?”

“It’s Jungho. Jungho Kim.” (EN: Yep, an alias.)

“Jungho, let’s go for the Rookie of the Year Award! You said you don’t have a license.
You can do this! Right?”

“…Is there anyone else?”

“What?”

“Someone who took the Rookie title, or a pro. I still need some more training.”

“I see you have stamina! I know you’re strong, but how about stopping there? You’re
rushing things.”

“I’m sorry.”

“What are you talking about this being a hobby when you’re that enthusiastic? I’ll set
you up with another if you’re going to take boxing seriously!”

It was then a young man who had been standing quietly at a corner of the gym came
up. He was wearing black and had been watching us spar after stopping his workout.

“Manager, let me do it. We’re about the same size, and he hasn’t had boxing training.
You know that. Letting him go like this is embarrassing for us.”

He had a sharp eye since he was right, I had never received boxing training.

“You said you’re Jungho, right? How about going up with me?”
The man did not wait for my answer and started to wrap his hands. The manager did
not stop him, and he came up where the manager had been standing. I looked at him,
and he smiled as he spoke.

“I’m a pro, and because of what you said, I’ll go a bit hard on you.”

“Yes.”

“How long have you been boxing?”

“I’m a beginner doing jump ropes.”

“Your boxing skills show that, and you were filling that gap with other skills.”

“Are you ready?”

“Let’s go on slowly. I’m not going anywhere. You should take a breath since I don’t
want to hear any excuses.”

He was right, and my breathing was rough after taking on the manager for three
rounds. I nodded after my breathing calmed down, and no one was doing their own
workout in the gym by then.

Everyone gathered around the ring as an audience. From what they were saying, he
fulfilled the conditions as I had asked for, as he was a pro boxer in the light
heavyweight class. (EN: Between middleweight and heavyweight.)

His name was Daesoo Park, and he was quite well known in the boxing world.

I had three reasons for coming to the gym. The first was to confirm when the title
‘Adversity Overcomer’ became effective. The second was to try to train for combat
with my currently lowered stats, as all my battle skills are from my past life, as an
Awakened. The third was to secure the stats that I could raise by merely training to
my limits. Unless I prepared for everything, I could not even look oward where the
dungeon was.

However, as a light heavyweight boxer hammered punches on my face and stomach, I

could not ignore the anger that came from deep inside. He latched onto me, and we
grabbed each other’s necks as our breathing grew hot and rough.
We went back to our corners as the bell rang in the gym. The people gathered could
not hide their surprise when I went against the manager. However, after I fought in
the fourth round against a pro boxer, they began to cheer at my punches.

Some of the new members looked like they were rooting for me. Someone gave me a
towel to wipe my sweat, and as I wiped the sweat off, I mumbled just in case in a
faint voice no one could overhear.

“Status window.”

[Name: Sunhoo Na. Stamina: F (2) Power: F (20) Agility: F (13) Senses: F (21)
Accumulated points: 87]

Oh! My senses had increased by one. The spar had been fierce like an actual fight,
and that was why I must not have seen this message.

[Your senses have increased by 1.]

***

“Daesoo, you’re not going soft on him, right?”

“That kid… where did he come from? You hit the jackpot today, Manager.”

“Hahaha.”

“Don’t laugh when I’m dying here.”

“You can’t lose, though.”

“Don’t say that. I have to save face as a pro.”

However, Daesoo thought that it would be difficult even as he forced himself to smile.
Daesoo stood up as he tapped his head with both of his gloved hands. His eyes grew
cold as he stared down at Sunhoo.

“You’ll see me at my best. Don’t blame me for this.”

The bell in the gym rang, and the fifth round started. The Daesoo Park’s mood had
changed, and now his punches were fewer, and started adjusting the distance
between us more. He was saving his stamina by withholding unnecessary
movements, but he can’t trick me. The pro was actually going for it in this round. He
was waiting for me to come in like a hunter who had set traps for monsters and was
patiently waiting in the blind.

I went in while knowing his intentions as I swung a clearly visible punch. Since I
confirmed that I still had stats left over that I could raise through physical training, it
was time to work on my next objective.

When his punch hit my chin, my sight turned black. My gaze was turned sideways as
I opened my eyes. I saw the audience as a blur, and my legs were shaking, and I could
not get my strength back immediately. I managed not to fall as I went back into the
corner, but Daesoo Park latched on to me.

Giving a pro my chin when I was weak had been more dangerous than I had
anticipated. While my goal had been confirming under which conditions ‘The Man
Who Overcome Adversity’ would come into effect, my reflexes and instincts
accumulated at the brink of death did not allow me to be beaten by him so easily.

When I came to my senses, I shielded my face and body using my gloves as shields. I
was waiting for a moment to counterattack.

His punches were swinging in, and I saw an instant between my gloves that were
shielding my face, a gap where I could punch him at the chin. My entire body witched
like ants were crawling all over me, and I wanted to teach him a lesson. I even
wanted to punish him for his temerity by using my ability. I thought of the skill
Odin’s Wrath.

When Odin’s Wrath manifests into this world, his entire face would burn beyond
endurance. Parts of his face would crumble into ash or explode as the water in his
facial muscles are instantly superheated into steam. Black burnt flesh would splatter
everywhere, and dancing blue flames would spring up as if a demon was laughing.
His headless corpse would fall twitching and spasming, as the residual electrical
charges in his nervous system dissipated. It would be a horror unleashed in this
peaceful world.

I tasted something sick in my mouth. While my sight was blurry, I knew that my
balance had been destroyed. One became weak mentally when one’s body became
weak. My eyes turned cold, and I saw my comrades who lost their minds to anger,
rage or despair and fell under mental oppression. I heard their screams in my mind.
The good thing was that things like that could not happen in this ring. (EN: Yep, Sun
has PTSD. Pretty intense too.)

“Stand up.”

I heard an angry voice over my head, and I sat up. Why wasn’t the title coming up? I
almost fainted for a moment.

“I said, stand up!”

“Daesoo, you’ll murder him!”

I heard the manager’s voice, and their voices became clearer, and my sight returned.

“You can do more. Right? Jungho?”

He was about to force me to stand up, and he had a sharp eye. I nodded and showed
the manager who was coming up the ring that I refused to go down. The manager
looked worried, but the audience became wild.

Daesoo waited with eyes that said you had started this, and he returned to the center
of the ring and posed. While I also prepared to fight again, my breath was rough, and
I felt that rocks had been placed on my chest, suffocating me. He also looked like he
was tired, but his eyes were sharper than before. They were saying that he would
resolve his anger as much as he could before going down. I could only stand in the
face of his wrath.

It was inevitable since I had deliberately let a pro hit my chin twice with stats of an F
class, which was on the level of an ordinary individual. Everything was relative, and
while the punches coming now were slower and weaker, they were stronger and
more threatening.
I had this coming to me as his eyes said, and if I had faced him in the usual manner, I
would not have been driven to a corner like this. His punches landed everywhere
with loud thuds.

I already could not strengthen my stomach, and I clenched my teeth to prepare for
the next as he punched my abdomen.

My back bent with sharp pain, and his gloves filled my eyes. My head was wrenched
without mercy a few times, and I thought that I felt something so very familiar in my
mouth. It was the taste of blood.

I could not feel the mouthpiece that had been inside my mouth, and it had been
knocked away without my knowing.

“Stop! Hey! Are you trying to kill him?”

The manager’s voice was faint, like he was talking a hundred feet behind me. I did
not hear the rest of his sentence because I had allowed a punch to hit me right on the
face. I knew that it was enough to knock me unconscious the moment I felt it.
However, the feeling of falling into an abyss was gone in an instant, and my eyes
opened easily, and I felt strength return to me.

[‘The Man Who Overcome Adversity’ has been activated.]

I saw a message in front of me.

[Your stamina level has changed. Change: F -> E]

[Your power level has changed. Change: F -> E]

[Your agility level has changed. Change: F -> E]

[Your sense level has changed. Change: F -> E]

[Your Odin’s Wrath level has changed. Change: F -> E]

[Your wounds will heal by a little.]

[You will not feel pain for a while.]

I had to be unable to fight for the Adversity Overcomer to kick in.

***

The manager came running into the ring, and some of the audience came with him.
Chaos ensued for a while.

“Are you crazy? That was unnecessary!”

The manager blew up at him, and he was staring at me. It was a spar without
headgears, and while I did not know how bad my face was, the manager and the
audience’s response gave me an estimate. Daesoo looked belated after some of his
anger lessened.

I stood up and felt that some of my injuries were healed a bit. My heart was now just
pumping wildly when I had thought it would explode before.

“I’m all right.”

Rough breaths and blood sprayed out with each word, and the ring floor around me
was a mess with my blood.

“You rang it three times. There’s one more round left.” Someone said, eager to see the
fight continue.

“I’m sorry, I must have gone crazy…”

Daesoo was not a bad person, and I just had touched a nerve in him as a professional
boxer, by deliberately letting his punches land.

“What are you talking about! Daesoo! Take him to the hospital! How can you make a
kid like that… Do you feel anything broken anywhere?”

I had to admit that the fight was over, and the towel someone gave to me was
immediately bloodied after I washed my face. The manager performed emergency
aid on my nose and eyes and handed me over to Daesoo, and it was useless for me to
say that I was all right.

I left the gym.

“I’m sorry, Jungho.”

“You do not need to apologize since I had it coming.”

“Why did you do that? It’s not that I’m blaming you, but…”

“I apologize for my rude behavior, and you helped me a lot.”

It was then my entire face ached.

“Were you trying to save my pride? Hey, you’re not in a position to do so. Your face
has been beaten to a pulp.”

“Please spend some time and go back, and I’ll go to the hospital alone.”

“No.”

“My bones are not broken anywhere, and the blood has stopped.”

“I’m sorry to say this, but you need stitches in a lot of places.”

He would not know the regenerative qualities of an awakened, and wounds like
these would be completely healed in three days without stitches.

“I’ll come again soon. I’ll go first now!”

I barely managed to pull him off.

“The Man Who Overcome Adversity…”

I thought of what had happened as I walked, and it was after I came back to my
senses as the effect of the trait wore off.

The trait The Man Who Overcome Adversity did not activate by self-wounds from my
previous experiments, and it only activated when I could not fight anymore from
attacks from others. I realized there was a deep meaning to the title, turning the
situation around and allowing me to continue the fight with heightened powers. I felt
that it meant those that were weak mentally, regardless of their physique, were
unworthy of the title.
Well, The Man Who Overcome Adversity had to be strong mentally, even though I
tried not to remember when I came out of the birth canal during my birth because it
was so painful. However, I also thought that I should not just repress it, as my
memories of what I overcame might help sometime.

I had been walking when my eyes went to the television news being shown in an
electronic store’s showcase window.

[Development Bank. ‘Southeast Asian Financial crisis will not affect the domestic
economy.’]

A large caption was written on the lower part of the screen, and the main anchor was
delivering the news. I could understand what was going on by reading lips despite
being unable to hear anything.

“The Thailand baht’s fall is not settling down. There has been a domino effect in all of
Southeast Asia, such as the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia, as their currencies
also show a continuous fall. Regarding this issue, Ilju Jo, the Head of the International
Planning Department in the Korea Development Bank, says that ‘we have prepared
as we have been monitoring the Thailand economic crisis from late last year, and it
will not affect our country.’ This was Chuljin Kim.”

He said that we would not be affected, but Korea will take one of the greatest hits.
The news made me furrow my brow. The IMF shock would be in some ways greater
than the shock received on the Day of Reckoning.
My lips were sore, and I had scratches everywhere on my face. My left eye was
almost closed shut, and the reflection that stared at me in the store window looked
like a gang had beaten me. I had expected this to happen, which was why I had used
Sungho’s name to stay out of the house. Since it was the final exam season, I was
supposed to be staying at Sungho’s house to study until tomorrow, which was
Constitution Day.

I had two ten thousand won bills in my pocket, my mother had given me the money
to buy some treats to eat when studying with Sungho. (EN: $50.50. Yep, mom gave
pocket money to a guy who’s worth TRILLIONS of won. ^_^ )

I stopped by a public bathroom in the park before going to an Internet cafe, and my
clothes dried quickly despite wearing them wet after washing because it was a hot
midsummer night. Pedestrians did not glance at me after I put on a wrinkled
baseball cap out of my bag. The smell of cigarettes in the Internet cafe made me feel
nostalgic.

I sat in one of the cubicles with a note hand-written by the owner instead of a
membership card and accessed an American messenger site. I looked over the
market conditions as I waited for Jonathan.

***

There was a monster called the Abyssal Ants, and while their size was less than that
of a human palm and could be stomped to death, there were two reasons why the
Awakened disliked them. They tended to swarm and were voracious and
indiscriminate eaters. I had never seen them move around solo, and they moved for
only one purpose in swarms numbering from a hundred minimum to tens of
thousands. They were always hungry and would gnaw at everything in their path.

After they left everything in ruins, they would continue to move for new prey since
the ants had endless hunger. The Hedge Funds and the investors that controlled
them were just like that. They moved in groups and would eat anything in their path.
They were touring Southeast Asia now.
Since the money they should have gobbled up was now in my pockets, they would be
desperately famished by now. Their antics were now more aggressive than they had
been in the original history, as they were attacking the Philippines, Malaysia, and
Indonesia at the same time. Originally, the financial world had viewed Southeast Asia
as one group, but it was a bit different this time.

I felt the worry in their movements since they must have noticed what was going on.
They now knew that an unknown group had monopolized the position that the baht
would fall on July 1st and had taken all the profits.

-J: Sun.

-N: I have been waiting. Don’t you think they have now noticed what is going on?

Jonathan had to know what I was talking about with only that vague hint if it was
him.

-J: They will be seriously interested in knowing who emptied their pockets.

-N: They are attacking the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia in one group. Isn’t it
evident that they are rushing things?

-J: That they are afraid of us? Can’t that be a good thing?

-N: It might cause some problems in my calculations. Mistakes are made when
rushing things, and I can’t calculate what mistakes they will make.

-J: You’ve done enough. Let’s forget it. Have you checked your email?

-N: Yes.

-J: As we have talked, I have assembled a task force of six people. How about inviting
them to Korea? They should know who the actual owner of Jonathan Investments is.

-N: You haven’t told them who I am, right?

-J: Of course.

-N: You remember what I said before. I’m in your shadow. Please keep that in mind,
Jonathan.
-J: Ok.

Jonathan began to report on new developments, and he had commissioned the

processes for dividing the company to a new firm and had selected eight other firms
to continue the process. If we changed firms after a process was completed, each
group would only work with the documents they received without knowing what
they were handling. They would be unable to see the whole picture.

-N: How many paper companies do you think will be laid out?

-J: Considering the ones we will have in tax havens, over a thousand. The commission
fees are going to be astronomical. How are you going to distribute them? Have you
thought of a plan?

-N: I’ll send you an email in the morning.

-J: Morning? I forget that you’re in Korea sometimes.

-N: What about Jeffrey K?

-J: He’s positive about it.

-N: That’s nice. I have another thing for him to do, along with buying out the
investment firms.

I could not continue using other people’s servers when emailing or chatting with
others, and the same went for phones. While I had chosen GOL messenger after
looking over its security system, to hackers, the messenger was horribly vulnerable,
with only anonymity and traffic volume as protection.

-N: Do you know Predict?

-J: Of course.

-N: It’s our first priority to buy out.

I would not have chosen Predict if it was only for their database products. The fact
that Predict achieved a record-breaking rise from late 1998 to when the dotcom
bubble exploded and reached a market capitalization of 200 billion dollars was a
minor factor before the Day of Reckoning.
The database language they had made was the ubiquitous standard in the eighties.
Data considered top secret such as dungeons, monsters, skills, abilities, items,
insignias, box rates, and others were handled in the databases written in the
language they had made. While each country and guild made their own databases
using Predict’s development tools, the best databases had been made by their in-
house programmers.

The guild controlled by the Second Virtue, Revoluchion, had considered their
database, as important as their battle skills in the original timeline. If I had a chance
to see Revoluchion’s database at least once, the battle against the Eight Virtues and
Eight Evils might have been a bit different. Of course, I knew that my intervention
would change history, such as different internal development team members.
Therefore, it was important to decrease the variables as much as possible.

-J: Dear God, now IT?

-N: As I have said, I will put anything that earns a profit in our portfolio. I am
planning to invest aggressively in other IT firms if there’s an opportunity.

-J: It’s not a mere investment in Predict’s case.

-N: I want a hold on the current CEO Donald Pinn as much as I can.

-J: You’re not going to interfere with their management and only enjoy their growth?
However, Donald will not sell his company. Even if you succeed in a hostile M&A, he
will just leave the company in anger.

-N: Predict is our top priority, and we will probably succeed if we give him the best
possible stock options ratio in the field to Donald. The same goes for his annual
income. If he leaves with those two conditions, it can’t be helped.

We would keep him motivated with stock options and buy Predict above their actual
value with the maximum price available. Would he not be allured by the prospects?

***

Owners of massive capital are not mentioned in Forbes. They either anonymously
monopolize basic resources such as metal, oil, and grain or are hidden in
conspiracies embedded in history. However, there was a symbolic honor in being one
of the richest people ranked in Forbes each year.
Counting his stock options and other benefits, Donald Pinn was ranked seventh in
2017, with fifty billion dollars. If we took out commission fees and other costs, that
was about how much we had earned in Thailand. I felt that we still had a ways to go
when thinking about that.

-J: It would be better to make one of our paper companies into a normal one and
treat it as such.

-N: That’s right. The reason we’re separating the company lies in that.

-J: Oh? Aren’t we doing this for tax reasons?

-N: No, as I have said before, I do not want our finances to be revealed in full. We
cannot transact everything we will be handling from real estate to firms under the
Jonathan Investments’ name.

-J: Umm.

-N: Then, without any mistakes, let’s begin with Predict.

-J: All right.

-N: Don’t let Jeffrey handle this M&A.

-J: Why?

-N: You have already approached him in person, and he knows you. Jonathan
Investments will expand only as an investment firm, and you will be the major
shareholder and CEO of the company. However, you will not be known in other fields.

-J: Then I’ll go with it for now. It doesn’t mean I won’t be watching. I will.

I folded my arms and leaned against the chair. Jonathan had been mistaken about the
reason behind separating the company, as he had said. It was not simply for taxes. A
long while passed without any messages.

-J: Sun, I want to go into your head to see the big picture you’re drawing.

-N: I should have made things clear the last time. It’s my mistake.
-J: No, you had said that no one should know the owner. I misunderstood your
meaning.

-N: Do you understand now?

-J: We are going to buy Predict, but we should not be the ones who have bought it as
far as the world knows.

-N: Yes, all transactions are going to proceed like that.

-J: Some selected paper companies will be made into real companies, and the CEO of
that company won’t know anything about Jonathan Investments and us. Is that right?

That was the core. They would be our companies, but the CEO and the employees
would not know about our existence.

-J: However, there have to be connections that will connect our subsidiary companies
and us.

-N: That’s why we will need several imaginary friends under a detailed design.

Like my friend Sungho.

-N: You don’t need to worry. It won’t be difficult after we divide the company. We will
create paper companies that will be in charge of controlling other companies and
will create paper companies to control our controllers. We will build several layers
with this method.

-J: So, no one would know where the commands are coming from…

-N: The parties will think that they received their commands from above, which is
why the separation should be done in as many layers as possible.

-J: Forget about your master plan for a second. Where did you learn all this?

-N: Do you know now what you should do?

-J: Yes. Sun, you do know what we’re doing…

The American government could imprison us for life.

-N: I do. I understand that Predict M&A will need some more time. Look at the time
now. We should earn money. Our next investment…
It was a massive giant, and Jonathan could not see its face no matter how he looked
up. Jonathan had been frozen in shock when the giant’s hand caught him and he
started wiggling uselessly to get free. Only Jonathan’s face was clear of the giant’s
fist, and it was when the giant raised his fist to his face that Jonathan could finally
see the massive facial features.

It was a familiar face. Sun? The giant’s face was that of a mysterious Asian boy.
Jonathan opened his mouth to scream before he was swallowed by Sun, who had
become a giant.

It had been too vivid of a dream. Even after he woke up, Jonathan felt the terror and
helplessness in the dream, and his heart was still racing.

Jonathan’s mood was low, and he knew the source of this anxiety. While Sun was
thirteen years old on documents, his brain and body were definitely not thirteen.
Jonathan had met those called geniuses during his Ivy League days, and he saw the
way their brains literally outclassed anyone they met. Jonathan had been
continuously humbled by them, but those genius children had been only young
children at heart even if they had world class intellects.

“However, Sun is…”

Jonathan had thought that Sun was one of those geniuses when he had guessed the
fall of Thailand stocks and the baht right down to the exact date. He had heard of
something similar before.

‘I have tens of thousands of plans in my head, and I’m taking them out to use them.’

Words that were unfathomable for the ordinary. Jonathan had thought that Sun’s
calculations had come from those countless plans, and his genius simply lay in the
financial field. It could happen. How could a genius be explained by the ordinary? It
was like a blind man estimating how an elephant looked by touching it. Jonathan was
thinking about the way Sun thought in general.

He was thirteen, and it was an age where people dream, confident that they
understood the world. It was an age people boasted of how great they will be after
one or two decades. However, Sun was beyond those levels, and he knew what to do.
He seemed to have made preparations before he found Jonathan, and Sun had the
intelligence to have ambitions and the expertise to act on them. He had the
decisiveness to proceed with something that may get them sentenced to jail for life.
It was like he had no fear of the unknown.

Jonathan was now closely connected with Sun despite not knowing him well, and
their destiny lay together now. If the United States government discovered the
company’s hidden funds, Sun would not be alone when being sentenced to decades
in prison. Jonathan’s eyes became bright when his thoughts arrived there.

“It was impossible, even when I think of it now.”

What had happened until now was amazing enough to make a film, but what they
had to do now is even more dangerous than before. After he got up, Jonathan lifted
his phone because he remembered the phone number of a skilled international
private detective firm. However, he was unable to dial the number at the end.

‘Even if I had Sun investigated now… ’

When Jonathan had established an investment firm with his four hundred thousand
dollars and gave away 51% of the shares as if a devil had whispered to him, he did so
because he felt like he was investing in Sun.

‘I have to continue thinking like that and not think of anything else.’

Jonathan sat in front of his computer, and there were many emails. Some of them
were from the firms dividing the company into pieces, and there was one from Sun.
The first step of the process had ended, and eight paper companies were made. What
was left was distributing billions of dollars according to Sun’s orders.

“Most of them offshore… He’s crazy…”

What Jonathan had been expecting came. Jonathan began to write a reply to Sun, and
while his hands shook, he had already made the decision a long time ago.

-I’ll proceed as we discussed.

A few weeks passed after that night.

 ***

Wall Street’s lights did not go out, as there were various markets all around the
world and their opening and closing times were different. It was the same for
Jonathan’s office, and everyone was here late at night. However, they were silent,
unlike other offices, and it was because Jonathan had revealed Jonathan Investments’
funds to his team members before the actual meeting.

All the team members knew that Jonathan Investments did not have other investors,
which meant that all that money was Jonathan’s. He had become a billionaire in just
a few months.

“Can you explain this? I cannot even imagine how this came to be.”

“It’s simple. I invested and earned.”

“Jesus Christ! Jonathan! Do you realize what you’re saying? I know how much you
could have raised at first. I’m sorry to say that it would have been less than a million
dollars.”

“It was four hundred thousand dollars and not a million.”

“Don’t kid me.”

“Do you think this is a joke? Where do you think your payroll comes from?”

Jonathan pointed to the account status on the monitor.

“Oh my god… how can this be?”

“I already I made the money. I understand how you feel because I felt the same when
I started.”

“Jonathan!”

The questions didn’t stop, and Jonathan sighed.

“Where else would I have earned this much money? It was Thailand, of course. I bet
all of my funds on two chances, the second week of May and on July second. Isn’t that
enough?”
Jonathan felt the weight of his team’s looks of disbelief and shock, and while he was
blatantly taking all the credit, Sun had been the real genius. The numbers they had
been shown were also not true, only a fraction of the Fifty Billion US Dollars that
were currently being divided into paper companies according to Sun’s plans.

“…You made four hundred thousand dollars into THIS! You, Jonathan?”

“I understand your surprise, but how about stopping there? Stop shouting, this is not
a frat party.”

Jonathan spoke casually before everyone’s astonished eyes.

“Don’t you guys realize what kind of a chance this is for you? There are only six of
you and one more who are employed by this company. I am going to treat you guys
as well as I can, which is why I brought you here.”

Only the sound of people gulping could be heard, and someone now spoke.

“So, we’re looking at a legend.”

However, no one thought that the phrase was childish. Actually, it was insufficient, as
everyone would agree that Jonathan could be called the God of Investments. With a
loud clack, Jonathan stood up from the table.

“I’ll go this over again, but Jonathan Investments hired you guys. I’m the director, and
you’re the traders. While you’ll process individual investments as you had before, my
orders are the law regarding the big projects. And there will be BIG PROJECTS. I will
not accept objections and you can leave if you want. I’ll give you a nice compensation
fee for your time.”

“Who else… knows about this?”

Everyone was still in shock.

“Only you guys. Did you forget that Jonathan Investments is a hedge fund that is built
on solely my money?”

Hedge funds did not need to submit regular business reports to the government, and
Jonathan was alluding to that.
“If you guys don’t go talking about this, it won’t be known. But they are aware.”

Everyone knew who they were.

“They know that while they went through the war, someone else had taken all the
profits. That’s why they’re more aggressive in Southeast Asia now.”

Jonathan repeated what Sun had explained to him.

“That’s because of you?”

“What world do you live in, Jonathan?”

No one could actually feel Jonathan’s story, but the numbers did not lie. Everyone
looked back and forth between the computer monitor and Jonathan and blinked.

“I’ll tell you after this project ends. We’re going to take Wall Street’s Champion Belt.”
(EN: Of course, Wall Street doesn’t have those gaudy championship belts like in boxing
or professional wrestling. However, based on the translation for both the novel and the
manhwa, the author deliberately went for this visual in his prose. ^_^ )

Everyone thought now that Jonathan was no longer one of them. His success would
bring in much more fame than simple numbers. The customers would line up with
their money and Jonathan Investments’ future was unimaginable…

“You can know that Jeffrey is researching investment firms we’re going to buy out.”

Jonathan stirred up another storm in the others’ thoughts by that revelation.

“Jeffrey!”

“Jeffrey Kay?!”

Jonathan nodded and pointed at the window.

“We probably will be there after this project ends.”

Wall Street’s land taxes were vastly different when a mere road separated them.
Jonathan was pointing at the building that had towered over all lesser Wall Street’s
traditional landmarks.
“You now know that your choice was not wrong.”

Jonathan spoke as he met his team member’s eyes one by one.

“Congratulations. You have become one of the majors by joining Jonathan

Investments.”
Teenagers will be teenagers, and it was an era where the school action genre was
popular in comics and films. When I went training at various gyms in Seoul and
regularly had freshly bandaged injuries, while my parents supported me, my
schoolmates made a lot of noise. The rumors about me were cringingly childish for
me to hear, as they said I was fighting off Secret Murim Clans or I was a candidate for
Leadership in a Triad.(EN: Triads are Chinese organized crime families)

However, the inane antics of those young children ended after summer vacation
began. Today was one of my vacation days, and I was enrolled in summer cram
classes and playing basketball with my imaginary friend Sungho. Or at least, that’s
what my mother knew about my schedule.

“Son, bring Sungho here one day. I haven’t seen the face of your best friend.”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to continue boxing?”

“I’ll stop if you want me to.”

“You always go a bit too far. I like that you started to exercise again.”

“Yes.”

My mother took Madecassol out of her apron pocket, and it was a familiar ritual
these days. She would stop me from going out and apply the anti-scarring ointment
on my wounds.

“It’s all right if you’re a bit rebellious.”

I replied with only a wordless smile.

“My handsome boy, my son. Come home early. Do you have your allowance?”

While I had used it all up, I would have no reason to live by a middle schooler’s
allowance from today. There was money coming in.

***

[Il Shin Financial Holdings held a board meeting on the 21st and announced that
they would establish ‘Jeon il Investments,’ a joint investment firm with Golden Wish,
a foreign firm specializing in international investments. This decision has been made
under the benefits the government promised…]

Because it was only a short article, it was not at the level that would be written up in
the newspaper yet. A VIP high up must have ordered this press release to let the
public have something hopeful amidst the anticipated foreign exchange crisis.

The picture attached was small and in black and white, and there were no specific
numbers regarding the foreign funds this deal would bring in, and it just showed
some unnamed foreign CEO was shaking hands with the CEO of a small holdings
firm. While the article was exaggerating things by calling it a firm specializing in
international investments, Gold Wish was only a hollow paper company. However,
the government was already promising benefits.

Foreign capital was flowing out, and even domestic investors took out their funds as
fear spread in the market. I understood that they would want to grasp anything at
this point, but…

It was a pitiful situation, and it was then a shadow leaned over the newspaper I was
reading.

I looked up to see the same foreign man as in the picture looking down at me. While
his cap was pulled on low, his jaw exactly matched the picture.

I gave him the code word, and received the counter sign, and the man’s expression
was not happy. He looked dissatisfied with why he had to do even this kind of dirty
work, but he just laid down the briefcase he was assigned to deliver and hurriedly
went away.

I went somewhere quiet and opened the case to see about a million dollars in
hundred dollar bills. It would be about a billion won in today’s rates, and the money
was from the slush funds that had come out of dividing our original company into
innumerable paper companies.
 ***

One needed identification documents in the financial field to exchange currencies

when the scale was a million dollars and up. However, the backstreets of
Myeongdong still stuck to the transaction methods before the real-time financial
system came into effect, and the old owner who dealt in dollars welcomed me with
her open arms.

While a million dollars would be a small amount to her, who was called
“Myeongdong’s Big Mama,” no one was exchanging dollars to won at all these days.

Therefore, the black market had also frozen down, and I was a customer who had
graced her store in these hard times. I was also a customer in my previous life…

“Can you carry all that alone? Do you want me to have my boys deliver that for you in
a car?”

The owner asked as she pointed at the stacked money boxes. While her face was
severe, she was friendly in her actions.

“I called a truck. Please have them load it and let me use your phone once.”

The owner picked up the receiver on the desk and brought it to me. I heard the call
connect after I pressed the buttons.

<This is Speed Real Estates.>

<It’s me, Jungho Kim.>

<Ah! Mr. Kim. I had been waiting for you.>

<I’m starting now. Can I meet you in front of Gangnam Station after thirty minutes?>

The truck I had hired was waiting outside, and I climbed into the passenger seat
after the money boxes were loaded. It was best to have the billion won in cash. It
would be tied up if I used a bank account, and the account brokers would try to
swindle me anyway.

“Mr. Kim!”
The real estate agent was waiting for me where we had agreed to meet and helped
me move the money boxes from the truck. His sedan’s trunk and backseat were filled
with money boxes. The agent’s expression was serious as he spoke.

“You must be doing something huge since you’re so young. I envy you.”

Even if the money in the boxes were from the black market, he seemed not to care.

“Are there any changes in the contract?”

“Your conditions will be met. President Choi is said to own many buildings in
Gangnam, and everyone in my field knows him. You can trust him.”

While the real estate guy said it indirectly, he clearly meant that since his customer
was rich, he would not mind this small under-the-table contract. I had put out a
condition for the office rental.

I would pay the rental fee for two years at once with cash but would not use my real
name and identification for the transaction. While it was illegal, the real estate agent
and the leaseholder agreed to my conditions.

I procured an office in the middle of Gangnam with an astounding rent fee because
the buildings around here met my security conditions.

Only those with ID cards could enter, and guards were standing by 24/7 in the
luxurious lobby. The real estate manager could only guide me to my office with a
guard and a deputy of the leaseholder as our escorts.

“All you have to do is move in, and the cleaning is complete.”

I saw the deciding factor that made me rent here when the office door opened. A
terminal, a phone cable, and office phone lay on the empty floor. Finally! It was more
valuable to me than the money boxes the building employees were bringing inside.

This was when ADSL was beginning to be available, and the internet access point of
this building had security that could not be gained in an ordinary household.

(EN: Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL)
technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission
over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ADSL
differs from the less common symmetric digital subscriber line (SDSL). )

“I’ll pay you the fee now. Take these two boxes, and you’ll see that the amount is
right.”

While there were suspicious gazes, cash transactions like this were not that unusual
for the rich. The deputy’s face held a faint smile as he welcomed such a deal since
cash like this will become part of President Choi’s slush funds.

“If you need anything regarding the office, you can contact me here.”

The deputy left his card and my ID card and went away with two boxes. While it was
a deal where the cash came out of cardboard boxes, it was not unnatural in this high-
class building. Real estate agents and deputies met many people with cash, and a
name would be added to their rich clientele. Me.

***

That night, I finished installing the safe and the computer, which meant I finished my
‘secret base’ in a day. However, instead of various items and supplies, a computer
was placed with an ADSL modem. I looked at the cable connected to the computer
with satisfied eyes and pressed the power button.

I had been desperately waiting for the moment when I could be connected to the
internet with decent speed instead of a slow telephone modem.

I lifted the receiver as I waited for the computer to boot. There was no need to worry
about international call fees the moment I received the funds, and Jonathan would be
in his office now.

It was seven in the evening in Seoul and six in the morning in New York.

<Sun?>

<I received the money and managed to secure an office. You have a pen, right?>

I gave him my office address and went into the reason I called him.

<You’re making fast progress. It seems that you’ll be able to wrap up things soon. Am
I right?>
<It should possible. I can’t tell you the details over the phone, so I’ll fly to Seoul as
soon as I can.>

While only Jonathan was doing the long flights, we could not set up a middleman.
After two days, I took Jonathan, who had come from America to my office. There
were various exercise machines in the office, and they took about half of the office
space.

Jonathan clucked his tongue and tapped the sandbag. As I remembered the
awakened Jonathan, his awkward movements bothered me.

“While I had guessed, you must be manic about exercise. Wait, is that a sword?”

Jonathan discovered the sword I had placed in a corner. From how his eyes glinted
and he forgot about being tired, he was relishing my office’s strange atmosphere.
Jonathan had been heading to where the sword was when he saw something else.

“You’re not the one who drew this, right?”

Jonathan asked in front of the picture I had hung on the wall. When I did not reply,
Jonathan looked certain. The drawing was not framed, and the indentations of the
pencil could be clearly seen. Jonathan talked about how realistic the monsters
looked in the picture to explain how skilled I was at drawing.

He seemed more relieved than enjoying himself, and he sat as he asked me about my
hobbies. He was asking about my parents, whether I had siblings, and how I had
grown up.

I changed the subject to the suitcase he had brought along, despite the fact that
Jonathan obviously wanted to avoid it.

“Can I confirm the material you brought with you?”

The names of our paper companies filled a book, and they numbered over a
thousand. I could also see how the funds had continued to move through them.
Jonathan’s face was rigid after taking out all of the documents, and I knew why. The
documents in front of me could be the fatal weakness that would imprison us for the
rest of our lives in an American prison.

“If we hire good lawyers and are fortunate in the judges, it will be offshore tax
evasion and not embezzlement. Either way, the amount is huge enough to be
considered an unprecedented financial crime. However, everyone does this. We’re
just different in scale.”
With a quiet Jonathan in front of me, I continued to go through the documents. He
seemed to have given his all to set up the complex labyrinth of paper companies, as
the relations between the more than a thousand paper companies were as
convoluted as you could imagine. Circular shareholding and holding structures were
arranged in a complex manner to make the reader’s head spin.

The firms that had done this for us were following the laws, but the sum total
became illegal when we assembled the complete structure. Ironically the firms that
had actually done the deed had broken no laws, but we had by merely planning and
designing this golden Puzzle Box.

“So, these are the originals. May I have them?”

Jonathan slowly nodded. The connections were complicated enough that even a few
missing pages would need years of investigation to find the missing links. Without
this ledger, even we would not know how much funds were going into where, in
what way.

Therefore, this ledger was a key of sorts and the only documents that proved we
were the owners of those companies. We moved to the copy machine, as Jonathan
needed copies.

“Do you regret this?”

“No, Sun. I’m just letting things happen after meeting you. We made so much money
that it feels unreal.”

While Jonathan was saying such things, his face was as rigid, when he first took out
the documents.

“Jonathan, it will be at least three years before a tax investigation, and there is a high
possibility that it won’t happen. Even if it does, what’s the probability that
everything will be discovered?”

“What if the worst happens? If someone steps on our tail…”

“If that day comes, let’s stamp them out with money.”

“Stamp them out with money?”

“We’re doing these things to earn money for such operations.”

“I don’t know what comes first and what comes later now.”

“Here, have them.”

I handed the copies to Jonathan. The sound of the copy machine whirring did not
stop, and I started to cross check the documents that had been copied with the
accounts that held much of our funds. Our paper companies were spread all over the
global tax havens, such as the Cayman Islands, Bahamas, Switzerland, Ireland, the
Netherlands, Bermuda, and Hong Kong. Then there were core companies such as
Gold Wish, established in the Bahamas, a small island country southwest of Florida.

Rich people were living like royalty in large manors that were surrounded by palm
trees, but how many of them had the dollars that had been poured into Gold Wish?

The monitor screen brightened, and the Bahamas account opened.

[Registered Business Name: Gold Wish]

[Account Balance: $ 3,000,000,000]

Then the transfer history of how the 3 billion dollars were collected was shown. Five
paper companies owned Gold Wish shares, and the firm names in the transfer
history matched those in the documents.

All the paper companies were like this, and Jeon il Investments, which will enter
Korea, was the same. Jeon il Investments will be established in the same manner as
Gold Wish, which means that five paper companies will invest equally to Jeon il.

The plans to place 10 billion dollars in Jeon il Investments had been finished, despite
the fact that the funds would have to be deposited in messy divided amounts.

“You confirmed the Bahamas account, right?”

I asked Jonathan.
“Gold Wish?”

Of course, Jonathan knew the name of the core company that had its roots in the
Bahamas.

“Yes, it’s clean. You must have paid a lot of commission fees.”

“Dirty means clean in this field.”

“Where did you learn expressions like those, Sun? Anyway, I’m also satisfied with the
results. If that’s not art, what is?”

“What firms made them?”

Jonathan named several legal and accounting firms that would do anything for
money. I selected one of the firms that were in charge of the final division process.

“It would be better to buy this firm out and place it under Jonathan Investments.”

“While shopping is nice, you will run out of funds if you buy everything you want.
There are only 10 billion dollars left in the New York company.”

Jonathan smirked at having said only 10 billion dollars, and it was the first time his
expression loosened after being rigid for so long.

“After October, our coffers will be full.”

“October?”

“I wish that you’ll stay here with me until then.”

“What about the New York company? Do I trust the desk team?”

“What does it matter when the orders come from here? The problem is whether they
will follow orders without doing anything else, as I had emphasized loyalty.”

“I’m sorry for saying this, but they are failures who have been fired after losing huge
amounts of money for their firms and clients.”

Jonathan meant that according to his calculations, they had been crushed down by
their failures and would not risk their only lifelines by disobeying our orders. I
nodded and moved to the safe.

“You must be tired, so please find somewhere you can rest. Also, use only cash and
not credit cards from now on.”

The safe unlocked with the crisp sound of heavy bolts being thrown, and there were
stacks of ten thousand won bills inside.

“Like criminals?”

“Like real billionaires.”

“Same difference.”

Jonathan was right. I still remembered a scene from a Korean film. While I did not
remember the title, the movie was about a rich family’s private lives. The film’s
protagonist was the secretary for the family, and one day had a chance to go into the
safe where the family’s slush funds were stored. It was a large walk-in safe, and ten
thousand won bills filled all the shelves. The old woman, who was the head of the
family, then tells the protagonist that he can take as much money as he wanted.
While the protagonist had not done so to the end, Jonathan took the bills.

He put bills in his pants pockets and inside his jacket and briefcase, but the amount
was less than ten million won. (EN: Approximately $10,000 US)

“I’ll check in to a hotel.”

“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Can we meet?”

“It’s school vacation.”

Jonathan looked at me with astonished eyes, as he seemed to forget often that I was
still a teenager.

***

I went to the building the next day, among those wearing suits despite the summer
heat. The identification they wore like slave collars around their necks said in clear
letters Daemin Bank. I went through the lobby with them and also rode in the same
elevator.

The first floor of the building was rented by Daemin Bank, the biggest bank in Korea.
However, the entrance ordinary employees and the customers used went directly
outside, they could not go through the building lobby. It meant that I was riding the
elevator with board members or special employees.

I noted that they were too young to be board members and lowered my gaze. I saw
band-aids on their thumbs and forefingers, which covered their fingernails. Those
were traces of battle! They must be Daemin Bank’s Foreign Exchange Management
Team. This building had the best online system in the second half of 1997 because of
them.

As I placed my ID card on the control panel, the light on the 34th floor where my
office was lit up. The men in suits seemed to be aware of me, but the man with the
team leader ID card lowered his guard at my young face and casual wear. His lips
opened.

“If we fail today, a written apology won’t cut it. Get something today.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

The responses were immediate and mechanical, and the elevator began to move.

“Deputy Kim.”

“Yes.”

“Has it come in?”

“Yes?”

“What do you mean by that? The information leaked from Deutsche Bank, aren’t you
in charge of that?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Can’t you do something right? Are you still asleep?”

“I’m sorry.”

“How is it going?”

“It’s in.”

“That’s a lie, right?”

“The information was legitimate. A single group monopolized the position on July
1st, and that group would have liquidated on July 2nd.”

“Wow… a single group got everything? Are they gods?”

The man exclaimed and shook his head. The man was not alone, and several others
questioned the information. They were talking about what we had done to the
Thailand Foreign Exchange Market in early July.

“You can’t get the specifics?”

“As you know, transaction history…”

“All right. We have to chase them down. Deputy Kim.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have anything else?”

“There are no similar movements in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore.”

“If they got it all, they must have made loads of money. So, only Hong Kong is left.”

“Yes.”

“The attack on Hong Kong has started, but there isn’t any news about it yet.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t trade in the morning market.”

“The morning market?”

“Didn’t you hear me? They are gunning for Hong Kong! Come to the meeting room as
soon as you finish the preparations. Let’s go after them.”

They are coming for us? I remained indifferent. The same thing would be happening
in all the elite banks around the world, especially those whose pockets had been
emptied by us!

However, how could they follow us when we are already divided into hundreds of
paper companies?
Jonathan had come in to work first. The drawing he saw yesterday must have made
an impression on him, as he stood in front of it again.

“It’s detailed. You would succeed as a manhwa illustrator. Is there something you
can’t do? However, why did you draw a monster? Is there a reason?”

Jonathan looked like he was evaluating art and was stroking his chin as he looked
over the drawing inch by inch. Actually, he seemed like more of a psychologist
examining a Rorschach inkblot?!

“The size is about thirty meters.”

“Were you inspired by Godzilla?”

This abomination was similar to Godzilla, as it had not been even scratched after
being hit by a 15 megaton thermonuclear warhead.

The Eight Evils and Eight Virtues had to join forces for the first and last time when
this monster had appeared, and I had watched the battle from a television with bad
reception.

Jonathan, you asked why I drew this monster. It is because this massive Kaiju
reminded me of my enemies. It would be another twenty years before we see this
monster again. During this battle I had felt existential dread, and my own
insignificance from an entity which had withstood the ultimate technological might
of humanity, the Thermal Nuclear Bomb, and survived. I also felt the vile strength of
the Eight Evils and Eight Virtues, both hating myself for the feeling of relief as we
were saved, and despising those humans who emulated the monster they had fought,
regarding those lesser Awakened and simple humans as insects to be trod beneath
them. I was certain this time around I will amass a wealth beyond belief and change
the future completely.

Human beings are like that, they need purpose and I hung that drawing to remind
me of my enemies and my goals…
“You can have it if you want since I can draw another one.”

I took off the drawing and handed it over to Jonathan. If he held on to this until that
day, he would naturally know how I could have drawn this picture. How I had
become a “Genius”. I will not be able to hide from Jonathan after that day, and I will
need comrades who I can trust explicitly, especially those who were Awakened.

“You don’t exercise much, right?”

“Muscle guy, don’t lecture me that trading is also a physical battle. Don’t you know
that exercise erodes vitality? There are parts of the human body that can be healed,
and those that cannot be healed. Why do you think athletes die young? It’s
because…”

I let Jonathan’s excuses run by, as the reason that Jonathan could pass the Trial Tests
was not because of his strength or stamina. The damn Trial Tests were taboo among
the awakened. There were incidents that could not be spoken of after the tests, and
we had to do anything and everything to survive, and each moment tested our
humanity.

The reason why so many awakened had twisted personalities may have been this
simple. Jonathan had been a survivor who had lived despite having ordinary physical
abilities. However, people like him had been cunning.

While Jonathan probably had gained those instincts from Wall Street, he had
changed after meeting me. I would need to train him hard when the time comes, so
he would not fall behind during the Trial Tests.

***

“Anyway.”

Jonathan opened the door to a different room. He seemed to have explored our office
while he waited for me. The office was divided into two spaces. One was my personal
exercise room with my personal desk, exercise equipment, and drawings that
Jonathan had been interested in. The other was the computer room that stored our
weapons. There were ten tables, and each had one computer, five monitors, and an
internet connection to the New York Stock Exchange.

With other equipment, the room looked like the operations center of a major bank.
The men in the elevator also worked in a space like this.

“Where’s my desk?”

Jonathan asked me.

“Half the room is yours and worth 25 billion dollars.”

Jonathan immediately understood what I was saying.

“There won’t be any additional people, right?”

“Yes, there shouldn’t be.”

Why should we show others how we hid the funds when we had gone through so
much trouble to obfuscate the trail in the first place? Jonathan and I would deal
under various ghost company names from now on from these ten computers.

“However, it won’t be as harsh as before.”

“All right, let’s talk about that.”

Jonathan sat on a chair and faced me.

“I’m planning to limit the leverage to the minimum.”

“That’s good. The situation has changed.”

It was not because of the massive increase in funds. I made the choice because
history was changing from our intervention. As the baht had fallen on a larger scale
than past history, the Hedge Fund Coalition and investors were more aggressive in
attacking Southeast Asia. The Philippines peso, the Malaysia ringgit, and the
Indonesia rupiah had been crushed simultaneously and not in succession. Events
were happening faster than in the previous history.

I could not use the method of guessing the exact date to use maximum leverage
again. While I could no longer predict events exactly, I had no regrets.

I had already gained 50 billion dollars from the investors’ pockets, and while there
would be changes in dates and numbers, the general trend was the same.
That was why I was not trying to exploit the investors who were knocking on Hong
Kong’s backdoor from early August. I was anticipating the events in Hong Kong’s
October, when the investors’ attacks reached maximum, that was our chance.

“You can guess from the ongoing situation. The investors chose Hong Kong as their
next goal and had begun operations as we expected.”

“The attackers will bleed.”

Jonathan spoke the conclusion first, and his tone was full of confidence. I saw the
expression I had seen when Jonathan had looked back on his heyday in 1997 Hong
Kong in the future. I welcomed it.

“From the circumstances, China will not intervene.”

“There’s one more thing, Sun. The attackers will believe that the Hong Kong
Government will do anything to protect the stock market.”

“You don’t think so, Jonathan?”

“Hong Kong is familiar with Wall Street’s offensive strategies, and they have the most
elites after Tokyo in Asia. Also, Hong Kong has been under British rule until last
month and they know how to think like the attackers. They also have endurance
since they have about 100 billion dollars in their foreign currency reserves.”

He was accurate, and Jonathan proved why his heyday had been 1997 Hong Kong.
Being able to think like one’s enemy was just as important as knowing yourself. The
reason I had been able to irritate the Eight Evils and Eight Goods with my low level
abilities had been because of that, as I had been able to predict what they’ll do to a
certain extent.

“It’s true.”

I folded my arms and nodded to signal that Jonathan should go on. However, he had
finished. While Jonathan had correctly guessed the trend, he had not been able to go
into specifics. It was inevitable, as Hong Kong’s method to defend against the
investors had been beyond imagination.

“I’ll ask you a question. The only method to defend against the attacks is to raise the
interest rate, and the stock market would inevitably break down from that. Can Hong
Kong solve this contradiction?”

“Yes, they can. It’s Hong Kong, and the investors cannot break them down, Sun.”

“No, they can’t. It’s certain that the stock market will break down when the interest
rate is raised.”

However, Jonathan’s eyes did not shake, as he was still certain that Hong Kong could
defend itself. His face said that he thought while he could not know the exact
method, the attackers could not break down Hong Kong.

“Sun, are you thinking of betting that the attackers… will win?”

“At the end, the Hong Kong Government will abolish the fixed exchange system to
protect the stock market, the Hong Kong dollar will fall, and they will get the profit.”

“That…”

“The Hong Kong Stock Market is the only route China has to the capitalist world, and
Hong Kong has to protect its stock market no matter what the cost. It is China’s
future.”

“Even by giving up their foreign exchange market?”

Jonathan’s tone was wistful since I was going in the opposite direction from him.

“Yes. If Hong Kong has to give up either their stock or foreign exchange market, it will
give up their foreign exchange market.”

Hong Kong giving up its foreign exchange market meant that the attackers would
win.

“Sun, do you actually believe this?”

I had not thought of testing Jonathan, as I had already tested him multiple times.
When the forty thousand became 200 million, when the 200 million became 50
billion, and when those dollars were divided into numerous paper companies, he
could have pushed me away each time.

While I would have not gone down easy, he had not and passed all three tests.
“There’s a saying we Koreans often say.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You have to listen to me to the end. Hong Kong giving up the foreign exchange
market instead of their stock market would be what the attackers are thinking.”

“I’m… surprised.”

“You are right. Hong Kong can think like that, which means that the answer is
evident.”

“So, Sun you’re saying…”

“If I was the Hong Kong government, I would give up on the stock market instead of
the foreign exchange market, to an extreme level that no one would be able to
expect. They will raise the short-term interest rate to the maximum.”

I raised three fingers.

“A 3% increase?”

“No, 300%.”

Jonathan’s face cringed.

“300%? 300%! Sun, I believe whatever you say, but not this time. That’s crazy. A
child wouldn’t do that.”

Yes, if one read Economics for Dummies, you could know how crazy this idea was.
However, Hong Kong was going to do exactly that.

“Jonathan, Hong Kong will destroy their stock market by their own hands.”
“No matter how much I think, it’s an insane idea.”

Jonathan spoke in a long while.

“Yes, it’s crazy. However, I’m dead certain.”

“Sun, have you been planning like this until now?”

“I see the material and think what my enemy would do, what their approach would
be, and how my enemy’s target would respond.”

“However, to think that Hong Kong will break its stock market on its own…”

“But that’s the most certain way to chase away the Hedge Funds.”

“Will they give up easily? The damage will be unbelievable.”

“Haven’t I told you what the Hedge Funds were after in the first place?”

“Korea!”

“Yes, this country.”

Actually, the hedge Funds wanted Japan the most, but how could they go after Japan
when Hong Kong was such a formidable opponent? Japan was Asia’s financial
fortress, along with Hong Kong. Also, the USA would not allow Japan to be played by
the Hedge Funds, even if they had to throw Korea to the wolves.

***

The reason that expert financiers, businessmen, and politicians had a comparatively
high survival rate in the Trial Tests was not that complicated. Some people guessed
that it was because of their renown. However, most of those who said such things
had not even experienced the Trial Tests. In there, fame was nothing more than a
weakness.
They had a high survival rate because they could act strategically, as they had lived
most of their lives on battlefields. They knew how to act to take things away and hold
on to what they had. While I belittled the Hedge Funds, their real identity was elite
financial groups who thrived by preying on the large global banks.

Their final objective would be Korea. However, we had protected ourselves so the
hedge funds and investors could not play tricks on us by creating a closed financial
system. We blocked foreigners from intervening and investing, and they could not
attack Korea directly.

Therefore, they went with a strategy that would crumble Korea from the inside by
spreading fear by attacking Southeast Asia and finally by attacking Hong Kong, which
seemed impregnable.

Fear will overwhelm Korea, and the scared domestic investors will take back their
investments. The foreign banks that had lent dollars to major Korean firms will
scream to have the funds returned instead of extending their loan, saying that they
had not entered a suicide pact with the Korean companies.

Fear would lead to chaos, and rumors would start that Korea would be ruined as a
country. The situation would worsen until Korea announced a moratorium, which
was a sign that they were defeated. It was then the Hedge Funds would collect the
profit they had nurtured over a long time.

Now the strategy the Hedge Funds would use to attack an invincible opponent is
obvious. The Trial Tests required such strategies, and some were skilled in such
tactics, like the military, as well as financiers, businessmen, and politicians.

One might have already guessed, but it was true. I had been a trader like Jonathan,
and I also had worked at Wall Street for a time.

***

“The money we earned in Thailand is impossible to believe. 50 billion dollars came

out of the baht market, which deals at 3 billion dollars. This is a historic incident in
the financial field.”

“The words historic incident doesn’t cover what we did.”

Jonathan smiled faintly as he remembered that day.

“Everyone is paying attention to us, even if they do not know who we are or how we
are structured.”

“They know that a group which monopolized everything exists.”

“People all have habits, and that’s true for trading too, Sun.”

“I get what you’re saying.”

“We have to keep in mind if our tail is caught, the trends will fall heavily in our favor.”

“That means we will be handing out what we could have gotten, right?”

“It will be alright if things stop there since we make a profit at least. My calculations
and investments are based on past records, and as you will know, I prefer investing
against the market. That will be true in the future.”

“We hit the jackpot like that, Jonathan.”

“We can’t move when we lead the trends. If many groups follow us, even I cannot
estimate how the governments will change their financial policies.”

Jonathan finally looked like he realized how much money we had earned in Thailand
and how much renown we had gained in the global financial market. His face quickly
darkened. Jonathan did not look like someone who had accumulated massive wealth,
but someone who regretted that he could not be relied on.

Jonathan met my eyes, and he again shook his head.

“Sun, you…”

I knew what Jonathan was going to say, and I interrupted first.

“Jonathan, what did I say when you asked me whether I was planning to prevent the
disturbance that will come to Korea?”

“You said that you only see the money.”

“Yes. Don’t think about policy changes, unemployment rates, household debts, and
anything else. Just work with the numbers in front of us.”
“We can ruin a country if we want, and the same thing will happen if we make a
mistake, Sun.”

“We already have billions offshore.”

“You don’t have to remind me that we are criminals every time.”

“No, I’m trying to say that all of this is the Major Leagues that you have always
dreamed of.”

I spoke sincerely.

“However, feeling responsibility is good. Wall Street numbs that feeling. But don’t be
weak.”

Jonathan will get used to this, as human beings all adjust to their present situation.
This was the excuse that those who had murdered in the Trial Tests had made to
others.

“Sun, what is inside you? I… can’t get used to you.”

“You seem to have found the will to fight. Then let’s begin the briefing.”

***

A basic financial fact is that raising interest rates leads to stocks and bonds falling.
However, we have massive funds, and the market had limits. Since we have to divide
as much as possible, we will need to bet not only the stock falling but also that the
bond will fall.

Another basic financial fact is that short selling is used when a fall is predicted. It
literally means selling nothing, and a loss occurs if the stock price goes up. We had
used this method when the stock price fell in Thailand. (EN: Short selling occurs when
an investor borrows a security and sells it on the open market, planning to buy it back
later for less money. Short sellers bet on, and profit from, a drop in a security’s price.
Short selling has a high risk/reward ratio: It can offer big profits, but losses can mount
quickly and infinitely.)

However, there were only a few countries that allowed short selling on bonds at this
period even if short selling stocks was possible. We would need to finish betting on
bonds falling through a different route.

“The New York company will bet on bond falling, and we will directly bet on a stock
falling through the rest of the paper companies.”

“Even if we go ahead with the stocks, there’s no way to bet on bond falling.”

“We will have to make a way. The desk team is idle, right?”

“Since they have no orders.”

“What’s the amount Jonathan Investments can use?”

“5 billion dollars. I left the other 5 billion for your shopping list, Sun.”

“It’s enough. I’ll write a product proposal. Have them go to the major banks, not only
in the USA but in Europe.”

“What if they do not accept the proposal? Hong Kong is raising interest rates as we
speak.”

“However, not up to 300%. You said that it would be insane.”

“A 50% increase would be insane.”

“That’s true. However, I will make the banks accept our proposal by setting the
standard at a 100% increase. If the increase goes over, we win, and under, the banks
win.”

“Sun…”

“It would be even more insane not to accept this offer. All of the banks will sign up as
they sneer at us. They will call us idiots and pop the champagne to celebrate their
victory.”

Those that had been willing to gamble on the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis had
earned money like this. While sneering at them had been free, their earnings were
immense. While we would be wearing expensive suits and waving around a thick
wad of documents as we say that ‘this is the result of cutting-edge financial acumen,’
what we were actually doing was a gamble between us and the bank. We were going
to repeat this performance multiple times against the major global banks.

“Who will refuse millions of dollars when it appears to them as a gift?”

Jonathan let out a sign, and he nodded after a long time.

“We will make the proposal even more appetizing. They can have the entire amount
if the increase is under 100%, but we will apply profit in stages from 100% and
above.”

“If things go your way, and the increase is 300%?”

“We’d get three times our investment.”

“Everyone would go for this. Let’s do it!”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m saying that it is that appetizing. I’ve heard of an even crazier thing than a 300%
interest rate increase. When you told me to establish the company with my money
and give you more than half of the shares was even more completely insane. Look
where we are now. Anyway, I’m in.”

“Then begin the preparations.”

“What?”

“You’ll become famous that day, Jonathan. More than you could ever imagine.”
Emily was unable to believe, much less accept the situation. Jonathan was one of the
many who had just graduated from being a junior level broker and trader. Guys like
him could be seen by the hundreds on Wall Street. Moreover, there had been recent
rumors that Jonathan’s past performance at both had been less than lackluster
around her alumnus.

Yet, impossibly, a guy like him had achieved an impossible success that would go
down in financial history in the span of a single day. With a stake of less than a
million dollars, Jonathan had pocketed ten billion dollars in just two months. It was
an incredible record that would be forever unbroken.

Jonathan? That Jonathan did this?

She and other teammates talked about this whenever they ate together. While they
spoke every day, the conclusion was always the same. There was only one way that
Jonathan could have made such a nonsensical profit.

As Jonathan had hinted, he had placed his entire fortune on maximum leverage. He
had liquidated his assets in a suicidal manner, and unbelievably it had worked. It was
miraculous luck, and even if gods of fortune such as Tyche from Greek mythology,
Ganesha from Indian mythology, and others from all over the world had graced
Jonathan, it still did not cover it. He was the monkey that had written Shakespeare.
(EN: Tyche, in Greek religion, was the goddess of chance, a capricious dispenser of good
and ill fortune. Ganesha is the Hindu god of wisdom, success and good luck. The infinite
monkey theorem states that a monkey hitting keys at random on a typewriter
keyboard for an infinite amount of time will almost surely type any given text, such as
the complete works of William Shakespeare. In fact, the monkey would almost surely
type every possible finite text an infinite number of times. ^_^ )

‘He had been boasting and congratulating us on entering the major playing field…
and now he’s having us perform this farce.’

Emily sighed as she looked down at her briefcase. She was certain that Jonathan was
drunk in his success. Wall Street was full of people who overestimated momentary
luck as an unbeatable winning streak, and Emily knew this better than anyone else.
She had been one of them, and although she had repented, her ruin had become
irrevocable.

Therefore, she had come in running when Jonathan called her. Emily had thought
this was her second chance at Wall Street, but…

“Really, why?”

Emily wanted to throw her briefcase off the nearest bridge, as it was full of
documents that proved she was an imbecile. When this bet is made between the
banks and Jonathan Investments, her regained position will disappear.

‘If he wants to throw money away like that, give it to me.’

Emily’s destination was right in front of her, as she was at the head offices of DP
Krump, one of the top four firms in the financial field. She had been pacing at the
front of the door for thirty minutes even though it was almost time for her
appointment. She had to stop Jonathan but had no way to contact him. She had strict
orders to follow the instructions, and Emily grabbed her brick sized cell phone. (EN:
This was the ‘90s. )

<I’m at the front of DP Krump, but I can’t go in. My legs won’t work.>

<The same. Jonathan is not answering still?>

<Yes. Do we have to do this? I feel like an imbecile.>

<Damn the guy. Did he call us to make us do things like this?>

<So what are you going to do?>

<What can we do? We have to follow orders. He’s going down, and we have no way to
stop him. Do you think Jonathan actually sees money as money?>

<That’s that.>

<It is.>

Emily thought she had made a mistake in making the call, as her mood became even
gloomier. Eventually, she entered the massive bank like a cow walking into the
slaughterhouse. The wait was not long since she had already scheduled a meeting.

“I’m Emily from Jonathan Investments.”

While Emily offered her business card, she thought it would become useless soon.
Only a single ordinary employee from DP Krump had come into the meeting, who did
not even have the authority to make decisions. Emily placed the documents, and as
the employee looked over them, he scratched his head and stroked his nose.

“It’s a new type of swap transaction, and you seemed to have prepared a lot.”

Emily agreed that this had taken much preparation, as she had been impressed by
the expertise that had gone into Jonathan’s product proposal. However, trash was
trash.

“I have to tell you that I will look over this as usual, but I do not want to waste your
time. Who will accept such a deal like this?”

The employee was polite, and Emily thought it was inevitable that the DP Krump
employee had misunderstood the proposal.

“Jonathan Investments is position B, and we will take the position where we would
only make profit when Hong Kong short-term interest rate increases over 100%.”

“What?”

The employee picked up the documents again, and she looked at his face while
waiting for him to speak. It was just as Emily had guessed, as his facial muscles were
working desperately to hide his laughter. He was doing his best to do so and quickly
got out of the room, saying that he had no authority over this. Emily covered her
reddening face.

After a short while, new employees from DP Krump came in, and they had more
weight this time. A team leader, who could make decisions, and three subordinates
were added to the mix. They greeted each other, and the new people began to
confirm the documents.

“A swap transaction of this kind is unprecedented. It takes a long time to create a

new product, and to build such a market with Hong Kong bonds…” (EN: What is a
swap transaction? A contract to exchange two financial liabilities. For example,
swapping fixed interest-rate debts for variable-rate debts. They are commonly used to
enable a borrower to change the basis of interest payments and will often incur a fee.)

“We are aware.”

“However, since you had made such immaculate preparations, we can go about this
with less work. How much money are we talking about?”

Emily inwardly shouted that now was the time to stop.

“500 million dollars.”

It was an OBSCENE amount of money, and Emily knew that they were sneering at her
at that moment. The DP Krump employees became busy with them, and the time
they took to confirm there were no hidden tricks in Emily’s product proposal took
much more time than the first reading.

‘There are none! Congratulations. You’ve earned a humongous pile of dough just by
sitting there on your fat a$$.’

Emily grabbed a pen, as only Jonathan’s parents would refuse that worthless
proposal. The highest ranking of the DP Krump people was also taking out a pen
from his breast pocket and after they signed, he asked for a handshake.

After the handshake, he asked a question.

“I know that this is impolite, but I have never heard of Jonathan Investments before.”

“We have been open for less than a year, and Jonathan Investments looks forward to
an amicable partnership with DP Krump.”

Both Emily and the DP Krump people were thinking the same thing. They would
never see each other again. After the signature was on the proposal, Emily made her
escape. While she could not actually hear the sound, she knew that the sneering
laughter of DP Krump was following her. The worse thing was that DP Krump was
not the end, and she had to fly to Europe to do this again.

***
“Conquest preparations complete.”

Jonathan confirmed the email and turned his chair towards me. He had remained
silent about my predictions about Hong Kong’s crazy maneuvers from that day.

“We’ve bet 5 billion dollars.”

Bonds were done, and it was now time for stocks.

“It’s our turn.”

My heart beat faster than it had in a long time. I knew the strategy that the investors
will use and the method the Hong Kong government will use to defend against them.
However, our 50 billion dollars bet had not been figured into their calculations. Also,
I could not guess the exact date now, so earning profit by using maximum leverage
had become impossible. The choices I will make now were the important ones.

“You’re thinking of betting 50 billion dollars on the stocks falling, right?”

“Yes.”

“Hong Kong will crash with that much money. The foreign exchange market would be
destroyed. Sun, your calculations will be useless then.”

Jonathan saw things accurately.

“Therefore, we have to stop at exactly that level.”

“That level?”

“The level that Hong Kong will still hold its deathgrip on the foreign exchange
market. If Hong Kong changes directions to protecting stocks because of us, we
will…”

“Be ruined. It’s us against the Hong Kong government. However, the bigger the battle,
the more we will gain, right?”

It seemed that Jonathan had made his decision last night, and he now spoke with
determination.
“An all-out war with Hong Kong? We are not at that level yet, Jonathan.”

Moreover, I did not want to face such opponents, those who would give up their
limbs to win. If Hong Kong does that against the Hedge Funds, and we make our
move, the country will use the same strategy against us. Hong Kong would choose to
die with their enemies.

“Then?”

“We will use fear like the Hedge Funds did.”

Jonathan nodded.

“Hong Kong is Asia’s financial center. What will happen when Hong Kong burns its
stock market by its own hands?”

Jonathan shook a little, as he understood what I was saying.

“The entire world will be shocked, and what will happen if we ‘encourage’ that fear a
little?”

“SUN!”

“The global stock market will shake, and we will bet on it.”

It could not be helped. While the Korean IMF crisis will come faster than in the
previous history, it was an inevitable outcome even without my intervention. I
started booting up the computers.

“We will bet the five billion dollars when it’s time. What you and I will do now is…”

“Move the ghost companies with the rest of the funds under the prediction that the
global stock market will fall.”

“That’s right. While the most important thing is profit, another thing just as
important is that no one knows about us. If someone discovers our tail, that means
the end.”

As we had accumulated this much in an instant, the fall could come just as quickly.
“Then let’s start now. We don’t have much time.”

This was it, that familiar racing heartbeat. It was just like the times I had to open
reward boxes with everything riding on the outcome, good or ill. I placed my hands
on the keyboard with memories flying in my head.

Then, the day came.

It was October, and as I got used to getting sleep and school after the vacation was
over, Jonathan also got used to Korean fast food. I smelled cup noodles again today in
the offices, as I ran in after classes ended.

The trash can was already full of empty cup noodle bowls and cola cans. On the other
hand, Jonathan was glued to the monitor and had not even noticed me coming in. I
could see his dismal aura from his back and the rushed movements he made with the
mouse. His expression was the same.

Jonathan had been like this the past few days. Our losses increased as the global
stock market rose, and except for the Asian stock market, the global trend was on the
rise. As for the funds, our investments were immense, so were our losses.

I dropped my bag to make a sound, and Jonathan turned to me and spoke with a face
that resembled a child caught stealing.

“You could have coughed or something.”

Jonathan covered the monitor he saw with his body, and I could see endless red
numbers from the parts not covered. They all signaled losses, and it was natural for
Jonathan to be conscious of losses. No one could remain impassive after such an
enormous investment. Moreover, we had put in an astronomical amount of funds,
and the losses were accumulating. Not even God would be indifferent in this
situation.

“How bad are our losses so far?”

“You know that the amounts are incomprehensible.”

We had borrowed stock from firms all over the world and sold them, and it had taken
two months to do so. It would take that much time to know exactly the total profit
and losses since the size and date of each transaction were all different.

“In a general manner.”

“I think we’re deep in the red.”

I nodded and sat in a chair, and Jonathan stared at me with a surprised look. I had
never sat in front of a computer after making the bet on the global stock market
falling. From that day on, this space had been Jonathan’s only, and I always exercised
in the other room. Jonathan must have felt something at me suddenly sitting in a
chair.

His eyes opened wide, and I could see the whites. That’s right, Jonathan.

“Let’s attack Hong Kong.”

The house was going to burn, and we would pour oil so it would become a bonfire.
We became very busy from then on, and Jonathan and I moved between computers
that had already been setup. We opened one paper company account per computer
and threw oil in amounts ranging from 100 million to 1 billion dollars. The only
sounds were the keyboards clicking and the alarms signaling that the transaction
was complete.

From construction, communication, heavy industry, chemistry, and tourism, Hong

Kong stock prices began to fall at once in all fields except banking, which we did not
touch on purpose. We needed to calm down Hong Kong banks at least a little.

Since the Hong Kong stock market had incurred attacks until now every day, it
responded more actively to our provocation. It was then we looked at each other, and
Jonathan spoke what I was going to say.

“There are people tracking us!”

Our faces tightened for the first time after we began pouring oil into Hong Kong.

“Do you think we have been caught?”

“It’s too early for anything! Jonathan!”

“Speak!”

“New York has to defend us! Have them make our transactions for us!”

Jonathan stood up, the chair flew to the wall and made a large bang. I looked
carefully over the situation and stopped my trades. I could hear Jonathan speaking
harshly in a loud voice in the outer office for a long time.

Jonathan came running in. He only spoke with clenched teeth after sending emails to
his team members.

“I sent the transaction list, and they will begin the transactions now.”

“Did you have them waiting in advance?”

Jonathan nodded.

“You did well. Now, time will let us know who is following us.”

While we had been careful, if the people attacking Hong Kong had found us, things
would have been bad. However, if some smart investors at the stock market were
doing this as a strategic maneuver, it would stop. Which was it?

It was then the defense funds from Jonathan Investments began flowing into the
Hong Kong stock market. Jonathan bit his nails as he glared at the monitor.

“It’s calming down. Damn, I lost ten years of my lifespan… The Hong Kong stock
market would have been crushed.”

“Let’s finish up when the market closes since we will have spread enough fear.”

My voice was also weak. If our provocations had been too much, it would have meant
the end of us. However, fortunately, things calmed down, and now we only needed to
wait for the Hong Kong government to make a quick decision. I did not know
whether it would be tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

However, it was that night when I heard Jonathan shout at me as I prepared to go

home.

“Sun, you were wrong!”

He screamed at me as if he had the biggest surprise of his life…

***
Clive, who was the general manager at DP Krump, was excited about receiving
performance benefits at the end of the year. The stress from the losses he incurred in
Thailand had been washed away by the proposal those idiots had brought.

“The name was Jonathan Investments.”

Clive spoke in a happy voice to an acquaintance in a Wall Street salon.

“You can say that again. I can’t believe it. How can one possibly think to earn profit by
betting that the Hong Kong interest rates increase by over 100%?”

“Those were the most unbelievably stupid idiots I have ever seen.”

“How much did they bet?”

“500 million dollars.”

“They are insane. That is the stupidest way I have ever heard of throwing away
money. Congratulations my friend, you have made an astronomical profit just by
sitting there. News about Hong Kong is just coming up.”

Clive called the salon employee and generously tipped him to turn up the volume.
However, he did not need to, as the bold letters in the lower part of the screen made
every Wall Street guy open their eyes.

[Breaking news: Hong Kong raises short-term interest rates by 400%.]

“What?” Clive could not believe it even as he stared at the screen. A 400% increase?
Is this possible? One could more easily believe that gold could be made from iron.
Clive then began to see people run out of the salon, and the comfortable atmosphere
broke down like a bomb had exploded. Clive’s acquaintance was no different, and he
spoke with a pale face.

“I’ll excuse myself now!”

Clive’s acquaintance knew how much Clive would lose, but he had to save his own
skin first rather than consoling him. From the Hong Kong shock, the entire global
stock market was falling. Clive was left alone, and he vacantly stared at the news
screen that had already moved to another issue.
While his cell phone rang, Clive did not hear anything as his face turned white. He
did not remember how he got back to his office.

“Clive!”

Several DP Krump board members were waiting for him at the entrance.

“What is this?”

Clive’s head spun looking at their livid faces.

“Why do you ask me that?”

“Then who do we ask?”

“Ask the head of the Hong Kong Central Bank why Hong Kong went with such a crazy
strategy. They are insane.”

“Do you realize… you’re fired!”

Clive nodded and went back to his office. Other team members who evaluated the
Jonathan Investments proposal were waiting for him like they already knew what
fate awaited them.

Clive fell down on his chair like a drunkard, and while he did not stumble, he was
limp in his chair.

“We can’t retrieve anything, right?”

“Yes.”

An answer came back from somewhere.

“Where did things go wrong?”

However, no one could answer that question.

***

Jonathan pointed at the monitor as I ran to him, and bold letters burst from the
financial information site he had opened.

[Breaking news: Hong Kong raises short-term interest rates by 400%.]

“Oh my…”

Exclamations came out of my mouth at that moment, as Hong Kong had increased
their crazy ante by not 300%, but 400%.

“Sun, you did it again! Jesus!”

Jonathan shouted, and I felt my hands shake as I could not suppress the bursting
emotions. That did not come from the money. The Hong Kong shock will hit the
world, and there has never been such an event that changed the entire financial
world like this before, excluding the Day of Advent and after the gates opened and
the dungeons were unsealed.

I threw back my bag and sat. It was true, as the entire global stock markets began to
fall. The spot markets in countries with open markets and the futures markets in
countries with closed markets were falling, and we were reaping in the profit!

[The Asian financial crisis is spreading with domino effects.]

[The second Black Monday.]

[Hong Kong, America, Japan, and Europe stock prices are falling.]

No stock markets could avoid the fall I had engineered, and I had hit another jackpot.
The absurd amount of money we made this year was only the beginning. While in my
previous life, the trait the Man who Overcame Adversity and the skill the Devi’s
Sword had been considered Beyond Human Limits, money would be more powerful
now. Especially in the future that I will create.
A week had passed since the destruction of Hong Kong’s Stock Market. The Korean
government had requested financial relief from the IMF. Since Korea was more
sensitive to the situation with Hong Kong than other countries, things were going
faster by two weeks from the previous history.

There was other news. I had been certain that Jonathan would be the cover model of
Forbes next month, and he did go back to New York for an interview with the
magazine. He contacted me afterwards. (EN: The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
is an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting
of 190 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial
stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable
economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world while periodically depending
on the World Bank for its resources. Forbes is an American business magazine owned
by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a
year, it features original articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. )

<The world’s billionaire list?>

<Yes, it seems unavoidable. However, what’s important is that they are close to us
and have done a lot of research. They knew about you.>

<What?>

<Not your identity. They knew about the ownership shares in Jonathan
Investments.>

<Do they consider themselves the National Tax Service?!>

Forbes collected their list of the richest in the following manner. If the subject had
established an undisclosed company, they listened to outside experts. If the subject
is the CEO of a publicized company, they based their calculations on the stock prices
at the time of research.

Also, for people who had not established companies such as athletes, they estimated
the subject’s total assets based on past publicly disclosed earnings.
Starting from next year, Forbes would exclude dictators with illicit wealth and royal
families. Our New York company, Jonathan Investments, belonged to the first
category.

<They don’t know who I am, right?>

<There would be massive chaos then. All they know that 51% of the New York shares
belong to an unidentified John Doe.>

<It’s a problem. If Forbes knows that, everyone in Wall Street has that information.>

<It’s a big problem. I’ll do my best, so your identity won’t be revealed. Don’t worry
too much, since I’m hiring specialists in that field.>

<So, what was your answer to Forbes?>

<I told them that their information was accurate. Since they already knew, I couldn’t
hide that from them.>

<We will be in a tough spot if they keep digging in.>

<My sentiments exactly.>

The paper companies we had separated into tax havens were not yet complete. We
still had work left to do in order to make them seem actual companies rather than
ghosts. If a special tax investigation came in at this time…

<You’ll still be behind the scenes as an unidentified John Doe.>

<How close are they to us?>

<They know that we are the victors of Thailand, and we had won the bet against the
major global banks.>

The fact we had provoked Hong Kong, causing the crash of the Stock Market had not
been discovered. It had been done by our paper companies and accomplished by our
proxies. If our hands had been revealed, the end of 1997 would be screaming with
the greatest financial scandal in history.

I felt pride in Jonathan, as he was still following me despite being my accomplice in

the most unbelievably brazen and greatest act of financial manipulation in history,
since the Dutch Tulip Mania. He went on speaking.

<They calculated the New York firm’s value 22 billion dollars. As I said, they are
close. Therefore, John Doe is valued at about 11.2 billion, and I’m valued at about
10.7 billion. They will call us ranked eighteenth and twentieth.>

Jonathan became quiet, as while Forbes had listed us in the top twenty, we would be
the two richest people in the world when considering the paper companies and the
hidden funds in them. His silence meant that understanding.

***

Adolescence was a nice time to be young, as my classmates were still young even as
they pretended to be old. Nations entered a crisis even when there were no gates and
monsters. Would I have changed my viewpoint if I had children? Anyway, the only
person who had mentioned the IMF and the foreign exchange crisis in the classroom
was my homeroom teacher.

The teacher spoke about it for a while in front of immature children who only
thought of girls and fights. No one was interested. I discovered the global edition of
the Forbes at the newsstand in front of the office after school. Jonathan really looked
like a successful investor as he smiled to the readers with his hands cupping his chin
at his Wall Street desk.

Forbes had named him ‘The God of Investments,’ and had not hesitated to use the
word “God”. Respected technical journals placed meaning on each word and went
through editing multiple times. However, Jonathan’s interview mentioned the word
“God” more than twenty times.

While this was unprecedented, no one in Wall Street would oppose Jonathan’s
nickname now. A New York company had succeeded in an investment only God or a
prophet could make. The New York firm’s future was brighter than ever, and the
richest of the world would be beating down the doors even at this moment.

When I finished Jonathan’s interview, I heard a man’s voice next to me.

“Hello.”

He was familiar, and that slave-like ID card around his neck made me realize the
reason. He was a member of the Foreign Exchange Management Team at Daemin
Bank. We had crossed each other’s paths a few times.

“He looks like your colleague.”

The man was talking about Jonathan, as he had also seen Jonathan a few times
during the past few months as he had seen me.

However, things ended there. The man could not match the handsome cover model
of Forbes with the shabby, often dead-tired foreign man. I just nodded and walked
away and I didn’t care if he thought me a rude rookie.

I had no reason to form personal relationships with anyone in this building, and
someone was waiting for me in the lobby. I recognized her in an instant, as she had
the looks I requested.

She was beautiful right out of a romantic film, and her long and curvy figure could
not be hidden even under the thick winter coat. She was sitting on a bench and
reading a magazine, and the scene looked like a photoshoot.

The young building guards and everyone coming to the building were glancing at her.
She raised her head when I stood in front of her, and I offered a handshake.

“Ms. Jamie?”

While she looked Asian, Jamie would not know Korean since she had been born and
raised in America. We used English.

“I have been waiting.”

I had ordered three conditions for the person who would be the CEO of Jeonil
Investments. First, she had to be recognized for her skills in a large real estate
investment or counseling firm. Second, she had to be a beautiful Asian woman. The
third was the important part, as I asked for someone who would let illegal
transactions pass for her success. I had been looking for someone who met these
conditions since August and finally found her.

While many fit the first two articles, the third was hardly something I could post in
the job description. I had to find the lies in their resumes and use black money to
access the trial records. In other words, she was an ex-convict who had been
released recently.

She had served a short-term imprisonment for professional negligence and

malpractice for looking the other way at her employer’s embezzlement, who had
been the CEO of the firm.

Humans did not change even after prison. I took her to a nearby cafe. She walked
next to me like a tourist since it was the first time she had been to Korea. She seemed
to understand why she had been called to Korea and looked like she enjoyed herself
as she watched the tall buildings and stores.

All the real estate in this street looked like bargain sale items at a one-time price sale
to her predator’s eyes. She asked me a question when we arrived at the cafe.

“Is it you?”

She understood that no one else was waiting for us and sat across from me with a
bright smile.

“You’re the interviewer.”

She seemed surprised that I was so young.

“I have to ask something first. Is there an internal decision to hire me, or do I have to
pay attention to my competitors?”

“If this was a simple interview, I would not have paid for your business class ticket.
We have decided to hire you.”

“Umm…”

Jamie’s expression changed to one in deep thought.

“Your criminal record was not a matter of consideration.”

At my words, Jamie opened her eyes wide as if her thoughts had been read.

“We focused on your countenance and your record at Wilshire Land. We needed a
beautiful Asian woman who specialized in real estate as our CEO and found someone
who met our standards at a headhunting company. I believe that you will understand
why your beauty was a necessary condition.”

Jamie smiled attractively instead of nodding. During her Wilshire Land years, she
had taken on a huge investment project. The reason she had managed the Asian
investments there had been because of her Asian beauty. She would be a strategist,
and the face that will change the negative opinions that Jeonil Investments will face
into positive ones.

“Your abilities are top priority, and we have confirmed that to our satisfaction.”

Jamie’s eyes shone. She could finally estimate the size of the investment firm she
would go in as CEO. The scale was such that the firm had to be conscious of how the
public would see it, hence the need for an attractive public face. However, I was
certain that the dollars we would bring to Korea were several times more than
Jamie’s estimations.

“I have not heard the company name yet.”

“It is Jeonil Investments.”

“You will focus on real estate investments?”

“You would have not heard the name before, since this is a new firm first entering
Korea now. We have finished an MOU with our contacts.” (EN: A memorandum of
understanding (MOU or MoU) is a formal agreement between two or more parties.
Companies and organizations can use MOUs to establish official partnerships. MOUs
are not legally binding but they carry a degree of seriousness and mutual respect,
stronger than a gentlemen’s agreement.)

“How many employees do you have?”

“As I said, we are not established yet. You can have the team you want. Bring a team
you know, hire, or buy a Korean counseling firm if you want. You will have free rein
within the funds.”

As I expected, Jamie’s shoulders shook, and her slightly fisted hands on the table also
trembled. This was a big chance for her, and I thought she would shout in joy as her
lips opened. She quickly composed herself and asked me a question.

“Can I have the material so I can confirm?”

“Of course.”

I took out a document folder among unnecessary middle school textbooks.

“Jeonil Investments is divided by Gold Wish, Seiram, Turors, Ichi, and Truth…”

I began to explain after naming the paper companies that were our core ones.
Jamie’s hand stopped flipping pages, which was when she confirmed the funds that
will go into Jeonil Investments. Her eyes shot wide open.

Unbelievable, a chance like this could not come to me. My becoming CEO for a firm
like this has to be a trick. I read her mind.

“I, I have never heard of these firms before.”

Jamie’s voice shook as she pointed at the paper companies that held Jeonil
Investments’ shares.

“They are officially investment firms that have been recently established.”

“Yes.”

“They are built in the Bahamas, Bermuda, and Netherlands. This is the extent I can
tell you, as I have to protect my clients’ secrets.”

I handed Jamie a fake name card of a paper company. She will understand that this
was hot money, and the dollars of the rich were coming into Korea through tax
havens. Well, she was not wrong.

“I will not intervene in Jeonil Investments, as I believe that you will satisfy my clients
with your performance.”

I took a document out of my bag and handed it to her.

“However, there will be special orders like this one. You have to place them at top
priority and have to execute them. Do so immediately when the Korean real estate
market opens.”

While money was good, these were more important. They were Korean dungeons.
I met Jamie again after a few days. She did not question why I had Jeonil’s company
credit card issued since she had already realized that Jeonil was not an altogether
clean company. For the price of fame and wealth, Jamie would remain silent about
the illegal activities.

The company card was the first step, and as I held the plastic card with Jeonil’s name
on it, my money worries completely disappeared.

“Please have cash ready in the linked account. You will not receive reports of how the
money was used.”

Jeonil’s money was all mine and not mine at all at the same time. These were
company funds, and if not used for managing the company, it immediately becomes
embezzlement.

However, Jamie did not even blink and acted like she had already anticipated the
situation.

“This country is nice for establishing firms. I knew it from the first, but the more I
learn, the more I like it.”

Obviously thinking ahead, Jamie next mentioned the best accounting firm and legal
firm in Korea, Samwoo Accountings, and Kim & Park Law.

“These two firms will solve most of the problems in this country for us, and I
confirmed their ability. I hired these guys as the first step for Jeonil.”

Jamie handed over two profile files, and she had hired Daehwan Cho as the
Accounting Director and Chungsik Park as the Legal Director. These two men were
acknowledged to be the top in their fields and were partners in their firms, and they
were expected to aim for vice-CEO or CEO in a few years. They had committed to give
up their positions to join Jeonil.

While they could not make illegal things legal, they would be able to make them look
legitimate.
“However, there are conditions. They will not move until the head office receives
funds. They are insuring themselves, as they are unable to believe that fifteen billion
dollars will really come into this country.”

Jamie looked at me straight, and I could see that she also wanted confirmation.

“You do not need to worry about that, as the money will come in stages.”

I spoke while holding the company card. Jamie must have researched the situation
Korea was in during the past few days.

“Are you excited?”

I asked frankly, and Jamie nodded.

“Do you think I can manage this?”

“I believe that position makes the person.”

“I am grateful that you gave me this chance, and I won’t let you down. I’ll see you
tomorrow.”

She had meetings all day today, and the first was at the Blue House with the
Secretary of Civil Affairs. The President was at the end of his term and he and the
President-elect who just won the election yesterday were waiting for her. I spoke as
she stood up.

“You have to mention that the real estate market needs to be opened quickly.”

***

“This is the first time there has been a change in the ruling party, and the President-
elect has won this election in his fourth attempt. However, the President-elect now
has to face the burden of rebuilding our economy. Our first news is the press
conference the President-elect held in the Blue House.”

The footage came after the anchor’s briefing, and Jamie appeared from the
beginning. She was shaking hands with the current President and then the
President-elect. Based on the short clip, the star of the news report was not the
President-elect but Jamie.
Jeonil Investments was mentioned at the end of the press conference. The overall
tone was that the New Government had succeeded in attracting an investment that
was worth about fifteen billion dollars and will overcome the current financial crisis
with investments like this.

The next day was Saturday, and Jamie came into my office for the first time. One sees
exercise equipment first when coming in, and her response was similar to
Jonathan’s. I spoke to her as she was busy looking around the office.

“Congratulations, Jamie. You have become the most sought after person in the
political and financial fields in this country.”

“You’re right. I can’t reveal my face once I head out to my hotel.”

Anyone with a name in Korea wanted to meet her, and that was why she came in
with her face hidden with a hood.

“The two men I mentioned yesterday confirmed that they will work for us.”

Daehwan Cho from Samwoo and Chungsik Park from Kim & Park made quick
decisions, as they were faster than anyone else at smelling out the money.

“My former colleagues will come to Korea this evening. I finished negotiating with
the real estate consultancies in this country and only need an office…”

Jamie’s eyes widened as her eyes followed the exercise equipment, and saw how
much the weights were set for. She looked at the walls and windows carefully and
mostened her lips as she stood near the window that had a view of the streets.

“Do you know that this lovely building is for sale? However, the prices will fall.”

“You will need to be careful with the timing. You cannot be too fast or too slow.”

“Hotels are busy, and my old competitors have all come to Korea.”

As she had mentioned, the five-star hotels in Gangnam were doing brisk business.
This was called a firesale, and it meant selling furniture after a house burnt down at
a cheap price. Korea’s situation was a few times worse. The fire was spreading,
becoming fiercer, like a wildfire. The animals ran from the flames, and only charred
corpses were left where the flames had swept.
It was a feast time for eagles, as they only needed to choose which prey was juicier
and tastier. Since there was so much to eat, there was no need for eagles to fight. As
they considered the choices, the flames spread even further to provide them with
more prey.

“My specialty is real estate, but I find it lacking to only invest in it. A chance like this
will never come again.”

She looked at the upper part of the building across us, and I could see employees
busily working from afar. How many would survive?

“Ethan.”

Jamie used the English name I had presented to her in the fake business card.

“Are your clients interested in only this country’s real estate?”

It was an inevitable question and my client’s permission (my permission) was

required before proceeding.

“They only look at the numbers, which is profit. You do not need to limit yourself to
real estate, but you know that investments come with responsibility.”

“There will be a high return in this country now. Enough dollars would make
children presidents. I will take your words as permission to expand my investments
to firms.”

I nodded, as in the previous timeline, the biggest shares in the major Korean firms
would be gobbled up by foreign eagles. Jamie’s eyes burned, and she looked like she
was ready to soar as the largest eagle in the sky.

“I also went through your special orders and cannot say much about them. Most of
them do not seem profitable, and with Seoul’s real estate…”

Jamie was about to go on a long explanation.

“I know that you want to show your passion, but stop there.”

Jamie probably tried to stare at my eyes to understand me and the logic behind the
Special Orders. However, she was unable to meet my eyes, as I needed to make her
understand now.

They call it the “Thousand Yard Stare”. Veterans who had fought in many battlefields
had it, and stripped of the mystique, it was simple. It was the gaze of someone who
had seen death, up close and personal, coming forward and reaching for them. It was
the look of a person, who to survive, had become a predator. It was the eyes of a
killer, who measured lives as nothing more than assets or liabilities, who wouldn’t
hesitate to remove obstacles in their path, without remorse, without guilt. Jamie saw
my eyes, and death looked back at her, something she understood at the instinctive
level.

I did not need to even speak to intimidate her. Jamie gulped and wore an awkward
smile.

“I… had been overexcited, wasn’t I.”

“I understand. If you want to expand your investments to firms…”

“Yes.”

Jamie looked like she completely understood my rules.

“I recommend you headhunt the business loan teams from the three largest banks as
your recruits. Bring another list.”

***

On the last day of the year, in my previous life, my father came home drunk. While he
had not mentioned it to us, he had been sentenced to a forced voluntary resignation
at a young age. I still remember the day Father came in, supported by Mother.
However, today Father came in alone with a laugh.

I could smell liquor from his breath, and he sat down at the entrance without even
taking off his shoes. He called Mother, and when she took off his shoes, he lay down
on the floor. Mother looked at Father with a worried face that said that the inevitable
bad news had come.

Mother became aware of me, and she stopped my father from talking.

“Come to your senses. Sunhoo is here.”

Mother had sensed that a dark shadow had fallen over our family, and she didn’t
want him to say that he had been fired in front of me.

However, what Father said was different from Mother’s expectations.

“Can I change companies? Can I?”

“You can do whatever you want. I said that Sunhoo is here. How much did you
drink?”

“Your husband will go to a better company! Those bastards are the problem!”

I heard my father make a sound that either could be a laugh or a cry.

There are not enough words to explain how my father influenced my decision to
major in finance. He had not been able to get back to the financial field when I
entered university. However, our lives had not been that bad. Mother had rented a
small store with Father’s severance pay, and that had been an admirable choice. My
middle school years, therefore, were comfortable considering the era. I had good
memories of bringing friends to my parents’ supermarket and giving them an armful
of snacks.

I would organize the store with Father after school, and he would teach me finances
and take me to the bank with him. He had even opened a stock account for me, which
was quite amazing.

My father had taught me well and helped me to see my dream when I did not know
what to do. I always respected my father and my mother, who became tough from
managing the store.

I managed to get into a famous university and major in what I had always wanted
thanks to them and had been able to survive the Trial Tests.

……

It had been like that.

***

Chungsik Park’s eldest son opened his mouth after he saw his chance.

“I heard something strange yesterday.”

“What?”

“Do you know Jeonil Investments?”

“How can one not? You should also pay attention to that company.”
“Are you going there as Director?”

“Who told you that?”

“Who else? From District Director Cho.”

“He speaks freely, and he told you?”

“Is it true?”

“That’s my decision, what I do with my life is my concern. I have already paved your
path wherever you want to go in life.”

“Father!”

“What!”

“How… could you make such a decision without telling us? You were being
considered for a cabinet post, and this is an important time for you.”

Chungsik Park slammed his spoon down, and other family members quickly escaped
from the table.

“District Attorney Park.”

“Yes.”

“You can’t see the situation, can’t you?”

Chungsik Park glared at his eldest son and then sighed.

“I’m worried. We don’t even know who owns Jeonil Investments. It will be a blemish
on you, and I did do my research.”

“Are you saying that you’re the only one with brains? You won’t rise up the ladder,
Attorney Park if you hold other people in contempt.”

“Yes.”

“Jeonil Investments. As you say, it’s a shady foreign investment firm. Who knows
whether it’s drug money or oil money? I don’t need to know that. However, what do
you think money without a clear origin is called? Blind money.”

“Money? So, this was all about money? You have enough already.”

“You’re making up the answers to your own questions, so what more do I need to
say?”

“You’re risking your honor. What should I do? Should I pretend not to notice and
congratulate you on earning money by bowing down to Drug Lords or the Oil
Companies?”

“Be insolent one more time. You know I have a temper.”

“…I apologize, but you’re not alone. You taught us that your actions reflect on the
family, and the family’s actions reflect on you, and I’m teaching my own kids that.”

Chungsik Park wanted to lose his temper but stopped because his son was saying the
right things. His fame and power will go to his children, and theirs will come to him.
The family had to stand together in all things, and the family’s success was his own.
He had taught his children like that as they grew up. Chungsik Park’s words were
mellower when he spoke.

“Attorney Park, open your eyes. Power has changed hands.”

“Yes, he has finally been elected.”

“No, he’s a poor guy without any luck. He won’t be able to touch power even after
becoming President.”

“Who else is there?”

“Someone else.”

“Who?”

Chungsik Park picked up his spoon and answered.

“The all mighty dollar.”

“……”

“You didn’t realize this? Your father will become the eyes of the blind dollars.”

By becoming a Director of Jeonil Investments.

***

These kinds of people have always existed. They would justify themselves by
speaking about humanity or shared responsibility during a crisis, and acted as
upright and model citizens, while busily enriching themselves. In that manner, Eight
Evils and Eight Virtues were innocent since they acted on their own beliefs, and were
free of hypocrisy. Daemin Bank on the first floor was filled with people who were
buying jewelry and gold teeth.

[Let’s overcome this crisis together! Gold Collection Campaign]

The banner at the Daemin Bank entrance was blowing in the cold winter wind, and
while the bank employees who welcomed the people with smiles did not know, the
owners and heads of the bank were using the people’s patriotism. They would be
thinking and drooling about all that money they’ll earn selling the gold bought so
cheaply.

I set my face to stone and went into the lobby, and saw that the building had
decreased the lobby guards from three to one. I could not even see the Daemin Bank
Foreign Exchange Management Team, who had been so busy. Only the first floor,
where the Gold Collection Campaign was ongoing, was filled with people. The
building itself had been emptying out starting from a few days back.

Many businesses had gone bankrupt or could not pay the rent, so the building lobby
was empty of business signs today. However, there were still some people. I saw the
building manager’s deputy among several suited men, and he had been a severe
person in manner and looks. However, oday he was unnaturally smiling at the men in
suits.

“He has come.”

He told the men in suits, and everyone focused on me. The deputy approached me
first.
“Could you please help us out?”

The deputy was trying to be as nice as he could.

“What is it?”

“Our owner has placed this building for sale. They are interested in buying and
would like to ask a resident a few questions.”

The deputy quickly added some words.

“I’m sorry to bother you when you’re busy, this won’t take long.”

“All right. The building manager saw to it that I was comfortable.”

I looked at the suited men and smiled when I saw the badges they had on their
jackets. The name of their company was made into a logo, and I saw the two letters
“JI” under the lobby light.

“You came from Jeonil Investments.”

“You know of them?”

The deputy asked in surprise. If my Father had been with them, he would have made
the same expression.

“Come to my office since it’s so cold.”

While the real estate market would have opened in June 1998, according to original
history, due to my intervention, it had been opened just recently. Foreigners could
now buy Korean real estate. Jeonil was underway, and I had been waiting for Jamie to
contact me.

They were in fact my employee’s employee’s employee’s employees, or shorter, my

employees, three times removed. However, one of them was around my father’s age,
and there might be those who knew my father. I liked their confident and passionate
faces, as my father had the same expression nowadays. My father also worked for
Jeonil.

I made them hot coffee, and they asked me ordinary questions like whether there
were any inconveniences as a resident, would I continue to rent this office, and if so,
wanted lower rent.

I thought it strange that I treated them with respect, like how I’d treat my father.

I was becoming used to this age, and I was becoming less sharp. I could not go on
drawing monsters, and that was why I had been waiting for Jamie’s report on
Hwaseong’s hill and the dungeon that was sealed there.

“Thank you for the coffee. While the times are difficult, a crisis can become an
opportunity. We wish you well.”

The Jeonil employees left, and left their business cards with me. I could not call
Jamie, as she was never alone. She would be in meetings with those inside and
outside the firm.

She sent me an email last night and also this morning. Yesterday’s mail said that the
head office’s inspection team would be visiting the building I resided in, and today’s
mail made my heart beat faster.

[Subject: First item purchased.]

The first item was Hwaseong’s hill, and I had waited for this for a long time.
There were no graves like before, and the terrain was rough. The weeds growing
everywhere came up to my waist. Unnamed thorn bushes and trees blocked my path
wherever I went. Blood seeped out of the light scratches they made as I made my
way through them. Also, the ground was slippery as the snow had melted and frozen
again, and another snowfall covered the treacherous patches of ice. I could not
discern the dangers with my eyes.

Unlike my past life the military, under the government’s orders, had not dragged
Awakened to the dungeon entrance. This place, decades ago from that time, was a
drastically different place.

***

The government had been harsh the first time I had come to this hill in my past life.
Martial laws had been enforced, and I had been the only one of the reserve forces
who had been summoned. Because I had survived the trial tests, I had been managed
under a stricter regimen than ordinary soldiers under the Ministry of National
Defence. (EN: Sun is one of some 3 million men in South Korea’s reserve forces. Every
man who finishes his mandatory service is classified as a member of the reserve forces
and required to serve as a reservist for another eight years.)

It had been when the Awakened had been treated like the Ministry’s strategic
resources. There had been insufficient research, and no one knew how much we
could do. No one knew how much potential we had, and if they had known earlier,
they would have treated us in a completely different manner. They would have
begged on their knees instead of ordering us at gunpoint.

Anyway, this hill and dungeon had been under government management, and at first,
we thought we had been transferred to a government research facility. We believed
that we would become experimental rats and looked for a chance to escape.

I still remember when we had decided we would kill to get away, and I had marked
my targets with my eyes, letting my fellow Awakened know who I would take out. I
was planning to kill the three young soldiers who were leading me. One of them had
become a non-commissioned officer recently, and the other two were corporals.

They held me at gunpoint, and I saw that they were scared at every movement I
made, perhaps because of a prior incident. I waited for a chance. While I would most
likely be shot and killed, I thought it would be better than being an experimental rat
for the rest of my life.

It had been natural that we had misunderstood this place as a secret government
research lab, as there had been military facilities instead of this wild hill at the time.
Even the dungeon entrance had been camouflaged as a temporary building with
outer walls. While anyone would be suspicious of these facilities, the Korean
government owned them.

Due to their fear and alertness, there had been no chance until we moved into the
structure hiding the dungeon entrance.

Our plans to break out had been delayed, and so we were all alive when we stood in
front of the dungeon entrance and we realized we had come not as rats but as
soldiers.

***

“So where is the eagle’s beak…”

No matter how much I tried to remember, it was useless when the hill was so
different from my memories. There was no path, and I could not cut down every tree
on this big hill. I therefore called Ilju Constructions, a local firm located at the bottom
of the hill and near a rural village.

“It must have been a difficult trip. Hello, I am Cheolmin Choi.”

Since there were no navigation devices, he arrived at sunset after getting directions.
He looked at my reddened face from the cold and waved me over into the cab of his
truck. I warmed my body with the heater and I pointed him to the hill, and we drove
through a narrow path after passing the village.

It had been quite a dangerous ride until the middle of the hill.

“Cars cannot pass from here.”

We tried to drive as far as we could and after the car almost slid a few times from the
steep incline Mr. Choi finally parked. While his face was rigid, his voice was still
bright since I revealed that I managed the hill for the new owner.

“We will start the construction here and carve a new entry path.”

I pointed at the construction area, and the size was larger than the man’s
expectations. It was work that had come in this IMF era, where no one had anything
to do. He gulped so hugely that I could see his Adam’s apple wobble.

“Can you do it? You have to start now, even though it is winter, because the scale is
quite large.”

I called Ilju Constructions after looking over the regional information. While I should
collect bids and spend time selecting the best bid, I wanted to do things quietly and
quickly without any noise. From the man’s surprise, he never led a project this big
before.

His surprise was inevitable since they were a small company. Therefore, he had to
win this project at all costs. His voice was urgent in his answer.

“Of course!”

The size of the company did not matter, as many companies were suffering because
they could not win bids. If a company managed to secure a contract, they would be
able to temporarily expand their size, by calling on a team they had gone drinking
with a while back, a team they had worked with before, and call up another team
that someone knew. Everyone was hungry for work.

We went back to the car again, and I handed him the Jeonil Investments business
card. I was not wearing a suit, and my face was young, even if I was big. I did not look
trustworthy, and the man’s attitude became even more careful at the business card.

I had no need to show him the documents that said I owned the hill, but since I had
to show it anyway, I took out the document file from my bag. Logging and cultivation
need a permit from the regional government and an approved program.

The man looked at the file and then carefully stared at me desperately, and I did not
need to explain that I held all authority over the decisions for the construction
project.
“I’m looking for a firm that will also apply for the permit, and that’s why I asked you
whether you can handle this and give me an estimate.”

“I can!”

The man’s fingers were shaking, and while his voice was loud, it also shook.

“I cannot give you much time since this was a sudden change for us. That’s why we’re
using regional firms without collecting bids, but it does not mean we will use any
firm we see. Do you understand?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Can I get the estimate by tomorrow?”

“I’ll call you on this number!”

“The hill needs to be cleared without landscaping. Plan your estimate that way, and
also…”

“Yes!”

“Do you do buildings?”

“We can do anything!”

“Then you can also pave roads.”

The man fell silent for a minute and only blinked his eyes. I could hear his nostrils
flaring through the engine. Taking a hill, paving a road, and constructing a building?
It was for him a chance in a lifetime, and he could see the golden rope clearly laid in
front of him.

“Please try to set the completion time as early as you can. I will get estimates from
other firms but will not advise them like this. I hope that you win this bid, as we will
prioritize time over money.”

The man looked moved, and I could see a picture of him and his daughter at her
elementary school graduation ceremony taped to the driver’s side windshield. The
person who took the picture would be his wife.
“This is a difficult time for fathers, so please send me a good estimate.”

Tears welled in his eyes in an instant, even when nothing was decided yet.

***

Mr. Choi was quite passionate, and he had shaved and cut his hair, and I could smell
his fabric conditioner. He explained for a long time how the construction would go,
and since Ilju Constructions had limited options, he started by revealing everything,
such as where he would rent the equipment and which firms would come in as
partners.

“All right, let’s sign a contract.”

He opened and closed his eyes when I gave him an answer. Everything went by
quickly after that, as the equipment came from the next day. Since the hill could be
accessed through the small village, Mr. Choi had to reassure the village people so
there would not be any trouble. The good thing was that snow had stopped from
yesterday.

However, we began snow removal, so the completion time could be quickened. I had
requested speed over cost, so there were so many workers it seemed as if I was
going to pave over the mountain.

The village people who had come out to watch the construction did not look happy.
While I saw Mr. Choi hand the village foreman some money, they would be thinking
of things differently. There had been land that the village people were using as a field
without a permit at the hill’s entrance. Also, the hill had been used by them to forage
for mushrooms and beekeeping.

While it was private lands, if civil complaints popped up, things would become
complicated. I called Mr. Choi, who was busy at the site.

“There isn’t a village hall here, and I want you to build one to placate the village
people.”

“A hall? You don’t need to go that far. I have spoken with the village foreman.”

“I had not told you, but we will block the lower part of the mountain with a chain
link fence.”
A fence would disturb the village, as there would be threatening warning signs
everywhere and surveillance cameras with blinking red lenses. What village would
be silent about that?

We can’t risk someone seeing the dungeon by going up the mountain!

“The entire area?”

“Yes, I’m planning to completely control entry so no one can enter the hill.”

It was almost unprecedented that a regular hill would be controlled like that, and Mr.
Choi looked surprised enough to not know what to say.

“Since we’re a foreign firm, we can be abrupt at times. Things will go to court if
something bad happens, so we should build them a village hall. Instead of someone
as young as me, please explain the matter well to the village elders. That means that I
will also entrust the village hall to you.”

Mr. Choi again showed teary eyes at my words, and it was not because he cried easily.
The economy was so bad that he had to have been worrying about how to feed his
family before meeting me.

“Well…”

Mr. Choi composed himself like he was embarrassed, and he looked for a cigarette in
his pocket.

“We should go downtown together and speak about the rest in a warm place with
coffee…”

I will build walls with reinforced concrete at the entrance, emplace barbed wire
fences surrounding the walls, and install surveillance cameras. I had to make this
spot secure to a military level, so nothing can come in or out. I should buy a large
construction firm after Mr. Choi finishes the basic facilities, as that’s specialized
construction.
The aftermath of high-interest rates led to a number of companies filing for
bankruptcy and the major domestic corporations announcing their restructuring
plans on the news. The news also reported that the major corporations were
liquidating their foreign branch properties to reduce overhead, prioritizing their
head offices. Not a day went by quietly at the end of January 1998, and Japan,
considering Korea’s serious financial crisis as an opportunity, broke fishing
agreements from their side.

While the exchange rate had fallen to 1500 won, this was a temporary illusion
created by the International Monetary Fund negotiations.

My daily routine began with reading the newspapers to confirm how history was
changing with my intervention. The major flow had not changed from the previous
history, but minor details were different now.

For example, foreign firms were purchasing Korean real estate quickly. While Jeonil
had advanced the date by six months with the promise of large investments, I could
see names I had not read in the domestic real estate market in the past.

[Foreign firms such as Jeonil Investments, DP Krump, Deutsche Bundesbank, GOA,

and the Bluestone Group are purchasing domestic real estate.]

GOA, ANG Bearing, Silverman Fox, Standard Bank, and the Bluestone Group had been
the first flight of eagles who had come to loot a burning country in the previous
history. However, DP Krump and Deutsche Bundesbank had not been included. They
had been more focused on acquiring firms rather than buying real estate, and they
would have been active in Korea from the second quarter of this year when domestic
firms failed to survive the flames. The government was buying time by deciding
which companies would be allowed to survive, manipulating the commercial tax
rates to let smaller companies fail, while the big corporations were allowed to
survive, the rationale being they employed more people.

They had aggressively entered the domestic real estate market from the first quarter.
The reason was obvious, which was that they were trying to recoup their losses.
They had all lost big on my Hong Kong bet and would have lost a lot in Thailand’s
and Hong Kong’s future foreign exchange market.

There were two facts I was certain of in the ongoing Asian financial crisis. Those
large financial firms had all attacked Asia countries and also suffered much more
loss than gains. I had a large portion of the dollars they had used so aggressively, so
the firms would be desperate to get as much as they could from Korea, which they
had cultivated for a long time.

In the past, those firms would have thought of Korea as the land of gold and honey,
but now they just wanted to make up for their losses. Well, it was true that the entire
country was for sale if one only had enough dollars.

***

Daehwan Cho had a close relationship with Chungsik Park from the beginning, as
they went to the same high school and university. Also, Daehwan Cho’s eldest son
had married Chungsik Park’s youngest daughter, so they were related as inlaws.

They began to call each other by different names after joining the ranks of the
powerful, which was their way of celebrating their newfound good fortune. Of
course, the reason that Daewhan Cho began to call Chungsik Park as Director Park
was due to Jamie’s decision to hire Chungsik Park and Daehwan Cho for Jeonil, and
that carried over naturally into their private lives. One did not know when the dollar
would become the center of power, but given Korea’s financial crisis, it wouldn’t take
long until foreign money took over the country. They had merely joined the winning
side.

“Regarding Pyeongdong Construction, the Senior Secretary of Civil Affairs is nagging

me constantly. Isn’t Secretary Cheolmin Kim your university alumnus, Director
Park?”

“Yes.”

Daehwan Cho and Chungsik Park were drinking in their favorite private room at
their favorite restaurant.

“He called me three times today. Why is he working so hard when his term ends next
month?”
“Please let him be. He has to be busy. He’s going for the general election at Gangnam.”

“He should just stay quiet when public opinion is like this.”

“You’re right. So, what about Pyeongdong? Does the estimate work?”

Daehwan Cho held his glass. Even before Jamie had expanded Jeonil’s horizon to
include firm buyouts, major firms, including Pyeongdong Construction, had been his
close clients. He had worked as an executive director in the best accounting firm in
Korea and had gone in as counsel when Pyeongdong Construction had bought
International Construction in the late eighties. So, he knew them well.

Chungsik Park read Daehwan Cho’s complicated expression and smiled with
wrinkles in his eyes.

“I do not owe Cheolmin any favors, so I’ll just go by the rules. There are so many
companies like Pyeongdong these days.”

“He has connections in the cabinet even if he does not win the next general election.”

“Do you know that his nickname is the Eel?”

Cheolmin Kim would inevitably slither his way up, and Daehwan Cho heard Chungsik
Park’s voice brighten. While he had said to go by the rules, those were his actual
thoughts. Daehwan Cho asked a question.

“Why did he call me directly and not through you?”

“He’s saying that he doesn’t want to owe me a favor.”

“He knows that you and I are in the same boat from a long time ago.”

“Now, we are together in an actual boat. Cheers to our Jeonil Investments.”

They clicked glasses, and Daehwan Cho spoke again.

“I’ll try to breathe life into Pyeongdong. Cheolmin Kim, he’s too good a card to throw
away.”

“It will be difficult. Can you make it happen?”

“I’ll take care of our young CEO if you will take care of the foreigners that she had
brought with her…”

“That’s bad. You know through multiple tries that the foreigners have rigid mindsets
that won’t work the way we do. Cheolmin is not that worthy of a card, to collect a
favor in return. It’s high-risk and low-return.”

“Is that so?”

“Wait for a bit until something comes up that Cheolmin can display to the voters as
his achievement, but isn’t enough to excite the foreigner’s greed.”

Daehwan Cho nodded. It would be hard to get Cheolmin Kim to accept something so
minor that the foreigners would allow it. The problem was that those would not pass
Jamie’s eyes, who had handled massive funds in her Walshire Land career, where she
learned her predator’s instincts and made her bones.

Daehwan Cho looked over Chungsik Park’s face, and the latter was deep in thought.
It was then inspiration came in an instant. The television that had been on without
sound was showing a Daehoo Motors advertisement. He saw the Daehoo logo, and at
that moment, Daehwan Cho completely ignored the world, his brain working
furiously.

“Do you have a good idea?”

While Chungsik Park had asked him a question, Daehwan Cho did not even hear it,
and Chungsik Park remained silent. It was good to see Daehwan Cho focus so much
that he could not hear anything like a youngster. It was because of that talent
Daehwan Cho succeeded without background or money and had become the father
in law of his daughter.

Daehwan Cho’s mouth opened.

“Director, let us secure an additional two years after our two-year contract expires.”

“Oh?”

“Since the current president will go down in shame, let’s throw him a bone, give the
secretary his achievement, and money to the foreigners. That’s enough to be
respected and secure our next term and put some damage on that young woman.”
“Is there a firm like that?”

“Daehoo. It’s rotten inside.”

If Daehwan Cho had been still in the accounting firm, he could not have even
dreamed of this plan. However, things were different now. The entire political and
financial field danced to Jeonil Investment’s tune, and one did want to use the power
that was given to them.

Daehwan Cho and Chungsik Park were also predators. However, they were experts in
Korean Business and Politics, as they were professionals.

***

I managed to contact Jamie in the morning, but she hung up on me, saying that she
did not have the time. However, it had not been long since she had become the
busiest person in Korea, so I did not mind that.

So, it was surprising when Jamie contacted my office around the evening when I had
gone to the logging site in Hwaseong. She said she was coming to the office and
greeted me by apologizing for hanging up on me in the morning.

“You did not have to come. Are you alone?”

“Yes, I do have some sense.”

Jamie faltered at seeing me.

“You seemed to have been exercising.”

I nodded and wiped my sweat with a towel. The best way to modify my stats was to
go through gyms and spar with pro athletes before entering the dungeon. However, I
could not do so anymore because rumors had begun to spread.

She removed her hood and blew on her hands. She had become more beautiful
during the time I had not seen her, and while she must be worn out, she knew how to
enjoy work and public attention.

“Didn’t you come by car?”

“I came here because I had a meeting nearby.”

Jamie said she had met with the Senior Secretary of Economy and had been in a
meeting all morning in a Japanese restaurant instead of the Blue House. That had
been the reason she had hung up in the morning. She sat and told me a name.

“Do you know the Daehoo Group?”

I did not understand why she would be saying that name around now. In late 1999,
Daehoo was affected by the IMF crisis, and before that, they had been the second-
largest group in Korea and was the center of our economy. Daehoo had been even
more famous than the largest group, Daehyeon, overseas.

Daehoo had earned serious recognition on the world stage.

“Why would I not know Daehoo? Did you put Daehoo on the list? The government
has to save Daehoo, Daehyeon, and Ilsung.”

Jamie smiled meaningfully at my words.

“Daehoo’s president will be under arrest tonight.”

I was surprised. Why? Daehoo did not dissipate just because of the IMF, and they had
already been circling the drain. It would be next year when everything clicked
together and blew up. How can that be happening tonight?

“I have much to tell you about that.”

Jamie’s voice was full of confidence. So, Daehoo would be disposed of in the first half
of this year. I had fluttered the wings of a butterfly, but I did not know what made the
hurricane hit Daehoo.

“A sudden arrest warrant? I need to hear about this.”

Daehyeon at the time had been an insurmountable wall, and the rivalry between
Ilsung and Daehoo for second place ended in 1998 with Daehoo as the victor. Daehoo
had at least superficially seemed to grab the IMF crisis as an opportunity. They had
bought Ssangho Motors to expand their automobile business and expanded
overseas. The number of foreign branches was about four hundred before the group
was torn into pieces.

Unlike my paper companies that existed only on documents, those branches were
actual companies. I had been an ordinary middle school student then and had not
been interested in Daehoo’s dissolution as much as I had been interested in girls. I
had understood the weight of Daehoo’s name at university, as my professor had
worked for Daehoo as did many others. He was one of Daehoo’s legal counsels, and
the legal fees they paid him would let him live without money worries until he died.

Therefore, he was biased toward Daehoo, and believed that Daehoo had broken up
not because of the IMF or negligent management but due to the government. He
fervently believed that Daehoo’s breakup led to our economic development being
delayed over twenty years.

Well, it had not been only my professor who thought so, and almost all of my
conservative professors who thought that the government should be hands-off the
Conglomerates used Daehoo’s breakup to attack the progressives. The funny thing
was that the attacks actually worked.

***

“I told you that the first thing I did as CEO was to hire Korean directors.”

“Daehwan Cho and Chungsik Park.”

Jamie’s eyes widened a bit when I said their names. She was thinking about how I
remembered those names she had only briefly mentioned and would think that I was
closely monitoring Jeonil.

“I hired them not just because of their abilities, but from the uniqueness of this
country.”

I had made a good choice hiring Jamie, her head worked as smoothly as her beauty
was striking. She found the answer to what Jeonil needed by herself. Finding a real
estate investment counsel was the next step, and she first found a safe way to
manage the unidentifiable hot money that had poured into Jeonil.

As my hiring Jamie had produced good results, the two men were the same for Jamie.

“You know that it was not for work that I hired them as directors.”

I remained still so she could continue speaking.

“Do you know what the two are doing? They are dabbling in politics. I gave them
positions to at least look legitimate on the surface, but they’re involved politics when
they’re not even politicians.”

She then said they had been meeting senior politicians. I was going to say something,
but Jamie spoke first.

“However, in this country, that was the way things are done. I’m learning a lot from
them and managed to put Daehoo on the list because of those two men.”

“Jamie, let’s remember one thing.”

“Yes?”

“Corruption exists everywhere. America legalized lobbying and made it public, but
the fundamental rules are the same. I don’t know whether you can adjust to this
country with that sort of bias.”

The heated atmosphere cooled down, and Jamie’s face grew notably cold.

“However, this country is indeed unique in its conglomerates.”

I finished up.

“I apologize. Please go on. My clients will see Daehoo being on the list as a favorable
step. The problem is the buyout money.”
Jamie scratched her brow to compose herself and opened her lips. The summary was
that Daehoo would become the sacrifice to the IMF. The current President and his
Cabinet needed something that could cover the criticism they would face, and
Daehoo was the best option.

As Jamie had said, Daehwan Cho and Chungsik Park were doing everything from
creating the scenario to writing the script by gathering the politicians.

Even if the government needed a scapegoat, could they really sacrifice Daehoo?
Korean conglomerates like Daehoo had special power structures and it’s loss would
massively affect Korea.

Around this time, there were a lot of prominent politicians who had been bought by
Daehyeon, Daehoo, and Ilsung… I remembered then the arrest warrant for Daehoo’s
president had already been issued, and the process should have been extremely
difficult, without some way to pressure the President or the Diet, or both…

There must have been secrets that Daehwan Cho and Chungsik Park could not report
to Jamie, and I mentally held a thumbs-up to them. Those two middle-aged men
knew their stuff. How did they think of hitting Daehoo now?

***

As I had mentioned before, the upper-class financial and political elites had a high
survival rate in the Trial Tests. They instinctively preyed on the weak for their own
profit, hamstrung and ambushed those stronger than them, used fear to survive, and
engaged in hostile takeovers and pressured buyouts even in what looked like
peaceful times on the surface.

This life of survival and skill was what they knew and understood, and Daehwan Cho
and Chungsik Park were true elites, using Jeonil to gain secret favors, and ruin
enemies.

“The evidence the current government has on Daehoo has will be revealed in court.”

“Blood will flow at the end of the trial.”

The current government knew that this would be a rougher month than when they
passed the real-time online financial system, but they did so anyway because there
would be a larger reward.
“What are they requesting?”

“Two things.”

“Additional investments and a block buyout.”

“Yes, an additional investment of at least 5 billion dollars and the entire Daehoo
Group, including their debts.”

Additional investments were not a problem, and while the funding routes would be
uncertain due to haste, the current government will help us hide the transfers.

However, Jamie was observing my mood because buying the entire Daehoo Group
would not result in as much profit as the subsidiaries and affiliates varied in their
profitability and solvency.

When thinking of money in the short-term, it would be better to wait until Daehoo
was completely split up and gobble the core subsidiaries and affiliates, and Jamie
seemed to be thinking the same thing.

“Daehoo will be cleaned up even if we left them alone. However, it’s too much of a
shame to let it go.”

Jamie did not understand that if we got out after things had gone this far, Jeonil
would be bitter enemies to the government. While Jamie seemed to think that since
the term ends next month, they won’t be much of a threat, the next ruling party will
be the Democrats.

When the financial crisis is reduced a little, there would be a high probability of a
strong tax investigation coming to our company.

I smiled and wanted to bring Daehwan Cho and Chungsik Park and have them stand
while I bowed to them. While Jamie would need some time to understand Korea’s
political and financial worlds, the two men did not. They knew it all but chose
Daehoo as their prey.

The difference between Jamie and the two Korean directors was that Jamie did not
know anything about Korean conglomerates. The two directors were not looking at
the properties or profits Daehoo subsidiaries and affiliates were making but trying
to secure Daehoo’s position of being one of the top three conglomerates in Korea.
They were protecting Daehoo’s name and their infrastructure that Daehoo had built
up to this day. And after the sale, the intricate and interlocked political and
commercial interests that depended on Daehoo retaining her position and
reputation as one of the top three would all owe, and owe big to Daehwan Cho and
Chungik Park.

Who could have believed that Daehoo would go down in this period?

“Jamie, can you handle the Daehoo Group? You’re thinking of bringing in a foreign
Chief Executive Officer and professional managers from overseas if we succeed,
right?”

Jamie started in surprise.

“Find a new president among the current board members, not from the CEO’s family,
but from his closest executives.”

“……”

“Have Daehwan Cho and Chungsik Park close by and learn from them. They will
know why this decision was made and would even demand this to happen.”

They seemed to have already talked about it, and Jamie’s face grew rigid again.

“Are you allowing us to buy Daehoo?”

“Don’t feel cheated. We are in an advantageous position. Hand over as many weak
subsidiaries and debts to the government as possible.”

“The conditions that the government…”

I motioned Jamie to come over the window, and she followed me.

“Do you know what the Korean government is saying nowadays?”

Jamie’s gaze followed my finger and to the streets, where people were still coming in
with gold rings. The Gold Collection Campaign banner was still flying in the wind.

“Share the pain. Is that necklace gold?”

Jamie stroked the necklace.

“In Gwanghwamoon it will be noticed. Don’t wear it openly, but discreetly. Make up a
story like that being your mother’s keepsake and bring the two directors with you.”

Since Jamie was smart, she knew what I was talking about. (EN: I think Sun is saying
it would look bad for the government to let the struggling subsidiaries and affiliates go
bankrupt and leave their staff unemployed. Sun is making an offer to the government
they can’t refuse. ^_^ )

“I know that I need justification.”

“And Jamie.”

“Yes.”

“Aggressively proceed without worrying about the additional investments or

management direction. While there are opportunities everywhere, grab everything
you can find. Jeonil Investments needs to monopolize this country’s crisis. I gave you
that much money. Don’t lose whatever it may be, lands, buildings, or companies.”
Even though people were speaking endlessly about this subject, the elementary
school textbooks will record the IMF crisis as having occurred due to people
spending too much. The biggest reason the IMF crisis happened was due to domestic
firms recklessly borrowing dollars to hide their insolvency from their own
shareholders, the influence of the Japanese Yen, and the attack of international
investors, but those reasons will be hidden. (EN: the state of being insolvent; inability
to pay one’s debts.)

I turned off the screen after watching the news regarding the Daehoo Group
President’s first trial. Jonathan was as hard to reach as Jamie, and I sent the times I
could be contacted by email and asked that he should reach out to me as soon as
possible.

He contacted me the next day, and I requested one thing from him – that he should
come to Korea.

***

Jonathan’s First Korean Visit. The God of Investments arrives in the “Hermit
Kingdom”.

[Jonathan “Korea still maintains its investment value in the long term, and I have
visited to confirm this.”]

‘Jonathan,’ from Jonathan Investments, visited Seoul yesterday on the 23rd. While
the name was unfamiliar to us, Wall Street actually called him the “God of
Investments.” He had unveiled his genius in investing during the Asian financial
crisis from last year and had risen to super stardom as a global investor. It had not
taken Jonathan half a year to turn four hundred thousand dollars to twenty-two
billion dollars.

– Jonathan – an investor or a Hollywood actor? Will he be treated as a state guest…

Those who arrived to greet Jonathan, including the Senior Secretary of Economics
Cheolmin Kim, and the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Il Yuk, were
worried about the weather over Gimpo Airport. The news announcing snow made it
questionable whether Jonathan’s private plane could land or not.

However, Jonathan exited his plane waving his hand, dressed in a black suit. About a
hundred reporters gathered around Gimpo Airport for Jonathan, and the large
banners that announced Jonathan’s first visit to Korea hanging in the middle of the
airport were signs of Jonathan’s fame.

After a brief conference, Jonathan headed to the Blue House with a police escort.

– Jonathan’s Theory of Investment. “Invest without Fear.”

When answering a question lightly asked by a reporter regarding how one should
invest in order to hit the jackpot during the conference, Jonathan spoke of his theory
of investing without fear. As Jonathan had broken records and achieved astronomical
profit rates, his investment theory reassured domestic and foreign investors and
Korean citizens, who stood frozen in the overwhelming fear the IMF crisis had
brought. This was because Jonathan spoke of his goal in coming to Korea “since
Korea has the power to overcome this financial crisis, this is one of the best
investments one could make in the long run” and revealed his vision of Korea.

***

I went to the pub I had rented for private use, and the key was hidden in the
flowerpot as agreed. As I entered the pub, the heater had been turned on as I
requested.

With a sign saying that the pub will be closed for the day hung on the entrance, since
it was broad daylight, the pub remained silent for a long time. The silence broke after
a careful knock, and I saw a tall shadow from the window.

Jonathan was alone, and he confirmed he wasn’t followed before greeting me. He
locked the door first without my asking.

“You’re alone?”

Jonathan asked, and I nodded.

“I feel like I have become an industrial spy.”

He spoke as he placed a briefcase on the table.

“Fame is not always a good thing.”

“Yeah, I barely managed to get out.”

While he had prepared to come to Korea, the visit proved to be even more hectic
than our expectations. He told me he had not imagined that he would be treated as a
state guest on arrival. Forbes had named him one of the twenty richest men globally.
In stark contrast, the other entries on the list were international financial
institutions that had made history for centuries or possessed strategic branches all
over the world. The New York firm Jonathan acted as CEO was a small-sized
investment company.

He only needed a small office, and Jonathan was only in his twenties. However, Korea
had treated him like a world leader because he had astounding piles of cash.

“Korea is that desperate now.”

“However, hope is growing.The IMF is providing support funds, and you’re feeding in
dollars.”

It was appropriate for a foreigner like Jonathan to evaluate the situation like that, but
Korean financiers would find this assessment absolutely humiliating. It was
comparable to the Japanese colonial era since Korea had to bow down to whatever
command the IMF would give out and stand helplessly as property was confiscated
overseas.

However, I had not called Jonathan to discuss such matters.

“Korea will overcome the IMF quickly.”

More so than Korea had in the past.

“I also hope that, since I’ve become too familiar with this country. However, Sun,
wasn’t that due to your efforts?”

“Daehoo?”

“Yes, I could not believe what I heard. Has Korea decided to throw Daehoo under the
bus?”

While Jonathan had not lived in Korea for more than a few months, he was a Wall
Street financier, and Daehoo had been closely connected with many foreign firms.

The connections were showing up in the stock price changes of those firms.

“Daehoo was not part of our plan, and I had not expected that the current Korean
government would throw away Daehoo.”

“Even you? Then who did this?”

“While this is not my plan, it’s proceeding under our supervision.”

“Oh, Jeonil Investments?”

“They’re working on their own and doing well. I’m quite proud.”

Jonathan smiled, but it was without much amusement.

“You have the funds to buy them?”

“There are many firms in this country that can be bought with one dollar.”

If only one could bear their debts.

“Everyone will come rushing in at that time, smelling the blood in the water. Have
you finished talking with your government?”

Jonathan now sat on a chair.

“Negotiations are underway, but the results will not change. Other firms cannot
accommodate the government’s demands as well as Jeonil, since those companies
will not accept a bloc buyout for the entire Daehoo infrastructure.”

“Are you going to buy the entire group?”

“Yes. However, we will restructure and take care of some subsidiaries immediately
afterwards.”
“Aren’t you going about this backward? I’m not following you.”

“You have understood the situation. We will not dismantle the group, and the
management will not change as we will use those who are close to the current
president.”

“…Why go that far?”

“Foreign Dollars will not be the definitive power forever. When Korea graduates from
the IMF, the economy will quickly spring back to normal. We have to prepare for the
next step.”

Jonathan’s eyes were smiling now.

“Sun, you actually seem to like your country a lot. Even if you say you don’t, that’s not
an embarrassing trait. I don’t know what you see in Daewoo, but I know that there’s
not that much money going on in there. Using that money elsewhere will bring in
more profit, as your country’s economy is in freefall right now.”

“You’ll see about the money.”

“There are other things involved? Is it a quiz? You won’t tell me? Don’t…”

“Ten billion dollars.”

“What?”

“We will bring an additional ten billion dollars to the fifteen already planned, and
that means a total of twenty-five billion when we buy out Daehoo.”

Jonathan’s eyes opened wide. It was not because I had made such a big decision
without him, as he had announced that he did not care about the offshore funds.

His eyes began to shake, even though he had remained calm when I told him I would
buy the entire Daehoo group. Jonathan grabbed the ice water in the middle of winter.

He emptied the glass and spoke in a much lower voice.

“Think carefully, or we will be imprisoned for ten thousand years. You shouldn’t put
too much faith in the corporate shell game we created. You know that the tax bureau
can do anything even if the procedure is complicated and difficult. It only takes them
longer. If such a large sum moves…”

“The Korean government is much more desperate than us.”

“What are you saying?”

Jonathan now realized something.

“This is a chance to make the twenty-five billion dollars into completely legitimate,
clean money.”

“You’re going to leave that to your country’s government? How?”

“That’s for them to do, and we only need to show the numbers.”

“Sun… how can you think of making a country do your money laundering?”

Jonathan spoke in a tired voice.

***

During the latter half of last year, when the Hong Kong shock hit the world, we had
earned money. As a result, we had twenty-two billion dollars in Jonathan
Investments and forty-three billion in tax havens all over the world.

It was natural that the world would be looking at Jonathan and Jonathan
Investments closely. How many companies would have that much money as their
reserves? The New York firm’s net revenue was twenty-two billion dollars, and this
amount would be only achieved by the greatest firms in their prime even in the
future.

However, Jonathan and the unidentified John Doe had made the profit with a mere
four hundred thousand dollars. Since John Doe’s identity was a secret, it was only
natural that Jonathan would be the sole subject of fame and attention.

The forty-three billion dollars had been jumped in and out of tax havens like hackers
would bounce off of routers to hide their identities. The total amount that had been
moved would have been much greater.
It was inevitable that rumors would begin to spread in the global financial market.
The rumors that said it was money from the Soviet Union during the Civil War was
going too far, but the rumors that it was the secret stash from the financiers who
won the Asian financial crisis was more believable. Such rumors would be spreading
now.

On the other hand, Jonathan did not know much outside of the funds in the New York
firm. He was calm after hearing my explanation like he was satisfied with his current
situation.

“What you’re telling me is too surreal.”

“I don’t know how much is where if I don’t see the ledgers.”

“If you lose them?”

“They’re forever gone with them.”

“That’s food for thought.”

Jonathan covered his body with both of his arms.

“Therefore, we have to clean them whenever there’s a chance.”

“You called me for that? I told you I do not care about money outside the New York
firm. That’s more than enough for me. Come to think of that…”

“I have called you to solve some of your problems. Aren’t those portfolios in that
briefcase?”

I pointed my chin at the briefcase Jonathan had brought with him.

“Start the briefing.”

Jonathan seemed to have been waiting for me to press the start button, as I heard the
briefcase land on the table as soon as I finished speaking.
In 2017, Google’s interview question had been similar to the following problem.

The Thousand-Dollar Game

1. You are alone with a stranger in a room.

2. You are ordered to divide a thousand dollars between you and the stranger.

3. You can freely decide on the amount, but the stranger knows that the total
amount is a thousand dollars.

4. You cannot directly communicate with the stranger.

*If the stranger agrees with the amount you presented, the negotiation is deemed a
success, and both of you keep the money.

*If the stranger refuses the amount you presented, the negotiation is deemed a
failure, and the entire amount is confiscated.

*How much money will you propose in this scenario?

Each person interviewed was presented with various proposals from 70:30, 50:50,
51:49, 30:70, 1:99. The interviewer asked for the thinking process they would use to
choose a proposal instead of asking for a definitive answer. The question itself was
from behavioral economics, and it was really a question about human greed.

However, what if the question was about ten billion dollars instead? Even if the ratio
changed by only one percent, that single percent meant one hundred million dollars.

***

The saying that human greed was endless seemed to be wrong in the face of billions
of dollars. Jonathan seemed to have been playing that imaginary game all this time
with the sixty-five billion dollars we had earned. He didn’t care about our agreed on
shares, and Jonathan had decided his share was ten billion.
He was passionately explaining about the portfolio of ten billion to me. Since the
amount was so large, Jonathan emphasized safety instead of aggressive investments.
Therefore, he presented the idea of directly investing in the firms already included in
the Global DOW. (EN: The Global Dow is a 150-stock index of corporations from
around the world, created by Dow Jones & Company. Only blue-chip stocks are included
in the index.)

In other words, Jonathan was thinking of investing in the thirty best firms in
America, all of them known globally.

The idea was not bad since the DOW was the yardstick for performance. It had
recorded an average of a five percent profit, and the current eight thousand points of
profitability will come to exceed twenty thousand until the Day of Advent.

Even if we just let the investments sit, the profit will be larger than interest rates.
The problem was that it was not especially good, either. If the twentieth century was
led by manufacturing and energy firms, the twenty-first century would be led by the
Information Technology firms.

However, the number of IT firms Jonathan had listed in his thirty was only five in
total.

I spoke after waiting for him to finish.

“Isn’t it too early to divide our shares? I’ll give you time for that later. However, not
now.”

“Sun, it’s sixty-five billion dollars. The money will continue to increase whatever we
do with it.”

“Tell that to the Roc…”

I realized that I had spoken too much since I had mentioned a family name that was
historically significant… no, a name that had MADE history. While I stopped myself
from talking, Jonathan seemed to have heard the name in that brief moment. I looked
at him with concern, and he was mumbling something with round eyes.

“What did you say?”

For financiers, that family name was a divine word. Jonathan looked at me with
shock. While the name still existed in this era under trusts, managed by global banks,
the name was something that belonged in legends. How much were they estimated
at, five trillion dollars? The power they showed in their prime was evident, as they
had built a country and changed the direction of a World War.

“Ah…”

Jonathan seemed speechless for a minute, but then he started to nod. On the other
hand, I was keeping my mouth shut. Why had I chosen to return to the day I was
born instead of on the day of the Trial Tests? Because of the Man Who Overcame
Adversity trait? The stats I would develop? If I only considered the Eight Virtues and
the Eight Evils, the day of the Trial Tests would have been the right choice since there
were many opportunities to rebuild myself in that time.

I had come back in time so far because of what had happened before the Eight
Virtues and Eight Evils appeared.

***

Humanity had time to rebuild, and there had been many opportunities to preserve
our civilization and face the monsters. If we had taken those opportunities, human
civilization would not have crumbled, and we would have been able to survive under
the System. That meant that the internet and the electronic devices that had
originally been for everyone’s use would not have become privileges for the
Awakened.

However, humanity had frozen in fear in front of supernatural beings and events.
They had made mistakes and made things worse, which led to ruin. Then, the Eight
Virtues and Eight Evils appeared to tip us over the precipice.

“What I’m saying is that I’m still hungry.”

“…That’s a nice expression.”

Come to think of it, I had four years to wait until one of the more joyful times in my
life. The 2002 World Cup had been a festival for Koreans, and there had been a
jubilant passion that could not have been bought with all of my money in the
Gwanghwamun streets. However, I would not be able to enjoy myself that much since
I already knew the results. (EN: South Korea co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup
tournament with Japan. They had never won a game in the World Cup previously but
the South Korean team achieved their first ever victory in a World Cup with a 2–0
victory against Poland when the tournament began. I wonder how much Sun is
planning to bet with the bookmakers… ^_^ )

I spoke to Jonathan clearly after coming back to reality.

“Don’t speak of retirement again. Did you hear me?”

Jonathan’s face fell for a moment since he had not directly spoken of retirement.
However, his investment directions clearly spoke of his thoughts, as portfolios acted
as windows to the mind for financiers.

Jonathan looked down at his portfolio and became silent. He then began to nod
quietly.

“Hold on to that and use it for customers.”

“Customers?”

“What became of the small company mergers?”

Jonathan began to smile, and he had definitely put it on hold. I could not blame him
since he had been so busy lately. As Jamie was tormented by Korean politicians and
financiers, everyone would be on Jonathan by now. I had seen his face at least ten
times through various media.

“Refuse all interviews and events. Since you can’t focus on work, you’re getting
overloaded, and you’re overthinking things.”

“You’re asking me to decrease my load once I get back. I can do that, but…”

“Everyone is looking at you now, and once you open, customers will come in flocks.”

“What about the clientele? Managing a property management company is not easy.”

“You’re right, and we have to choose carefully the investment firm we will buy.”

“The focus should be on the quality of the managers instead of their funds. The firm
will be filled with investors better than me. That was quite stressful and was not at
all enjoyable.”
“You’re talking about Jeffrey Kay, right?”

He was the firm hunter we hired for the New York firm a while ago.

“Yes, I’m avoiding him as much as possible. I don’t even open my mouth when I see
him, in case he may guess everything.”

Jonathan smiled in self-mockery.

“…Jonathan, you would have succeeded without meeting me.”

“As much as now?”

Jonathan firmly shook his head when I had been about to say something. He was
telling me not to console him in any way. Jonathan regarded himself as not having
contributed much to our success, and it was true.

The trading Jonathan helped me with was the basic procedure for any Wall Street
financiers who had graduated from “junior”.

However, I decided I would not think what Jonathan was feeling now any longer, as
he would realize by himself when expanding the investment firm. He would know
that a hungry beast was within him…

That kind of primal instinct did not come with only the loss of loved ones, as human
beings find a new side of themselves when they reach their limits.

Expanding the firm will give Jonathan such a chance. I will be requesting an
aggressive expansion. He would have to go into war, using money instead of guns and
swords. I spoke about the investment firm mergers that we had strayed from.

“I’m looking at the Bluestone Group now.”

Since it was the largest private equity company in the world, Jonathan would, of
course, know the name. However, I saw something more in Jonathan’s expression,
and he revealed that he had been persistently approached by the Bluestone Group
before coming to Korea. (EN: A private-equity firm is an investment management
company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity
of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment
strategies including leveraged buyout, venture capital, and growth capital. )
“However, they let go of me after realizing the shares I hold in the company.”

At the moment, Jonathan was richer than the owner of the Bluestone Group.
Jonathan’s expression loosened at remembering the encounter, and he questioned
me instead.

“You’re not really talking about buying the Bluestone Group, right?”

“Is it possible?”

Jonathan spoke in a lethargic voice.

“It would have been possible if Bluestone had also jumped at the Asian financial
crisis since they would have taken a few hits. However, it’s not the case. Their
original funds are going well and have succeeded in accumulating more than four
billion dollars this year.”

“Bluestone Capital Partners Fund III.”

Jonathan’s face grew a bit rigid.

“You really do know everything. Yes, Bluestone is paying meticulous attention to

their third product. Why do you keep hiding in the shadows with that talent? Is it
because of your country’s attention? Your age? Come to America. You should be at
the helm instead of using me as a front.”

Jonathan rushed to speak the words that had to have been deep inside him. However,
his expression changed, and he started to scratch his nose.

“I’m sorry. I’m under stress in this situation.”

“I told you to exercise. You know that your belly is fatter than before. Also, I
explained why I cannot come out in the open.”

“It’s because of the tax audit, right?”

“Yes. And on the side, I was serious about it before.”

“What?”
“That you would have succeeded without me.”

“Oh, that.”

Jonathan was indifferent, but it was the truth.

“If you feel stressed, show your abilities this time. It’s not about investments,
though.”

“What is it?”

“The management of the Bluestone Group is in Korea now.”

Korea was the battlefield between corporate hunters at present, and Bluestone had a
corporate hunting team. While their business cards said that they belonged to the
‘Special Reclamation Fund Management Team,’ what they did was to buy firms and
real estate and sell them in pieces. They increased their customer’s returns through
such tactics.

“Win over the corporate hunter team and add them to the New York firm.”

“You were serious?”

“Of course. Shake things from the ground. Without them, Bluestone’s new fund
product is useless, and we will start from there.”

I wanted Blue Rock the most out of their property management firms. While the
Bluestone Group itself was famous as a global investment firm, Blue Rock was the
true treasure. Blue Rock was a dragon lying in wait and would start to rise from
1995 after becoming an independent firm.

After two decades, along with Kim Cheongsoo, Jillian, and Jessica, they would
become the greatest Global Investment Firm. Blue Rock managed about four trillion
dollars at the time, and counting the funds that followed the investments, the
amount they influenced would jump to the quintillions.

However, the Blue Rock I wanted was in the future and not in the present. They were
being pressured by the Bluestone Group and had barely scratched the top twenty in
the field. Their heyday would only be in my memories anyway. (EN: Sun is buying out
his future competition. Unfair! ^_^ )
[The Authority over the shadow banks that control global finance from behind the
curtains]

That title will belong to someone else.

“What happened to Item 3?”

“They took it.”

Kaufman did not even ask who they were and instead scowled and crossed out the
third entry on the list. It was a Korean construction firm that made a good profit, but
the real estate in their possession was the real treasure.

They had bought land that was certain to be redeveloped, and the site would be a
priority for Korea when the country overcame the IMF crisis.

“I told you to work on item 3 in secret many times.”

“It’s not my fault. I believe our chairman needs to meet the powerhouses of Korea.”

“That’s not the problem. We’re losing all the assets in the bay we were trying to get
in secret, and we’ll end up with nothing!”

Kaufman began to wish for alcohol since the situation suffocated him. He had heard
the name Jeonil Investments for the first time when he came to Korea. He had never
heard of them before, and he found through research that Jeonil Investments had
successfully lobbied to quickly open the real estate market.

He would have just applauded if things ended like that, because when everyone was
focused on Thailand, Singapore, and Hong Kong, Jeonil Investments showed its
expertise as an investment firm by entering Korea faster than anyone else and
building connections with the government.

However, they were greedier than Kaufman’s expectations, and they bought anything
that came up on their radar with twice the money. They simply could not compete
with funding that Jeonil possessed. As Jeonil had opened the real estate market to
foreign investors, they obviously had deep ties with the current regime.

Therefore, Kaufman suspected that Jeonil Investments’ funds came from the
Dictator’s slush funds, the man who had ruled over Korea during the sixties and
seventies. That answered some of the questions.

“The Chairman has to come. Don’t you think this mess needs to be straightened out?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“It’s worse than you think. He has to come to say things that the Korean government
wants to hear and request that Jeonil Investments be muzzled and get people in
power to oppose Jeonil. They’re trying to buy up this country’s market with a bigger
wallet, and we have to attack this point.”

Kaufman thought things over, and his team member’s request was logical. The real
estate that came out in the market was for the private sector, but Jeonil had changed
the rules. What was the name of that Korean CEO of Jeonil? The family name was
Park, which was also the dictator’s family name.

The CEO had somehow managed to have the Korean government change the pre-
declaration system for high price real estate to enable Jeonil to place the first bid on
all assets that came up for sale. It was an alliance between the government and
business, and Kaufman was annoyed because he regretted not entering the market
first. Jeonil Investments’ position should have been Bluestone’s and his.

“Jonathan Hunter has come. Why can’t the Chairman?”

Kaufman heard the name of that lucky [email protected] While his gaze was still on
the list, he could not read the letters anymore, thinking about the unfairness of life.

“We will lose Daehoo in this case. Haven’t you checked my report?”

“Calm down first, and let’s think things over. What are our priorities in this
situation?”

Kaufman asked the entire team, and the answers were the same. The team wanted
the group’s Chairman to visit Korea quickly and voice his opinions along with other
investment firms in this country, and they had to hire the power brokers who had
connections to those in power. The meeting became more heated, and at the end,
someone said that they had to denounce the relationship between the current
government and Jeonil and publicly ask that the origin of the firm’s dollars should be
revealed.
That was going too far, as it was taboo to touch the hot money that would soon
belong to the rich in this country. Jeonil Investments would not be the only one hurt
by that. The reason that they, who were the elite of the elite in Wall Street, were
being pushed to the extreme was that they could not gobble up the prey they saw
everywhere. Kaufman slowly nodded at the desperate team members’ faces.

“There are a lot of you who want to be a journalist. Let’s go make some noise.”

Kaufman spoke, and the team members agreed. Except one.

“This is not about our team.”

“Speak.”

“There’s something else we could do with approval from above.”

“What is it?”

“An alliance between Bluestone Group and Jonathan Investments. Jonathan

Investments has the best cash flow, and that’s what this country wants the most.”

“Jonathan had come to Korea yesterday. Would he meet us? I’m pessimistic.”

“Jonathan also understands the situation, and he would also go empty-handed at this
rate. He would not like that.”

“Hmm… we don’t need to bring the President in, as Jonathan could be our front man
to the Korean government.”

“That’s right.”

“Then let’s go with that.”

Kaufman and his team members began to work hard again, as they were determined
not to go back empty-handed from a country where they could make the best profit
of their lives.

It was then a message came to their room from the hotel lobby.

<Someone named Jonathan has asked to meet you.>

 ***

I heard from Choi of Ilju Constructions that operations were going smoothly. While
the construction was proceeding in the middle of winter, the fact that there was no
snowfall helped.

The sharp tax audit on Daehoo had finished, and now the entire Daehoo workforce
staged a walkout. Because the government was heavy handed with the financial
authorities and the creditors, the walkout started a year earlier than the previous
history.

There were no fancy events like before that celebrated Daehoo’s CEO’s retirement.
Those outside of the president’s family maintained their positions and would not be
thrown out. The phone rang at an inappropriate moment.

<You heard the news?>

<When will you buy?>

<There is competition, which is natural. However, it won’t be a problem since they

would not even realize that they’re going to be bridesmaids, but not the bride.>

<Well, that’s nice. Do you know the Korean metaphor for that?>

<That our competitors will be the folding screen, right? There’s one in the Blue
House… > (EN: Folding screen, or distraction)

The bell that signaled class started rang, and the cell phone I brought around was
small enough to fit my inside pocket. Cell phone size continued to decrease, and after
the PDA era started last October, it became easy to carry. (EN: Personal Digital
Assistant)

After I came out of the bathroom stall, there were guys who were staring at me. I did
not know who they were, but they knew me.

“Su… Sunhoo, did you speak English?”

“……”

“You have a cell phone?”

“I’m in the fourth class, as you are.”

The guys spoke quickly in my silence, and I felt another strange rumor coming.
Between the winter and spring vacation, school was still a burdensome place. There
was one more thing that was a burden, and my homeroom teacher had held me up
after school ended. I had to go to her office.

The woman began to chatter about unnecessary matters, and I did not want to know
what exercise she had taken up recently.

“I want to know you better, Sunhoo.”

This woman was strange. In my previous life, my homeroom teacher had not been
someone who looked like a small animal but a middle-aged bald man. The guy who
always looked unnatural due to being conscious of his wig was now the homeroom
teacher for another class.

It was a small change, but still a change, and I did not know how this came to be.

“…You want to know me better?”

“I do. Since you’re mature, I’ll say things honestly. I’m worried a lot about you.”

“Please, look at me. Guys don’t make trouble for me.”

“That will make you stand out.”

She again talked by herself and smiled. She was in her mid-twenties and a passionate
teacher. Early this week, there had been an incident that made her aware that she
was the subject of sexual fantasies among the male students.

However, she went about school like before, and I could not understand why she
acted like a warm-hearted puppy after calling me to the teacher’s room.

Come to think of it, my homeroom teacher had always been interested in me. She
would be staring at me inside my classroom, from the corridor and quickly look
away when I noticed and scurry back to her desk.

I was someone people would look at twice since I looked like an adult and did not
play with other classmates. However, even taking those into consideration, it would
not be too excessive to say that she was too interested in me.

My homeroom teacher seemed like she wanted to say something and was just
chattering to build up to that subject.

“Do you have something you want to say?”

“Do you have to go to a cram school? Where do you go?”

“……”

“Sorry, I’m holding you up, aren’t I.”

“I just don’t understand this conversation. If it’s not important, may I go?”

“Wait a moment, Sunhoo.”

“Yes.”

“What I want to say is that… school is a good place.”

“Yes?”

“I know that it’s hard to adjust to you. But your classmates do not hate you but are
afraid of you.”

What did she want to say?

“So, if you open up and come to them, you can make friends and know that school’s a
good place. Let’s work on that during the next semester. Can you make a promise?”

She was saying things that I only saw on TV shows, and it was a talent to be able to
say those words with a smile. She seemed to be only a new teacher, and I may have
misunderstood her passion.

“It’s a promise!”

She shouted again behind my back as I went out, and she still had that bright smile.
[The President in his inaugural address has strongly advocated Chaebol reforms by
saying that ‘The Chaebols have to be streamline down to five or six core firms, in
order to stay profitable.’] (EN: A chaebol is a large industrial conglomerate that is run
and controlled by an owner or family in South Korea. A chaebol often consists of many
diversified affiliates, controlled by an owner whose power over the group often exceeds
legal authority.)

No matter how much the Democrat president-elect worried, the times would prove
him correct. Not only Daehoo but also Daehyun and Ilsung had almost gone
bankrupt more than once during the IMF crisis. The Chaebols smaller than them
were already busy cutting out unnecessary fat within their infrastructure.

I read the Korean daily newspapers and global ones once I came to my office each
day along with Forbes and other private newsletters.

As I mentioned before, my interventions led to some changes from the previous

history.

1. The global investment groups lost large amounts of money in the Asian
financial crisis, and most of it entered my pockets.

2. Korean financial and real estate markets opened to foreign countries half a
year early.

3. Jonathan became a noted name in the financial world.

The incident that occurred late last year filled my thoughts the most out of the
changes. I had shaken the global stock market by pouring oil in the Hong Kong crisis
and amplified the incident that had been called the second Black Monday in both
timelines.

Until now, my interventions had not shown much on the surface, but I did not know
what may be lying in wait for me. If I did not constantly check the global trends, it
was possible that I may lose money. That was investing for you.
However, why had my homeroom teacher been changed to that woman? Why? I kept
thinking of her face.

***

Even if my public status as minor was low, I could follow or investigate an individual.
My homeroom teacher’s name was Yeonhee Woo, and she was twenty-four years old,
born in Seoul, and was the oldest sister out of two brothers and two sisters. She lived
in a studio located in the third story of a building near the school, and she did not
have a roommate or a boyfriend. While her family was middle-class financially, her
finances were neglected.

Yeonhee Woo liked sweets and did not care much about clothes or makeup despite
her beauty. She did not socialize much, and I learned this much information by going
through her room in her absence.

It was more like a man’s domicile than a woman’s in my eyes, as she did not have a
mirror or a dressing table. Her few cosmetics stood on her computer table with a
picture she had taken with her father this year. She did not have any unpaid bills,
cleaned her room, and I did not see any condoms or pregnancy tests in the trash bin.

She did not list any phone numbers of her friends in the notebook next to her phone
and did not pay much attention to her underwear, as she bought them in bundle
packs from supermarkets.

I wanted to see her photo albums and found them on the top of her dresser. The
pictures had not been placed in the album but stuck between them as if she just used
the photo album book to simply store loose photos. They were not of her memories,
as the pictures were of other people.

What interested me was the setting of the pictures, as it seemed that every picture
was taken in secret. Therefore, the subjects were blocked by obstacles, or the focus
was not right. According to the dates on the picture, she had been taking these
pictures for years.

There were a number of pictures, and she seemed to have recorded some people
each year. At the least, she did not seem to be a pervert, as she had taken pictures of
faces instead of other body parts, whether the subject was male or female. It seemed
that she had wanted to take pictures of their expressions, but that was strange in
itself. What she did was disturbing, and was this why she was showering me with
attention these days? Am I the subject of her obsession?

I placed the photos back and started to look for my pictures that would be stored
somewhere. They were gathered in an envelope of photos from a photo service in
her camera bag.

During the time which I had skipped as the tutorial, she had taken pictures at the
elementary school graduation ceremony that I had previously only confirmed
through my mother’s pictures. No matter how my senses had dulled in peace, I
would have noticed someone’s gaze.

In early 1997, I had the stats of a professional athlete and had grown as such. I had
been looking at her camera in the picture, and I did not know what had happened
afterward.

I would have probably considered her trivial, as there was a crowd in the graduation
ceremony, and would have thought her camera had pointed in my direction by
coincidence.

However, the camera had taken my picture quite accurately, and she had discovered
me then. There were no more pictures after the graduation ceremony, as she seemed
to have discovered that I was sensitive to gazes. She had changed tactics by listing
my characteristics in her notes, which was also in the camera bag.

Sometimes, the most innocuous person could be more than what meets the eye, and
she was such a person. Who would have known that she was such a person? She did
not even use her beauty as a weapon. It would have been more effective to pretend a
coincidental meeting than using a camera in secret, no matter who the person was.

I felt somewhat sorry for my homeroom teacher, as people like her did not end well.
While her beauty made her seem one of the normal people, when her mental
disorder grew worse and her beauty diminished with age, she would be discovered
by others.

For example… I turned my attention to her family picture, of which there was only
one.

There were no other family members in the picture, and only her father stood
awkwardly next to Yeonhee Woo. Her face was impassive, unlike the smiles she
showed in school.

However, the fact she had placed the picture on the computer desk where she would
be able to see it already spoke of her lonely future.

I decided to end my investigation there, as I had reached the conclusion. I thought it

would be best to remain quiet until her attention shifted to someone else.

Then I found an old prescription bottle.

[Pyeonghwa Mental Health Clinic]

Of course, SSRI medicine could be prescribed for various uses, like for depression or
anxiety. However, the medicine was also used for schizophrenia and megalomania.
(EN: SSRI stands for Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor. SSRI antidepressants are a
type of antidepressant that work by increasing levels of serotonin within the brain.
Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that is often referred to as the “feel good hormone”.)

“Wait…”

***

In the past, I had successfully infiltrated the Eight Virtue’s base and accessed their
database. I had no trouble searching my homeroom teacher’s studio and the nearby
mental health clinic with a flashlight and a length of bent metal wire.

Moreover, I did not need to penetrate the computer security system, as prescribing
and dispensing drugs had not been computerized yet, and medical records were
stored as documents in a warehouse. Even if I had to infiltrate a larger hospital,
things would have been the same. My flashlight lit on the patient record of Yeonhee
Woo, born in 1975.

My guess was real, and she had not come to this clinic for paranoia. Her first
treatment was when she was in middle school.

[Illness: Integration disorder]

[Medical Opinion: This patient has difficulties in socializing, making friends, and
fitting into her family due to delusions and hallucinations.]
[Treatment:

* No family history. No auditory hallucinations.

* Her hallucinations appear in sudden Korean letters (While the patient says the
letters appear when she socializes with others, she is not consistent)

* Her hallucinations have much to do with concepts shown in video games.

* While she says she does not play video games, since they are becoming popular, she
may have accessed them.

* Her biggest hallucination is that she argues that she can feel the emotions of other
people.]

[Prescription: First, placebos for integration disorder. No effects. Second, drugs for
integration disorder. No effects. Third, drugs and individual sessions. No effects.
Fourth, drugs and family sessions. No effects. Fifth, SSRI intramuscular injection.
Little effect. Sixth, SSRI intramuscular injection. Some effects. Seventh, SSRI
intramuscular injection. Much effect. Eighth, placebos for integration disorder. Much
effect.]

Integration disorder was another name for schizophrenia in this era, and placebos
were fake medicine used in such treatments. Her prescription record had not been
changed from her eighth treatment. She had been given fake medicine and stopped a
few years ago.

She had not been smart in going to the hospital and telling her family. I saw what she
had gone through and the pain she must have felt. I could see that she had been
given shots from her prescription records and had lied to her family when she had
been nearly hospitalized.

However, they would have not been effective, as what she was seeing was real.

“So, I meet a pre-Awakened person like this…”

Yeonhee Woo had the traits of an empathic healer, which was one of the rarest.
However, not all of the pre-Awakened were powerful, and many died or became
crushed under the burden before they could build on their abilities.
I probably had not heard of Yeonhee Woo due to that, as she would have either
committed suicide or died in a dungeon.
The reason there were so few empathic healers was not only because of the rareness
of the ability, but because it was difficult for them to even survive.

The Eight Evils and Eight Virtues and other guilds all forcefully “recruited” empathic
healers as soon as they were found.

The problem rose from there. New empathic healers were traumatised due to the
Trial Tests and had to care for other new Awakened and those already Awakened.
While the number of empathic healers were small, the number they had to treat was
many.

The empathic link was considered an extremely dangerous phenomenon in

psychology or psychiatry, as the empathic healer may be overpowered by the
patient’s emotions and thus, unable to disengage from the patient’s mind. What is
more, empathic healers directly touched their patient’s emotions and memories by
their abilities, and those they had to treat were those already Awakened, who were
hardened killers, and those newly Awakened, who were fresh born killers.

Their mental state was seriously unstable due to the Trial Tests, and most Awakened
were thrown back to the world without a period of rest, freshly traumatized by the
horrors of the Trial Tests.

It may have been inevitable that the minds of the Awakened were nightmarish
hellscapes, filled with rage, anguish, hatred, regret, despair and suicidal tendencies.
Empathic healers had to share such minds, which was unendurable. Therefore, after
awakening, they tended to die out as empathic healers could not heal each other, as
the mental damage they suffered was amplified when being shared with each other.

Yeonhee Woo, a pre-Awakened, would have to face the horrible torture that empathic
healers had to face if she survived until the Day of Advent.

As I did not know her name, her life probably did not end well.

***
I met Yeonhee Woo again during homeroom the next morning. Usually, there was a
shadow in her smile, but today was different. This change had come after our
conversation, and other students also saw that change during the ethics class, which
she taught. She seemed to be feeling that my session with her was effective.

I could not be certain since I had no idea how her ability worked, but she had no
other reason to be that happy. She did not have a lover, friends, or good relations
with her family, and her pay had not been raised.

It was the end of the school day, and students did not listen; however, she tried to
quiet them down. Yeonhee Woo maintained her smile and tone.

“I will not tell you your next year’s class assignments unless you guys settle down.”

Yeonhee Yoo shook the paper she held in her hand, and my classmates showed
various emotions as the class assignments were revealed from the first classroom to
the tenth. Then, when my name was called, the room went eerily silent. Those in the
same class with me were not happy, and while I did not know their names, I could
see it in their faces.

Students did not fight in this class because of me, and those who strayed early on
learned to spend their time in other classrooms during breaks away from my
presence. And they were now in the same class as me. While normally middle school
classes were designated so that the students in each class were at the same point in
the curriculum, this arrangement had a different agenda.

Since other classes had their share of troublemakers, the school had decided to put
the problematic students into a single class and put me in it, whom they could not
fight against or talk back to…

Therefore, the class atmosphere brightened, as other students no longer had to

worry anymore about the students who would be in the same class as me. Even in
middle school, children learned survival instincts. Children may pretend otherwise,
but they feared the strong and herded together for mutual protection.

In Trial Tests, it was between the Awakened, and after the test, it was between the
civilians and the Awakened. Nothing really changed.

Those who were in the same class as me were busy avoiding my gaze, and spending
time with such babies made me tired.
I thought middle school was my limit and wondered what good way would be to not
to go to high school without disappointing my parents. (EN: Middle schools in South
Korea consist of three grades. Most students enter at age 12 or 13 and graduate at age
15 or 16.)

“I’m happy that you guys are happy.”

I met Yeonhee Woo’s eyes, and she spoke in my direction.

“Stay safe during the vacation, and I’ll see you again.”

“Teacher, aren’t you in charge of the first grade?”

“I also became in charge of the second grade.”

Yeonhee Woo lightly answered the question, as boys would like anyone in a skirt.
Moreover, Yeonhee Woo would look pretty in their eyes, like a small puppy. While
she was cute, not beautiful, boys would not care. Yeonhee Woo took me to the staff
room again afterward, and this was the reason there were strange rumors regarding
the two of us. Because of those rumors, boys being boys, Yeonhee Woo became the
object of sexual fantasies among them. I tried to mention that as I followed her.

“If you take me to your office whenever they are watching…”

Yeonhee Woo spoke before I could finish my sentence.

“I’m sorry, but I would not have to call you if your school life did not need my
attention.”

She changed the subject.

“Are you interested in basketball?”

“No.”

“However, I do need to tell you something. Seongil Middle School wants to see you
during vacation. Do you know that there is a basketball team there?”

“I thought I told you before that I’m not interested in sports.”

“You’re not?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a lie. You do chin-ups every lunchtime.”

“I’m not interested in competitive sports like basketball.”

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“You know that your physical abilities are amazing, and you’re even still growing. I
want to meet your parents, and would that be all right?”

“My father and my mother are working.”

I saw that she found my words a relief in her face. If she showed her emotions like
that, anyone could read her. Yeonhee Woo seemed to have been interested in my
family affairs. Not about my interest in sports.

Since layoffs were everywhere during these times, it seemed that she wanted to
confirm that my father was working. Yeonhee Woo brightened after that, and she
stopped as I did. She then gazed at the CD that I took out of my bag.

“You play video games, too?”

She seemed surprised.

“Teacher, you don’t?”

“Not even once.”

I did not know what she saw in me that worried her, but she followed me to this
school because she was worried about me.

“Then, try this when you’re bored. I heard that teachers rest during vacations.”

I ignored her polite refusal, and almost forced the RPG game CD on Yeonhee Woo.
“I will call your parents.”

“Yes.”

She will install that game to understand and become closer to me and maybe she will
learn how to call on the status window by playing.

I could intervene only this far in her life, and the rest was up to her.

***

Everyone wondered why the status window and abilities were similar to that of in
games, particularly those with a loot box system. It was the most intuitive and
effective way and that the absolute being watching took care of us by choosing this
method. Of course, the Eight Virtues were the ones who put forth this argument.

***

My cell phone rang in my bag when I almost arrived at the office, and it was in my
school uniform jacket I had changed in the subway station’s bathroom.

<It’s done.>

It was Jonathan.

<We got Blue Rock?>

<I bent my pride. The moment they asked for shares with THAT smile… I wanted to
just raise my middle finger and end things there. Didn’t I tell you I’m from Texas?>

<Thank you for your efforts. I know that it was hard for you.>

<How?>

<It took you this long.>

<The problems start from now. I have to give them work so they won’t be able to
sniff out our secrets. Have you thought of something?>

<Wait. Did you solve other problems? What about the time leftover in their
contracts?>

<There will be a lawsuit, but I got it handled.>

<Who will you give it to?>

<RGI.>

<They do criminal law.>

<Let me finish. That legal Dream Team has a group specializing in Business Law,
including contracts. I guess you’d call it the ‘Financial Partner’s Dream Team’. I’ll tell
you the specifics later. I thought of something when these guys were whining at me.>

<Yes.>

<We want to increase our firm’s size by buying the Bluestone Group.>

<That is correct.>

<How about doing it in the opposite way? Let’s grab the client funds that the
Bluestone Group sold to the Blue Rock and buy additional client funds from other
management firms.>

<Like what?>

<There was something that met our standards in Pittsburgh.>

I immediately thought of one name at Jonathan’s mention of Pittsburgh, and it was

ANC Financial! My eyes opened because Jonathan had thought that far.

<Sun, let’s take ANC’s client funds along with Blue Rock’s.>

Jonathan’s voice was brighter than Yeonhee Woo’s today, and he had to be seeing the
same thing as I. What would happen after we bring in the client funds from Blue
Rock and ANC? Jonathan seemed as excited as when we bet everything in Thailand
and Hong Kong.

I could not stop him when he was stepping onto a bigger battlefield, as he had to
regain his former self as quickly as possible.
<Can you come to that pub now?>

<I’m running there now. My classes ended for the day.>

Jonathan was excited as he talked, and he had prepared his presentation while
negotiating with Bluestone’s management for Blue Rock. He had a stack of
documents filled with facts and figures, and Jonathan kept consulting them despite
being the one who had prepared them.

“Here it is. I think we can negotiate with ANC on this point. They are badly managing
twenty billion dollars worth of deposits, and adding Blue Rock’s thirty billion worth
of deposits will make it fifty billion.”

Jonathan was not talking about ANC and Blue Rock’s money, they were client funds
deposits that their customers had entrusted with them with the expectation of a
profitable return. What was of note was that some of the client funds that ANC had
gathered were from the USA government’s pension fund. I looked over the evidence,
and of course we both knew that even tens of billions of dollars was petty compared
to the entire USA pension fund. However, the fact that the money was there meant
something, and I felt like I had unexpectedly received a box. It may be a bronze but
may unexpectedly turn into a challenger box.

Jonathan smiled as he looked at the document I was holding.

“I thought you would notice that.”

“Where’s the rest?”

Jonathan took out some more documents from his inside pocket, and I needed to
confirm the specifics out of the several hundred kinds of pensions the USA
government managed.

“What is this?”

My voice was tense, and Jonathan’s eyes widened in surprise as if this had been a test
for me. Looks like I passed, I knew at least this much.

“Why is ANC so careless with this fund? Don’t they know who this is?”
“They would have taken more care if they knew.”

“The client funds management team should be fired.”

The pension fund was for retired teachers in Connecticut, and that was at least a
diamond box.

The Education Association in Connecticut was very influential in American politics,

as US Presidents almost always campaigned on education reform, and American
citizens paid close attention to their schools. The Connecticut Education Association
had been a strong voice in USA politics as the icon of education reform.

“This fund will trumpet our name. We have to bring it in.”

My voice held greed to the extent even I could hear it.

“If we manage this well, Jonathan…”

Jonathan’s smile was meaningful.

“The New York firm will be dealing with the US pension funds.”

“Yes, we’ll be killing two birds with one stone.”

As Jonathan had said, this was the opportunity to attack the Bluestone group with an
increase in size and be favorably noticed by the US government. Our stone will be
profitable returns for our customers.

“What’s the estimated price?”

“About 1.2 to 1.8 billion dollars.”

That meant we could buy control of fifty billion dollars worth of client funds deposits
with One point Eight Billion, and Blue Rock and ANC will sell if the price is right,
since they would be confident that they could get people to invest in them again. The
problem was getting approved by the Financial Supervisory Commission…

I worked out the details of the plan, and Jonathan suddenly asked a question.

“You’ve never lived in America, right?”

“Yes.”

“How do you know so much? I’m not talking about your age. You’re like…”

“As if I’m a professional?”

“More so than that Bluestone team.”

“My father works in finance.”

“New York? Washington? Wouldn’t I know his name if he managed to raise a son like
you?”

Jonathan’s eyes shone as he thought he had stepped closer to my mystery.

“He’s in Seoul and not famous. He’s a good father, though. Now, I’ll leave the rest up
to you.”

“Me alone?”

“I’m stuck in Seoul, and you forget that I’m underage.”

“Yeah, right.”

“All right, let’s wrap this up and move on to the next.”

“Next?”

“Why are you surprised? Aren’t we going to move the offshore funds lying dormant?”

***

I showed my parents a Bible School poster that had been taped up near our house.
The length was quite extensive as the church had made the program with spring
vacation in mind, and while my parents were naturally surprised, they had given
their approval.

They seemed to think that it was an opportunity for me to make some friends, and I
managed to get on a plane to New York the next day. I had prepared my passport in
advance, and I had bought the first-class seat using cash from Jeonil’s funds. Only
three passengers were riding first class, an Indian man and a pair of foreigners of
indeterminate nationality.

They all seemed to know each other and chatted on their performance after greeting
each other. However, their Buy Korea projects had little relevance to Jeonil, and I
took out my laptop since their conversation was becoming boring.

The manuscript I had been writing over the past two weeks was nearly finished, and
the efficient stewardess did her best not to interrupt me.

The plane shook quite severely once, and it was enough to make the strong-looking
Indian man scream. I only realized that it was due to turbulence when the cockpit
explained the situation to us. It was only afterwards that I realized I didn’t
immediately think of flying monsters.

I had spent half a year(subjective) in infanthood and another half-year as a teenager,

which was only a year in total. I was becoming used to this world too fast, and my
senses were growing dull. Not the senses listed in my status, but the survival
instincts carved onto my soul…

***

The market worked anonymously, and our identities should have remained secret
after Thailand and Hong Kong. However, we had been exposed, and that was because
we did not have enough manpower for the money we had. Two men simply cannot
manage billions of dollars.

No matter how careful we were, we had habits when we made orders, and some
firms made it their business to investigate these habits in the back alleys of the
financial world.

Therefore, Jonathan Investments had been discovered as the firm that had harvested
almost all of the profits from the Asian financial crisis. We could not go on with just
the two of us, and we needed Knights for our financial empire.

While I did not care to say it, his ability as a trader was a C class. He was exceptional
as my proxy or managing Jonathan Investments as CEO but was below my standards
as a trader. Jonathan of course, was a capable and experienced trader, however it
took a special skill set to efficiently and effectively manage billions of dollars. (EN: A
trader is a person or entity, in finance, who buys and sells financial instruments such as
stocks, bonds, commodities, derivatives, and mutual funds in the capacity of agent,
hedger, arbitrageur, or speculator.)

Some managers could make an amazing profit with just a million, but not many
would be able to get a profit rate of more than ten percent with a hundred million
dollars.

Then, what about managers who could manage billions? Gillian and Cheongsoo Kim
were the only two I knew capable of that, in my opinion, and the results of them
following my plans would be quite astonishing.

However, I did not know where Cheongsoo Kim was at this point in the past, so I
decided to search for Gillian first. I had met him as a student when he had taught as
an instructor in a master’s course in a London university. I’m not sure why he
accepted an offer like that after gaining international renown by managing a massive
hedge fund.

Whatever the reason was, those few months were a golden time for me and helped
me build the foundation to change my career path from London to Wall Street.

If he had not died young, Gillian would have made his name in financial history. I
arrived at Wall Street, and I went to 245 Park Avenue, where the Morgan Group’s
property management team was located. It was true that I was a bit worried until I
found Gillian’s name in the building lobby.

“Do you have an appointment?”

Of course, I did not. This was not a place where a young Asian man could come in
with confidence, and Gillian did not belong in a team that met with customers. He
would be managing the Freeman Group account about now.

“Can you tell him that I’m from England?”

While the receptionist did not look happy, she did what I asked. The answer
immediately came back as negative. I asked her to hand Gillian a memo and waited
for him from the cafe across the street. I remembered my first days in Wall Street
looking at the view from the window, and old memories became clearer.

I remembered quietly going back to Korea like a fugitive and the Day of Advent a few
days later. As I was reminiscing about the past, I realized that it was near dinnertime
from how the building shadows darkened.

Gillian came inside the cafe, and while he was younger and had a different hairstyle, I
instantly recognized him. However, his face was as dark as a raincloud. I waved, and
his face became even darker.

He looked around and confirmed that I was the only one who was looking for him.
Gillian sat in front of me and asked me in a suspicious voice, which was only natural.

“I heard that you came from England.”

I said the words that I had been preparing.

“I think I have been misunderstood. I’m not from England but came to take you back
to England. I’m Ethan.”

Gillian stared at me with vacant eyes and shook my hand. I could feel that he wanted
to return to his home country, England, very badly.
‘I’m your biggest fan, professor.’ However, I naturally kept my thoughts to myself.

“My clients are preparing to establish an investment firm in England.”

“Then, you have the wrong person.”

Gillian’s smile was bitter, and I had never seen him in such a mood before. Of course,
I had only spent an hour or two per class for a semester a long time ago. This may be
a new side of his personality, but Gillian was not a person who would be so down, at
least to my experience. He graduated at the top of his class in 1991 at London
University and entered the Morgan group in the same year. He would earn
impressive profits with bond products and earn promotions in 1994 with the
derivative products he had developed. In 1995, he participated in establishing the
Morgan Group’s trading system, and it would be the foundation of the Group for a
long time. He would be called to the New York head office in 1996 to lead in
managing the Group’s head office. (EN: Derivatives are securities that derive their
value from an underlying asset or benchmark. Common derivatives include futures
contracts, forwards, options, and swaps. Most derivatives are not traded on exchanges
and are used by institutions to hedge risk or speculate on price changes in the
underlying asset.)

Gillian had given Morgan record-breaking profits, but his expression did not show it.
Why? His career should be taking off during this time.

“This is unexpected… Ethan.”

It took Gillian a second to remember the name I had used to introduce myself.

“The person that your clients are looking for is not here. Well, I’m sure you’ll get the
news. I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to be fired from Morgan soon.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s not a secret that Morgan lost huge amounts of money during the Asian financial
crisis, and out of the two divisions that suffered the greatest losses, I was in charge of
one. I’m not making up this story to refuse your offer, and if you read last week’s
issue of the Wall Street Journal, you’ll know all.”

I had been preparing my manuscript last week, and Gillian offered me another bitter
smile as I remained silent. He stood up, and he started walking away from me before
I could do anything. I chased after him.

“Don’t you want to return to your country?”

“I’ll be only a laughingstock. I cannot return like this.”

***

‘I had gotten used to the fear in the market last year. Therefore, I thought my past
achievements and my position was more important than the entry point. However, I
was wrong. Compared to the bad, very bad entry points the Group was forced to
swallow at the time, all my years, my contributions meant nothing.’ (EN: Entry point
refers to the price at which an investor buys or sells a security. The entry point is
usually a component of a predetermined trading strategy for minimizing investment
risk and removing the emotion from trading decisions. A good entry point is often the
first step in achieving a successful trade. Obviously, a bad entry point means losses.)

Gillian stopped his train of thoughts there.

“You’re talking about the Asian financial crisis last year.”

He looked into my eyes and saw understanding, and Gillian’s gaze changed a bit after
that…

“It was not only you, but everyone lost money during last year. My clients were livid.”

Gillian shook his head.

“One earned it big, and your clients should find a manager like him.”

Gillian mentioned Jonathan, but his words were not all positive. His frown spoke
more. That was how Wall Street thought of Jonathan, and thus, indirectly me.

If an infinite number of monkeys sat in front of typewriters, one of them might write
‘Hamlet.’ My interventions in the finance market were treated like that, a
theoretically possible, but incredibly implausible event. It was sheer and amazing
luck, like a monkey writing Shakespeare. Their egos made them think like that, and
Jonathan’s luck was accentuated in Wall Street rather than his skill, to rationalize
their collective failure.

“Well, you are right. Who does not want such profit? It’s everyone’s dream. However,
my clients are looking for consistent profit and a strong mentality. I’m talking about
you.”

“They don’t know me. I lost a billion dollars.”

Gillian spoke like he was confessing.

“You have earned Morgan more during last year and the year before that, and as I
have mentioned, the Asian financial crisis… was a unique incident.”

“Thank you. I never thought I would be consoled like this.”

His tone was sharper than his words.

“If you make a decision, I will persuade my clients.”

“You said you’ll establish your firm in England.”

“It’s planned to be built on the Isle of Man.”

Gillian only nodded his head at the famous tax haven, as he also thought that was the
right choice. He then asked the next question, which should have been the first.

“How much funds are there to manage?”

“Fifteen billion dollars.”

Gillian was yet again not surprised.

“There is a directing team that represents the companies my clients own, and I can
promise you that they are very skilled. My clients want you to follow the specific
directions under the initial plan, and we will be hiring you as our top executive
trader.”
I saw the disappointment in Gillian’s face, as he would have wanted directing rights.
My offer was the same as what he was doing in the Morgan Group, as their property
management team worked like this. They did not give a star player freedom, and
each team had their specialized fields, and much of the work was done by computer
programs. I spoke again.

“You have to follow the investment plan, but we will not intervene in the specifics
and trading method. I am telling you that you can manage the funds as you wish
under the plan, without repercussions and as aggressively as you can.”

I planned to pile on incentives so he would not have a chance to refuse.

“Some of my clients desire to invest in you separately, but not now. If you show
results, then…”

I emphasized the magic phrase that will bring Gillian into my team.

“They will gladly invest ten billion dollars.”

Gillian acted like his innermost thoughts had been revealed, and his eyes were wild
for a moment. The reason Gillian stayed in Morgan despite his genius was simple.
While he had been presented with such plans before, he stayed with Morgan for that
ten billion.

‘From the first, I said to myself I would not return until I am the manager of ten
billion dollars.’

As he mentioned in his lecture, Gillian succeeded in going back to England with the
investment and built a global property management firm there. While I messed up
his original plans, it was the last piece I needed to bring Gillian over to me. So, the
butterflies flew like that. (EN: Those Chaos Theory butterflies are everywhere!)

Gillian seemed to be over the tipping point with me and my funds, and I thought we
had an agreement.

“You haven’t asked about my clients.”

“I’m not in a position to do so. Truthfully, if it is not drug money, I don’t care.”

As I expected, Gillian had stopped thinking things over. I wanted to see a mirror since
I would hate it if my glee was showing on my face.

“You can relax, they’re not. My clients will be able to provide you with more funds
once the investment firm is set up in the Isle of Man. This is just another investment
for them.”

Gillian nodded calmly, as he had seen many rich people like that before. Morgan had
many such clients, and the group itself was one of them. Also, he would have met a
lot of people like ‘Ethan,’ who had come from the tax havens. They were trust
company lawyers from the Cayman Islands and the four major accounting firms
called the BIG 4 in Wall Street.

While Jonathan would not have met such people often since he had been a small fry,
Gillian would have met them every day. Therefore, I was not someone special to
Gillian, and he had no reason to be tense in front of me. He asked.

“What are the contract conditions?”

“Your commission is 3%, and your annual salary will be 150% of your current
income. For more specific details…”

“No, I am curious about what happens for losses.”

“As I said, nothing unless you fail to follow the investment plan my clients have
requested. This will be specified in the contract.”

“It’s an attractive offer. If I do not follow the plan… I will have to take responsibility
for the loss, right?”

“Don’t test it. A man like you should not go to prison.”

We both smiled.

“Of course not. I just wanted to check. If my profits are good, will there be additional
funds?”

“Yes. I will prepare the contract, and let’s meet three days from now at this hour, in
this cafe.”

“Wait, what about the desk team? Is there a trading team like the directing team?”
“There are a few fixed appointments, and aside from them, you can hire who you
want. You will need many.”

“That’s nice.”

“Then.”

“Then.”

We shook hands and separated. The meeting had been short and clean, and I could
smile happily now.

***

Ironically, when Jonathan was in Seoul, I was in New York.

<That did not warrant you going to New York. I had been expecting much since you
said you’ll go yourself, but for only one property manager? Even if he belonged to the
Morgan Group.>

Jonathan had to complain since Gillian had become famous from being trusted with
unprecedented funds from Morgan. He had been only known inside the Morgan
Group until then.

<I made my decision, and I planning to have Gillian handle some of the offshore
money.>

<Or we can go with the best manager in the world.>

<Are you talking about me?>

<Who else?>

<I’m alone, and you’re managing the New York firm. We cannot handle all that
money between the two of us.>

While I emphasized the word managing, Jonathan did not notice it.

<You said that his name was Gillian. What happens if he notices the paper
companies?>
<He’s not interested. Not only that, but no one knows where the funds are coming
from. It would take even the US government several years of intense investigation.>

Then, the probability was less than 1%, as the offshore funds were that difficult to
trace. The firms we had given the job had survived since WW2, and I had used eight
of them round-robin style.

<I will use the investment firm in the Isle of Man as the base for Europe, and you will
see that Gillian was the right choice as our “Door Knocker”.>

<Come to think of it, when will we stop talking so formally?>

<Yes?>

<Age doesn’t matter. You were never your age anyway. So, I was thinking… >

Things became quiet for a moment.

<I’m saying that we could be friends.>

Jonathan’s voice was shaking, which was a bit strange.

From SouthEast Asia, Europe, and North America, each of the guilds owned by the
Eight Evils and Eight Virtues had their own territories. Tax havens were like that, and
Wall Street’s elites sent their funds to the Caymans, offshore insurance money went
to Bermuda, terrorism and Columbian drug money went to Panama and Nevada,
both Latin American gang funding and the “retirement” funds from Latin American
dictators and oligarchs went to Florida, European securities firm funds went to
Ireland and Luxembourg, Asian funds went to Hong Kong, and most of the other
European funds went to Crown dependencies like he Bailiwick of Jersey and Isle of
Man or Switzerland.

Of course, as the funds increased, multiple tax havens were used. However, as tax
havens are chosen based on utility and convenience, the above framework still holds.
Therefore, Carl, an old agent who introduced himself as a villain with a smile,
recommended Switzerland. On the other hand, his office did not suit a villain. The
office boasted a 180-degree panoramic view, and he was sitting behind a a window
with a lovely overlook of Central Park. I once had a passionate relationship with a
girl with attractive red hair there.

Carl spoke as he stared at the window with me.

“The view from my office is my second favorite thing to boast about. It is peaceful.
While New York is competitive, one can find peace in Central Park. That’s why I
recommend Switzerland, as the country is Europe’s Central Park with deep tradition
and history. Switzerland is that rare country that is not influenced by global politics
and will remain neutral even if World War 3 comes. Safety is best.”

He requested seven million dollars to establish the company by proxy and an annual
maintenance fee of five million.

“It will only take a day.”

Money was not a problem.

“My clients are determined that the firm is on the Isle of Man.”
As my stance did not change, Carl quickly changed directions.

“Do as you wish. I only want to build long-term trust.”

It was true. While there were many tax havens all over the world, Switzerland was
the most secretive. However, that was only until 1997, and in this year, 1998, the
Holocaust will come to haunt the Gnomes of Zurich from an unexpected direction.
(EN: Gnomes of Zürich is a slang term for Swiss bankers. Swiss bankers are popularly
associated with extremely secretive policies, while gnomes in fairy tales live
underground, in secret, counting their riches. Zürich is the commercial centre of
Switzerland.)

It was not only the dormant funds of the Jewish victims, with almost impossible
proof-of-ownership requirements, but the laundering of Nazi funds, like something
out of a bad novel, that was revealed to the world. As a result, Swiss banks will be
attacked and they will surrender to the massive public outcry. That was the true
reason I came to Carl’s office, out of the many agent offices that managed the funds
we took out of the Asian Financial crisis.

In 1998, this year, the documents that will make Swiss banks capitulate came from
this office.

***

Jonathan had always been worried that the offshore billions would be discovered,
and we would be imprisoned for the rest of our lives. However, while the probability
was less than 1%, I had come to Carl’s office to nullify even that single percent. The
last agent to handle our offshore funds had been Carl, and he seemed to be deeply
interested in the briefcase I had brought with me and now placed on the table.

I stood up to lock the office door, and this act alarmed Carl. It did not take long for
Carl to shout into his phone, and while he yelled a name I thought to be his secretary,
Carl and I were alone in the offices. I had not asked to meet during lunch without
reason.

“Don’t be scared.”

I spoke coldly as I approached Carl and took the phone away from him first. I did it
slowly but with force, and it did not matter whether Carl had tried to resist. The
phone slid from his fingers when our eyes met, and his eyes were filled with fear.
People had those eyes when they had faced monsters at the Trial Tests, and Carl had
also seen one in me for a moment.

“I only want a confidential conversation with you without interference.”

Carl did not open his mouth, and it was evident that he was busy calculating how to
safely get out of this situation. He avoided my eyes and looked about the office. He
glanced at the fountain pen on the desk and the computer keyboard. Stabbing a
person in the neck with a fountain pen takes courage rather than skill, and his gaze
then stopped on the briefcase containing a million dollars in bearer bonds with
coupons attached I had brought with me. His mouth opened then.

“Have you come from a gang?”

Whether it be a terrorist, a gangster, or a drug dealer, one acted as a Wall Street

finance manager in an agent’s office. Therefore, it was difficult to recognize them in a
place like this. Carl would have only met those who wore nice suits, talked
knowledgeably about money, and acted politely like people who worked in the banks
across the street.

Carl looked confused at my smile and the fact I had not done anything after I stopped
the phone call he attempted. I had actually gone back to my seat and calmly sat
down.

“You deal in gang money?”

Carl’s eyes came back to normal at my words.

“Say what you want, and don’t scare me.”

He acknowledged that he was weaker than me. While we were similar in height and
build, he had given up physically attacking me perhaps because of his age. I opened
my briefcase and showed him the million in bearer bonds. Carl’s pupils dilated, and
he involuntarily licked his lips.

“This is a million in bearer bonds. This is payment for using your computer.”

Carl did not understand what I was saying at first, but his eyes suddenly widened.

“This is a problem. I know what you’re searching for, but it’s not here. We keep our
client’s names our top-secret…”

I stood up again, and the room suddenly became tense again.

“Like Swiss banks!”

Carl shouted in a rush, and he was not stupid enough to move like he was protecting
the computer. I was looking down on him, and he was looking up to me. I spoke only
one word.

“Move.”

My voice rang in the room.

***

It was no laughing matter that politicians who were former soldiers had a place in
Korean National Assembly, as the unexpected threat of violence could be as effective
in politics as it was surprising. Even if I had not touched him, Carl had never been
exposed to even mild violence like this, and the situation was taking place in his
office. While he had to protect the computer at all costs, he moved.

The verbal resistance he showed was an obvious bluff.

“My passwords are managed by my secretary. This is too much. I swear on my family,
what you’re looking for does not exist in that computer.”

Carl was acting dumb, as he would give up the password should a blade come near
his throat. However, I did no such thing. I put in the CD I had brought with me and
solved the password in front of Carl’s eyes. The password cracker program acted like
the Awakened attacking a boss monster.

Carl’s face turned pale, not only because I solved the password, but the screen
showed that there were folders for each year, and there were files with clients’
names on them in each.

“I… I didn’t know about that.”

I gestured at him to remain quiet and pointed to a corner of the room. I shot a
warning when Carl remained still.
“Do you want me to delete them all? Stay quiet.”

Carl realized that I was being polite, and he stood in front of a bookshelf far from the
computer. He could open the door and call the police, but he knew that federal
agents would come rushing in if he did so. Then, persecutors would find a pile of
evidence of his clients who had violated the RICO laws. Carl spoke in a shaking voice
from the thought of the office filled with federal agents. (EN: The Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act is a United States federal law that
provides for extended criminal penalties and a civil cause of action for acts performed
as part of an ongoing criminal organization. The RICO Act focuses specifically on
racketeering and allows the leaders of a syndicate to be tried for the crimes they
ordered others to do or assisted them in doing, closing a perceived loophole that
allowed a person who instructed someone else to, for example, murder, to be exempt
from the trial because they did not actually commit the crime personally)

“I will help you search, so just say so.”

This was also laughable, as he would not know. Those with money, including myself,
were careful when using agents as a proxy, and the folders Carl had categorized by
client names were firms that only existed in tax havens. They were firms whose
owners were deliberately obfuscated, and Carl did not know whose funds he was
handling. I also did not know every one of my paper companies. Even if the
Holocaust case came to the surface, it would be impossible for the government to
discover everything about my paper companies. However, I liked to keep things tidy
if I knew there were any traces left.

“I said we should have Thai food.”

“But the lunch was tasty.”

Carl’s employees had come back from lunch from the noise, and Carl knew what he
had to do to survive. When I nodded, he went out of the room for a moment. While
the office phone may ring, it would not connect to this room since Carl would have
said he was having a meeting with a valuable client.

I erased the relevant documents and the computer log files recording the erasure.
The sky had turned dark when I had finished everything, and Carl had stopped
pacing and was sitting across from me to wait.
“I wasted a day because of you. Secrets? You have to be joking.”

I stood up with those words, and while Carl seemed utterly spent, he also stood up.

“I’ll take that.”

Carl was talking about my bearer bonds. I had not fixed the price at random, and it
would be his average earning per project.

“Keep it. Today’s not the end.”

“What…”

“If it’s too much of a burden, keep it as a retainer. Finish establishing the investment
firm in the Isle of Man.”

All of these agents left behind evidence, and I could not do this every time. It would
be better to just buy this place.
If this were my previous life, I would have used a high explosive device to destroy the
entire building and all the records within. However, the world I lived in was
completely different now, and therefore there was a more effective method. As I sat
down again in my seat, Carl kept glancing at me as he swallowed aspirin without
water. However, he spoke with his hand on his forehead like he still had a headache.

“There are employees outside.”

While that meant I should not do anything violent, Carl’s voice was weak.

“I want you to call Jane in.”

I spoke as I pointed at the firm nameplate on the wall.

[Carl & Jane Legal Accounting Firm]

Carl was the lawyer, and Jane, his partner, was the accountant in this firm. Their
office was located in a street where the majority of the businesses were accounting
and legal firms. The bookshelves were filled with books appropriate for the facade,
but the firm’s true identity was an agent for tax havens, and their history for less
than reputable services went back to their founding by Carl’s grandparents, whose
pictures were proudly hung on the walls.

“I did what you wanted. What do you want?”

“I’m going to have to buy this firm.”

Carl’s expression turned strange, but his color returned, showing him that he was a
true business man.

***

Could one believe that this small office with only six employees made millions of
dollars annually in profit? Moreover, they did not pay taxes to the US government, as
their firm was located in the Caymans on paper while their office was in New York.
Therefore, this firm was not tracked on any Law Enforcement databases.

Carl told me multiple times that I must not threaten Jane, his wife, like I threatened
him. If I did not promise, he would definitely not call his partner in business and in
private life.

However, that was unnecessary, as I had already changed tactics even before she
arrived in the office. While I was shameless, it was because I was beginning to want
this firm more and more.

Carl was also just as brazen, as we remained awkwardly polite, pretending to be old
business acquaintances in front of his wife. Jane was a middle-aged woman who
would look just as natural taking cookies out of the oven as holding a pile of
documents. She said she would love spending time in the Cayman Islands and saw
their future suntanning in a big manor surrounded by palm trees.

They were in their late fifties and were at an age that yearned for retirement. Jane
spoke up.

“I do not want other accounting firms hired or involved in this transaction. I believe
you would know the reason why.”

A multi-million deal to purchase these offices would involve countless negotiations

between the involved parties and their accounting firms, but she confirmed that
there would not be a need for such a public process. I welcomed it since we were
dealing with preserving secrets and retaining the current personnel infrastructure.
As far as the public is concerned, nothing has changed.

We did not need to hire accounting firms, who would inevitably reveal the sale.
Should their customers learn of the sale, they would fear a record of their
transactions falling into the hands of a third party, breaking their long, trusted
relationship with Carl and Jane.

***

While I bought the tax agent firm, I had additional reasons to come to New York,
even going so far as to lie to my parents. One was to gather my knights for my
financial empire, as I had the money and could not hold it off any longer. I had to take
them while they were vulnerable, before they learned to believe in their abilities, and
had a chance to establish their own independent businesses.
I found my second knight in the New York Stock Exchange. Her name was Jessica,
which was a common enough name, but she had a rare ability. While her connections
in University didn’t include anyone special and she did not come from a rich family,
she was a woman who broke the glass ceiling of the Wall Street elites. (EN: Glass
Ceiling-an unofficially acknowledged barrier to advancement in a profession, especially
affecting women and members of minorities.)

It did not take much effort to find Jessica, who was working as a mere phone
secretary in the Stock Exchange. I found her amongst a crowd who were looking at
food trucks during lunchtime. The rest of the five except Gillian had not spread their
wings yet, and with the exception of Cheongsoo Kim, the rest would have to be
trained under Gillian.

About a week after I arrived in New York, I scouted four of the five, including Gillian,
and I went to the “back alleys” of Wall Street for the second reason I came here. Wall
Street did not have back alleys where drunks wandered, gang members walked
about with guns, and prostitutes were glimpsed here and there. The place we called
“back alleys” were clean streets with tall buildings where the elite walked. (EN: Yeah,
I’m confused too. Jonathan, Gillian, Jessica is three. )

However, the firms there were the reason we called them “back alleys”, as there were
two kinds of agencies there. One was tax agent firms like the one I had just bought,
and the other was private investigating firms.

While they were better known as private detectives, they did not investigate
murders in locked rooms, and those located in Wall Street conducted investigations
for investors and insurance companies.

Since the one I used in my past was not established yet, I looked for the cleanest sign.
A clean sign would mean they had opened recently and their investigators probably
had worked as police officers, federal agents, or in the military up to now. From my
experience, American private investigators did not differ much from Korea in
retaining the privileges of their former jobs, as well as multiple connections in law
enforcement and the military to make up for any lack.

The firm’s interior was clean as the sign, and I had chosen a good place.

“Over here, please.”

The consultant looked over my attire after my face. I wore high-end clothing and
shoes, and what I wore did not differ from the other elites on Wall Street.

“Have you worked with us before?”

“No.”

I was led to a meeting room as a regular customer, and the consultant handed me
their booklet. The firm’s name was ZOPI Group, and the booklet actually was too
thick to read in one sitting. The pages were filled with their eighty investigators’
expertise and how the organization was well knit and their investigators
professional. The consultant turned over to the page that she deemed would suit me,
and it was a list of their successful investment evaluations. One page held the details
of an investigation that discovered a sex scandal between a founder of a famous food
product company and underage boys as an example of ZOPI minimizing the founding
partners’ financial losses with the work of their operatives.

“I did not come here to request an investigation.”

I took out a fake name card that was no longer fake, as with the exception of my
name, the company in the Caymans was one of the two established yesterday. I used
one to buy the tax agent firm and the other to change my identity.

The consultant stared at the company name on the card before asking me a question.

“You’re a trust manager. Do you need to talk to a manager?”

“Anyone at partner level and is available now.”

“Follow me.”

***

The investigator’s hand was full of scars as I shook it, and I could see traces of his
military tattoo on his upper arm. His hair was cut short, and I could see his sharp
eyes and sturdy features. He had to have been in the army until recently.

“I am John Clarke.”

He looked at me like he had sensed something.

“I’m Ethan.”

“We do a lot of work for trust companies, mostly finding the beneficiaries.”

“Then I have come to the right place since I came here for the same reason.”

While they were private companies, investigative firms had to obey the law. I had to
prove family relations if I wanted to find a missing person and had to show
credentials that proved I was involved in the case if I wanted help in capturing a
fugitive.

However, finding trust beneficiaries was not that strict because there was no way to
prove family relations. All information regarding trust funds are strictly confidential,
between the manager, the beneficiary, and the depositor, like the Swiss banks. Since
he had done similar cases before, I did not need to explain myself.

“The beneficiary’s name is Bobby.”

The investigator would be waiting for his surname, social security number, and
recorded address, but I did not have them.

“He will be twelve to fifteen and should be residing in New York.”

The investigator smiled awkwardly when I did not go on.

“While I have some information on his appearance, I’m embarrassed to confess other
information has been lost.”

“How about a public notice?”

“That will be a problem.”

The investigator nodded like he understood my situation.

“What is Bobby’s relationship with the depositor?”

“I’m sorry to say that we cannot provide that information.”

“Ethan. How many Bobbys between twelve and fifteen do you think are in New York?
You’re not certain he is in New York, right? Do you even know he is in New York?”
“He was born in Brooklyn. Yes, I cannot ignore the possibility that he is not in New
York at present.”

“Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. New York

neighbors five states.”

“We know that this request is beyond rational thought. However, the fee is the issue,
right?”

The investigator looked at the name card the consultant had handed to him.

“No. What Gold Run Trusts is requesting is basically a search of the entire North
America continent.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes?”

“The fee is not the problem. John, this is Wall Street. Do I have to consult another
firm?”

The investigator’s expression turned a bit rigid, and his answer was rushed.

“I meant that the investigation fee may exceed the benefits.”

He was questioning whether the firm was willing to go that far, and I spoke as if I was
disappointed.

“You can say that because you do not know the amount. Do not worry about the fee,
and work on this project with as many people as necessary. Cooperate with other
partner firms, as you may have to search the entire continent.”

“You’re serious?”

“Yes. We will pay you an incentive bonus for saved time and a success pay at the
market’s highest rate. Prepare the contract.”

The investigator was at a loss for words at my request and the fee.

“We need to find Bobby no matter what the cost is. Will you help?”
I had to find that kid even if I bought out every private investigation firm in North
America. That [email protected]@rd would grow to be the Prime Evil, who will lead
the Eight Evils.
I was currently working on four different operations at the same time. First, I was
arranging for logging on the mountain where the F-class dungeon was sealed.
Second, I was expanding Jonathan Investments. Third, I was establishing a new
investment company worth fifteen billion dollars on the Isle of Man, and fourth, I
was looking for the Prime Evil and my last knight, Cheongsoo Kim.

The manuscript I finished editing on the plane back to Korea was for my second
operation.

“The negotiation had gone well, but ANC and Blue Rock are worried that the
Financial Supervisory Commission will not approve, as we are.”

“I have several things to tell you, so let’s start there.”

I took out my laptop and felt Jonathan’s stare. He felt that something was different
with my tone, as I had always been polite and distant when speaking to him.

“Let’s talk about this first.”

I opened the manuscript file and handed Jonathan the laptop. I saw Jonathan slowly
smile looking at me, as I showed him what I had written.

“Do I have something on my face? Look at the monitor.”

Jonathan’s eyes finally turned to the monitor, and he asked me what this was.

“ANC and Blue Rock mentioning the Financial Supervisory Commission’s approval
was an insult, as they’re saying that the only way this deal will go through will be if
we’re lucky. I was reminded of the attitude Wall Street has of you, Jonathan, that you
had hit the jackpot just by sheer luck.”

“It’s not me, it’s you. Don’t be so touchy, Sun. So, this is… a manuscript. Did you write
this?”

“Let’s talk after you read it.”

Jonathan seemed interested as he looked over the manuscript, and his scrolling
slowed down as he read it. He looked back and forth at me and the manuscript as he
again asked me a question.

“This is not an autobiography, but an investment manual. How can a thirteen-year-

old think of this? You could predict trends with this book, and monopolize positions
even if your brain doesn’t work like a genius. Moreover, your analysis of Predictive
Modelling… damn. You don’t have a degree, right?”

The answer was clear, and Jonathan answered by himself.

“You were planning our revenge, and this is hot stuff. Everyone will be blown away
by this, and no one will be able to claim ‘Luck’ anymore! Our credibility will be
untouchable!”

While Jonathan was over exaggerating things, everything was about results. I just
wrote up the theories I remembered from my past life, which have yet to be
published or even created by their original authors, to explain our investment
strategies to something a normal human being could understand.

“Jonathan, I’m not the author and left the foreword blank. Write up something about
your childhood and how you grew up, and also how you became a financial
investment manager and started on Wall Street.”

Jonathan shook his head violently at my words, which was a clear refusal. I had
expected this response and asked him a question.

“Do you know the Asian concept of Yin and Yang?”

“A bit.”

“Yin and Yang suggest nothing can live in isolation, as Yin cannot exist without Yang
and vice versa. The two need to be in harmony for things to work. I’m saying that you
and I work like that.”

“I wish you would step out of the shadows, but it can’t be helped.”

“Yes, this argument ends today. Don’t think that you’re stealing my achievements
because you’re just doing something for me that I can’t do.”
“Until you come of age.”

“So enjoy it while you can so you won’t regret it. A moment will come when I take
back what’s mine.”

I grew apart from my childhood friends when I studied in Britain and worked as an
investment manager in New York. I only had colleagues after that, and it was the
same when I had been Awakened.

Awakened could not become friends, and it had been the same for Jonathan and me.
We were in a completely business relationship and shared profits and points, not
friendship. I had thought that would remain the same in this life, but Jonathan was
not who I had known. His nature did not belong in Wall Street, as he was gentle and
had a streak of kindness.

When he asked me to become his friend, I thought that I could afford this single
luxury…

***

Jonathan returned to New York with the manuscript yesterday, and his departure
was quieter than his arrival. Those who had come to greet him and others went back
to the new president’s inauguration ceremony. His departure was written in small
letters in the daily newspaper.

That morning, Carl and Jane’s people had sent greeting emails, the investigating firm
sent me pictures of numerous candidates for Bobby, and Jillian had given me a
progress report after going back to Britain. However, the news I had been waiting for
the most was delayed.

<How long will the construction go on?>

<I am sorry. It had snowed last week. Can you come to the site? We have cut down all
the trees, and cleared everything, I am certain that you will be satisfied.>

<I’m on my way.>

I went there using a car I had rented under Jeonil’s name, as dealing with traffic cops
in these times required cash rather than a driver’s license. I just needed to avoid big
accidents.
The mountain was a big ugly brown blob, unlike other mountains and hills that were
all green, covered with trees. It was a relief that the three-story village hall had been
finished first. I passed the new building as I drove until I met Choi waiting for me at
the base of the mountain.

“I approve and will send you the rest of the payment by tomorrow.”

I spoke as I looked up at the bare mountain.

“When will you proceed with additional construction?”

“That’s a much bigger scale, and while we will put your firm on the list, I don’t think
you will be selected.”

“Is that so…”

“Anyway, have you seen a boulder that looks like an eagle’s beak? It’s about ten
meters tall and would have been easily noticeable.”

Choi asked me to wait and ran to the workers, and he brought a middle-aged man
along with him. I didn’t need to search the entire mountain to look for it, and the
three of us drove up to the middle of the mountain with Choi’s truck.

We moved based on the worker’s memories, and while the dirt under our feet tended
to crumble, we made much faster progress than when the forest was full of thorn
bushes.

I then saw the boulder even before the worker pointed at it. It was just as I
remembered, and I could not forget it since the thoughts I had when I passed that
boulder the first time were burned into my brain.

‘Wouldn’t there be a chance to run away if I topple that boulder? Can I even do that?
Damn, if I had just managed to rest, I could outrun these officers… No, if only I had
Awakened with more strength instead of perception… ’

I remembered myself being led away into the dungeon under military guard, and I
first made Choi and the worker go back. I then started to mentally recreate a map of
the camp the military had made, using the boulder as the landmark.

The dungeon entrance had been about two hundred meters to the northeast, and the
entrance that could unseal the dungeon would be there somewhere. I began to walk
faster and then started to run.

I could guess the spots where the dirt would crumble under my feet before I stepped,
which reminded me that I had been Awakened, with high perception attributes back
then, and now. I ran the sharp incline for about two hundred meters and looked
around for the entrance.

I only needed to enter the radius of the entrance like the Awakened who had
discovered the dungeon by accident, and then the dungeon would reveal itself.

I wandered about and found a spot where the notification I had been waiting for
appeared. The System message I had hoped for appeared, and I received the
achievement I had expected.

[Congratulations, you are the First to discover a Dungeon!]

[You have gained the achievement ‘Like the Deep Sea.’]

Other notifications followed.

[You have gained the trait ‘Explorer’ due to the achievement.]

[Congratulations, you are the first to discover this dungeon.]

[You have received a challenger box for being the first to find a dungeon.]

It was not a bronze, silver, or gold, not even platinum or a diamond box. I saw a
shining box that seemed to be screaming at me to open it. I felt my heart skip a bit
and reached out with my hand to open the shining box, that would light my way into
the future.
I got the chance to go back in time from my first challenger box, and the skill that had
belonged to Number Six of the Eight Virtues had come out of my second. I did not
care as long as the skill belonged to the Eight Evils and Eight Virtues, as their skills
had been the best of the best.

[You have opened the challenger box.]

What will my third challenger box give me? The almost blinding light from the
opening of a challenger box was welcome to me.

[You have gained the insignia ‘Revival.’]

While everything had been bright, I could see that the light had gathered instead of
spreading, and had landed on my chest. And a ray of light was now connecting me to
the opened box, and I took off my jacket and shirt the moment the light vanished.
While my hurry to see it actually slowed me down and I ripped my shirt and popped
some buttons taking it off, it was nothing compared to what I saw in the middle of
my chest.

While it looked like only a tattoo a bit bigger than my thumbnail, I was overjoyed at
having received an insignia from a challenger box. While many lower-grade boxes
gave out insignias, I had never heard of one that merited a challenger box, and it was
even called ‘Revival!’ I could guess what the insignia’s effect was and checked to see
if I was right.

[Revival (Insignia)

Effect: One time only, it will revive the bearer from death.

Class: S]

“All right…”

Insignias had been special even for civilians because even the Unawakened could
bear them. They could be sold on the market, and the prices had been astounding.
This meant that I could protect anyone I wanted from a fatal injury once, and my joy
was soured by my past hardships. I had hunted thousands of times and waited for a
cruelly long time to finally receive an insignia.

I did not think that this had been too easily acquired this time but in fact I had been
thinking of my parents when the Revival insignia came out of the box.

***

[Will you open the dungeon?]

I refused, as it was too early. Opening the dungeon would endanger those living in
the village, despite that the possibility of monsters coming out was extremely low
due to this dungeon being a Class-F.

Like the infinitesimal possibility of my paper companies being discovered existed,

the danger of monsters coming out of an open dungeon also existed.

I took the fishing lines that I had bought on the way here and used four 100 meter
fishing lines and some stakes to designate and mark the areas before taking out my
cell phone. I breathed in deeply to calm myself down.

<Where are you?>

<I’m about to enter the intersection. Should I return?>

<Yes.>

<Right away!>

Choi came back and entered the area I marked with the fishing lines, but he did not
see any System notifications. If he had seemed surprised, it meant that he was a
prior awakened, but they had been very rare, especially in Korea.

“It seems about a thousand square meters. You will need to flatten the ground to
raise a building, so when will you do it? What is the scale of construction?”

He spoke in a desperate voice.

“This request from the company is something that you probably have not done
before, and I don’t know whether or not you can do it.”

“Tell me about it.”

“We require that you not touch the ground at all, and we have to raise a building with
the walls built where they’re marked, according to the fishing lines.”

“Without a floor, or basement…? It will work. We will find a way.”

“The problem is the walls. The firm wants the strongest ones made of steel
reinforced concrete at least five meters thick.”

Choi was at a loss for words, as I had said I wanted walls that were used for Bank
Vaults.

“The plan is to raise another concrete wall around the mountain after the building is
complete, and we will use multiple layers of wire mesh fences and CCTVs to prevent
the village people from entering at the base. As I told you, the scale is quite big.”

“…Why?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“What’s the purpose… have you come from the government?” Choi whispered the
last word.

“Would I have come to you if I did? I do not know the specifics, as I only follow
orders.”

“Has this been approved? It seems to be a dangerous facility.”

“Yes, the company is going over relevant laws at the moment.”

“I can do anything you want. Please let me do it. I will make sure you need worry
about nothing, and I will bet my life to give you a masterpiece.”

“Do you have a plan?”

It was then Choi let out the words he had been holding back.
“I only have friends. Please listen to me. Every firm I know is tipping over, and when
the big firms are nearly dead, for the small firms, our situation is much worse.”

He seemed as if he would haunt me and wander the grounds if I denied him the
contract.

“I know many people who would have done much better if they had been born in
better times. They would have built apartments and companies, and there are
truckloads of such people. If you help, I’ll gather them.”

“You worked like that for flattening the mountain, right? However, the next
construction is too big in size. I don’t think gathering subcontractors will work.”

“Which is why I’ll act as the head.”

“You’re saying that you’ll come in with more people? What will you do when things
go haywire? I’m not in a position to bear the blame.” I had to maintain the pretense
of reporting to higher-ups obviously, to preserve my cover as a worker drone, and
not the big boss.

“No matter what happens, I will not blame you and I will owe you until I die. This is
the truth.”

“You know that the big firms you mentioned are crumbling like this, right?”

“Yes.”

“I’m saying this because you remind me of my father, so don’t misunderstand my

intentions.”

“Yes.”

“I know what you’re thinking and the emotions behind it. You’re about to buy your
colleagues’ firms with borrowed funds, but don’t you know the interest rates now?
You’ll be bled dry, and you won’t be able to repay it. The debt will go into billions of
Won if this fails.”

Choi did not blink and even became more determined. This was the first time I had
seen such a gaze after my return since it belonged to those desperate enough, who
had risked their lives for a single point or a single F class monster.
This would not be the last construction project that I would fund, and projects like
this were difficult to proceed by buying a pre-existing construction firm. The bigger
the size, the more people involved, which meant that secrets were hard to keep.

But… oh. I seemed to be weak against such people, as I kept thinking of excuses. I
had not been like this before…

People who reminded me of my father made me remember what he had been like a
friend and a teacher, especially after being fired.

I suddenly remembered the family picture that had been placed in Choi’s truck.

“You are all right with the risks?”

“I will take responsibility.”

“Umm… let’s do it like this.”

“Yes?”

“I know a foreign firm and I will introduce you and endorse you, so you can borrow
as much as they’re willing to lend to you.”

Choi rushed and hugged me, and he smelled like wet ground. However, I could not
push him away, as he was now crying in earnest. I felt his weight, which reminded
me of the burdens he carried with him. Damn, Father had cried like this with Mother
on the day he had been fired.

“Hey.”

“I… apologize.”

“I have not finished talking. That foreign firm will ask for a share of more than 51%
in return for the investment. Your management rights will not be guaranteed, and
this is up to you. Of course, everything will be decided after the firms you will buy
pass the investment firm’s standards.”

“Just having this chance…”

“I hope it works well and wish you luck.”

“Yes! I won’t forget this until the day I die. Really!”

Choi could not finish his words, as he could not stop his tears from falling.
I asked Choi to keep the construction strictly confidential and not to ask anything
about the building, when he signed the investment proposal of the paper company I
arranged the business loan through. While such requests would inevitably raise
questions in Choi’s mind, the building itself was already mysterious enough.

“No matter what I say, the firm is constructing an ugly building. It will look awkward,
and once it is built, reporters and local politicians will come running. Large firms are
weak against such pressures.”

“Yes.”

“Large construction firms co-exist with the media and local politicians, so they will
not be able to refuse their requests.”

“I understand what you’re saying, and I will remember every word.”

“While such a thing should not happen, the firm has taken the position that it would
be easier to control your small company instead of hiring a big construction firm. I
made this point at the board meeting, to try and get you the contract.”

“You have… done so much for me. I will make sure you have nothing to worry about.”

“You do not have to pay much attention to the investment company, as it is busy with
other businesses. Your company is a sort of test case they have bought to prepare to
enter Korea’s construction market.”

Choi gulped at the words.

“Moreover, you may suddenly be requested to hand over documents detailing

various aspects of your company for stockholder meetings, and if you think keeping
foreign investment companies satisfied is easy, due to distance… I cannot help you.
They can be extremely cruel.”

“Yes, I know that you’re speaking out of worry. I will not forget this debt for three
generations.”
The contract was nearly over, and Choi said he would take me to a good place instead
of drinking lukewarm coffee. By his tone, I guessed that Choi had prepared liquor,
women, and a thick envelope filled with cash.

The chance I had given Choi could not be paid with such things, and Choi also knew
it. His eyes looked like he would do anything I say. Anyway, I refused his offer and
continued to talk about the construction of the village cafe. I spoke about the fact
that the firm is prepared to continue building such projects in the future, to continue
buying the goodwill of the locals.

“At the risk of sounding forward, won’t that become a problem in the future?”

“That’s a good point, and I am also worried about that. While I am obeying the
orders from the higher-ups, this is my responsibility. If something goes seriously
wrong in this project, I will be fired.”

“Sir.”

“Yes?”

“There’s a mountain behind where I live, but no one goes up there. While it’s not as
big as the wall planned for this facility, there’s a long wall surrounding the mountain.
However, the reason no one goes up that mountain is not because of the wall.”

“Is it a mental hospital?”

“That may also work. However, the wall is topped by traditional roof tiles, and the
road going up is blocked by a traditional gate. It looks like a temple to outsiders, but
they all came back down in disgust.”

It was then Choi spoke a name I had heard for the first time.

“Have you ever heard of a religious organization called the Church of the Spirit
World?”

“No.”

“I also heard the name for the first time after I moved into that area. No one knows
what they do, and while everyone dislikes even looking at the direction of the
mountain, no one ever filed a complaint.”
“I understand, as religious cults are scary.”

“Who knows what they will do.”

“I don’t know what to say since I do not know the purpose of the building, but I will
ask the higher-ups whether the project needs such elaborate disguise.”

“Oh, no. I only said this in passing.”

“Since this is just a suggestion, you have no reason to worry. Since there will be many
projects like this, the higher-up will also need to think about such problems if they
want to proceed forward. They will choose the best solution out of many
suggestions, and I thank you for the idea.”

“It’s not that much of an idea, and I hope that it helps.”

“You can go first since I need to organize some things here.”

“Then, I will contact you once I start.”

Choi left. The best solution for securing the dungeon would be to sign a contract with
the military and raise the walls as part of the defense industry, but there would be
far too many questions. So, rather than bringing other elements here, disguising the
buildings as mental hospitals or cult facilities may be more effective. They both raise
primal fear in people even before approaching, especially in these times.

I finished making some decisions and moved my gaze to the table. It was filled with
documents Choi had brought, and I had to look them over just in case.

I took out the copy of his national ID card with his Citizen Registration Number and
family register, as I could confirm his family relations and previous homes with those
documents. While I wanted to trust Choi, who seemed trustworthy, I also knew that
such a belief was naïve.

***

Jonathan had been courageous, and I had been cautious, and we did not criticize
each other for having opposite traits. We trusted each other’s strengths, and while
we did fight a few times, our relationship had been good.
Jonathan tended to act before thinking and then cleaned up the mess afterwards, as
that was his personality. He was at an advantage in situations requiring quick,
decisive action and had also faced death due to his rashness.

All of us Awakened at the Trial Tests did things differently. Mine was to prepare for
all circumstances, and I gathered and calculated data until I was satisfied. Only then I
made my move, and while I had been slower than others, I tended to get more
rewards and a higher possibility of success when I took a chance.

When I had been a manager, I had refrained from investing in long-term positions,
but when I lived to survive, I had been a different person.

This cautionary trait had kept me alive after finishing the Trial Tests. I remembered
Jonathan’s advice from a long time ago. He said that if I gave my all to everything I
did, I would not have any reserves left when things go wrong, as they always do.

Well, I had grown more powerful after Jonathan and I parted ways and managed to
irritate the Eight Evils and Eight Virtues with my principles.

Moreover, what Jonathan had said seemed right for this occasion, as I did not need to
overcomplicate things.

Father had come in drunk, and he had passed out. Mother had prepared a place to
sleep in the living room for Father and went into the master bedroom after waiting
for him to fall asleep. The light in the master bedroom turned dark, and I had waited
for this moment.

“Father, are you asleep?”

I only heard snores, and I sat next to Father. In his past life, after he was fired, Father
was known only as the owner of a grocery store, and he would die when the gate
opened in Seoul.

Our family had not even been able to recover his body, as I had been dragged into the
military while Mother was lying unconscious in a makeshift hospital.

We had been notified of Father’s death by only a single document, and this was only
possible, in that bloody, chaotic time because I had become an Awakened. So many
other families would never fully know the fates of their loved ones…
We had to do Father’s funeral without a grave or ashes, and I cried while holding the
passbook he had given me when I had been a student. Also, I blamed myself and the
military. I understood why they had to re-activate me from my reserve status, but I
believed Father would not have been sacrificed like this if they had not kept me in.
(EN: A passbook or bankbook is a paper book used to record bank or building society
transactions on a deposit account. Traditionally, a passbook is used for accounts with a
low transaction volume, such as savings accounts.) (EN: A building society is a financial
institution owned by its members as a mutual organization.)

I did not return to the military after Father’s funeral and went to a foreign private
guild whose offer I had refused a few times in the past. I secured Mother’s safety by
working for them, and the period I worked there had been due to Father’s death.

Of course, history was changing, and such a thing would not happen again. However,
it was not a reason not to transfer the insignia over to Father. While he had lived a
healthy life until now, I did not know what would happen to him in the future. There
may be natural catastrophes and building collapses, and one really did not know
what would happen tomorrow.

I only regretted that I only had one insignia, and I looked in the direction of the
master bedroom and turned my gaze back to Father. I used the System Menu only the
Awakened could use.

[Will you transfer ownership of the Revival insignia?]

“Yes.”

The system asked again.

[Will you transfer ownership of the Revival insignia?]

Since the insignia was from a challenger box, the system was asking why I was
handing over another chance to live like this, especially when I would have to go to
the dungeon alone. Well, I did not think that the system would understand such a
thing.
Our family had a small crisis the next day, as Mother found a small tattoo on Father’s
chest after he came out of the shower. He said that he didn’t know anything about
this and called those he drank with as he tried to piece together the night before.

Mother almost cried, saying that her husband was having an affair, and I did not
know what to do. After Father managed to go to work, I made an effort to console
her. We went to Myeong-dong at lunchtime, and while we did not talk much, her face
became happier just by walking arm in arm with me among the crowds. (EN:
Bustling Myeong-dong is a shopping area packed with international fashion brands,
luxury department stores and homegrown cosmetics shops.)

I bought her a hairpin when she stopped by a street seller selling accessories, and it
was a red butterfly shape. I said that I had some allowance saved, and she spoke as
she touched the hairpin.

“Thank you, son. I’ll treasure it. This reminds me of old times since we haven’t spent
much time together after you went to middle school. We were always together until
last year. Don’t you remember?”

“Do you feel better?”

“Don’t say it. I can’t talk about this anymore because I’m so embarrassed.”

“Father… can make a mistake. Just let it go this once.”

“Why did he do such a thing?”

“It’s a small one and won’t be noticed at work.”

“Your father may be respected by those who work with him, but he’s still a
cheapskate. That’s why he chose such a small size tattoo even when he was
intoxicated.”

Mother laughed as she remembered the insignia she had seen in the morning.
“Do you know how much tattoos cost? It seems expensive. Actually, ignore that. You
shouldn’t know such things.”

I must have smiled at imagining the price on a Revival insignia, as Mother seemed
surprised.

“I’m happy to spend some time outside with you like this.”

“Isn’t working at the curtain store difficult?”

“I’m just playing with nearby housewives. Your father is late every night and you are
off playing on your own, so I need some time like that.”

“Please tell me if you’re tired.”

“Why, are you going to support me?”

“I’m serious.”

“I don’t know how I gave birth to such a good son. I don’t need to go through that
again.”

“……”

“Son.”

“Yes.”

“You don’t need to worry about such things. Your father has a stable job and works
hard. You may know Jeonil, where your father works.”

“I know it since Father works there.”

“It’s said to be the best in Korea, and if not, we could always open a grocery store.”

Mother looked up at me like she was observing me.

“You’ve grown so much… hey!”

“Yes.”
“Have you gained some friends at the bible school?”

“Yes.”

“You’re telling the truth, right?”

It is true, but just that they are all foreigners who I could not introduce to her.

“Bring them home one day with your school friends.”

I made myself smile and nod.

***

As I have mentioned before, I had made an imaginary friend for my mother’s peace
of mind, and I needed my dungeons to be like that, something that exists only for me
but doesn’t endanger the world. I decided to hide the dungeon in the mountain as a
mental hospital, and while a religious cult seemed better at keeping people away, the
consequences would be severe if there was a problem.

In the future, the government had not needed to care about such things, as dungeons
were like nuclear bombs about to blow up to civilians. They just needed to post a
sign that said a dungeon had appeared, and civilians would run for the hills before
the Awakened and the military came.

However, things were different now, and I needed to set up the mental hospital and
after doing so, establish the relevant corporations and select a person to be a puppet
administrator. I also needed to think about the safety of nearby civilians and follow
construction codes, enough to pass inspections.

However, the walls were a must even if the enclosed area was smaller, as monsters
escaping was something too terrible for words.

As a result, I gave up on the wall that would surround the mountain, and the wall
circling just the facility was modified to be as tall as possible, within the relevant
building codes. As for the puppet administrator…

***

I needed someone with a medical license, and the individual’s family members also
had to be greedy for the corporate funds. Money was not a problem but keeping
things secret was. While brokers could give me a list, I could not trust the broker.
Actually, with the exception of a very few people, I didn’t trust anyone.

Betrayal was something that happened every day when money was involved, and
those who seemed the most harmless would sell someone out for a few hundred
thousand Won. It had been common in these hard times for people to betray others
for a pittance and risk their lives for the same pitiful sums.

It was the same risk here, and there were things I needed to keep secret, which
meant those tasks that were relevant to dungeons were done by me. Also, I had to
keep files on the involved parties in case a problem came up.

Choi had been one, and this alcoholic in front of me was another.

The man’s face was filled with traces of having wasted his life, and he smelled of
alcohol at noon.

“So, how much is it?”

“I will pay you four million won per month.”

“Isn’t that too cheap when you’re using a doctor’s license?”

“Can’t I speak directly to Dr. Yang? I want to talk with him.”

“I said you can talk to me. I’m his son. The old man cannot talk or act on his own.
That price is too low. No way, [email protected]”

“Mr. Inho Yang, we’ve just met for the first time and we’re already negotiating?” (EN:
In Korean etiquette, there should be at least a pro-forma pleasantries before getting
down to business)

“You’re too young to talk like that to me. How much can you give me?”

I did not even need to raise my voice as I spoke.

“Don’t talk to me like that.”

He narrowed his eyes like he thought he had heard wrong, but he discovered
something in my gaze. His eyes shook, and the air froze for a moment. We looked at
each other for a second, and he drank water with an irritated expression. He then
wiped his mouth with a dirty sleeve and stared at me again.

“I’m just saying that you could at least pay for the old man’s diapers.”

“Five million. No deal if you open your mouth again.”

“Five is not nearly enough!”

I thought he would be like this, and I bent forward across the table. I pulled his collar
toward me, and glared at his ugly face close up. I did not care about his odor, but he
should not look at me like someone intimidated by his blustering. I didn’t care if he
thought that I belonged to a gang or was doing something for them.

I just wanted him to not look for me again after today, even though he will not be
able to find me anyway.

I clenched his collar with my fist and pulled his head to me. His face turned blue at
once, and the cafe owner just blinked at us from the counter. I let go of the man and
pushed him back.

He bounced on the sofa and coughed as he touched his neck, and I waved at the
owner to say that everything was all right.

The man was still sitting on the sofa even though he had been handled roughly, as he
was used to such treatment as this was appropriate for dealing with someone who
was basically a coward.

An old doctor suffering from dementia and his worthless son. They were each
other’s only family, as the doctor’s wife had died a long time ago, and the son had not
married even though he was turning fifty. I would not be able to find such people
again.

“When will… you give me the five million?” (EN: $7577.61)

He asked after getting back some air while avoiding my gaze.

“From tomorrow until Dr. Yang dies. So don’t waste it on drinking and use some to
take care of your father’s health, as you will want the money for a long time.”
“That, I will…”

“Do as I require, and I will not see you again. If we meet again, Mr. Yang…”

The man was looking at my hands on the table.

“We will not be meeting for a good reason.”

I took out a pen from my pocket and threw it at him.

“Write down what I say. Prepare your and Dr. Yang’s documents. Twenty copies of
the family registry, twenty copies of his and your Identity Card with Citizen
Registration Number, twenty Certificates of Seal Impression, Registered Seal
Impressions, twenty ID pictures, twenty copies of his and your driver license,
bankbooks, passports…”

(EN: The purpose of the Korean family registry was to provide for national control of
the identity of citizens of the country, to permit clear identification of each citizen as a
part of a specific family unit under the control of a specified male family head who had
clear authority over and responsibility for all listed family.)

(EN: In the Republic of Korea, a resident registration number (RRN) is a 13-digit

number issued to all residents of South Korea regardless of nationality. Similar to
national identification numbers in other countries, it was used to identify people in
various private transactions such as banking and employment.)

(EN: In Korea, a registered seal impression and Certificate of Seal Impression are
necessary to carry out financial transactions (sales of real estate, bank loan, etc.) )

The man did not know why I was also asking for his documentation as well as Dr.
Yang’s, and a week after our meeting, a small article appeared in the regional
newspaper.

[A mental hospital being built in Hwasung – A neuropsychiatric hospital specializing

in patients without significant family, who suffer from mental illnesses is being built
in Hwasung. The hospital is five floors and can take in up to two hundred patients
and provide in-house care for those who suffer from neurosis and mental illnesses.

Dr. Yang of the New Hope Medical Foundation has said that while the hospital will be
closed to the public, the hospital’s treatment system specializes in accommodating
patients according to their specific needs.

Establishing mental hospitals has been called necessary due to the number of
patients increasing and the decrease in treatment facilities due to low profit, but this
has been delayed due to vocal opposition from the medical field.

The medical experts who oppose such plans worry about mental hospitals becoming
asylums, and a dumping ground for marginalized citizens…]
It was quiet in May of 1998, and so I heard Jamie sharpen her pencil quite loudly. She
reported on the purchase of commercial buildings, factories, construction
companies, apartments, hotels, and resorts while ticking each item off with her
pencil. Jeonil Investment was buying bargain basement properties from large
corporations, and the number we had purchased was beyond belief.

“While our current profit is only rent, we are certain that this country will repay the
IMF loans, and the properties we’ve accumulated so far will give Ethan’s clients
astronomical profits.”

She would want Korea to overcome the IMF like no one else, as she had gained the
authority to shake a country in the political and financial fields at a young age. She
now realized the power Daehoo had in Korea after buying the group, and it was
natural she would not want to give it up.

Also, it looked like she thought that having a private relationship with me would be
beneficial, as her outfits became more daring each time we met. I could not avoid
seeing her thighs and bosom whenever she reported, and she “accidentally” touched
my legs as she crossed her own.

Jamie pretended to demurely avoid my gaze when I looked at her, and she would be
thinking it would be almost too easy to allure a young Asian man acting as a proxy. I
just laughed silently.

“The group account should be quite empty. Am I wrong?”

Jamie seemed to have waited for me to say the words.

“Our competitors think that we’re giving up some items. You are right, the piggy
bank is quite empty. We can only stare at some desirable items.”

“What do you want the most?”

“This country is offering us a sale at prices that will never come again. Golden
opportunities are everywhere you look. How can one pick the best? However, if it is
truly necessary…”

Jamie’s eyes were filled with a strange glint.

“I want to buy the Ilsung Electronics semiconductor business, Sia Motors, and
Daehyeon Motors. While I want to buy the Ilsung group, Sia group and Daehyeon,
those three divisions are the minimum.”

“Who are you consulting with?”

“The East Asia Finance Research Institute. They are trustworthy. I’m planning to buy
a consulting company… is there a problem?”

I did not and shook my head. Jamie continued to speak.

“The consultants chose Ilsung Electronics semiconductor as having a high possibility

of success and estimated that Daehyeon’s semiconductor business would fail and
damage the Daehyeon group to the core.”

“You seemed to have studied hard. How’s work?”

“This country is paradise.”

Jaimie also presented a proposal that Daehoo Motors, Daehyeon Motors, and Sia
Motors could be merged together.

“You’ve already contacted the three groups. What was the result?”

Jamie’s greedy eyes looked down, which told me the answer, and she seemed to have
failed even after some effort. It was inevitable.

“There’s no way to get the core businesses. Ilsung and Daehyeon have twisted
management share systems, and my accounting consultants all start by shaking their
heads when talking about the two groups. It cannot be helped. Ethan, how interested
are your clients in the Korean market?”

She was proposing to shake Ilsung and Daehyeon like we had Daehoo.

“I know what you’re thinking, but delay it for now.”

“This chance will not come again. Can’t you persuade your clients? They will regret
missing this opportunity after Korea overcomes its IMF crisis.”

“They’ve already invested 25 billion dollars.”

“I need 25 more.”

She was saying that too easily.

“……”

“You know that the limits on foreign stock shareholders have been removed.”

“That’s why you’re after Daehyeon and Ilsung? Jamie, this country will not allow
Daehyeon, Ilsung, and Daehoo to merge into one group, and we will be attacked from
everywhere when they see us try. They’re already using public funds to bail out
Daehyeon and Ilsung.”

“This is the IMF, Ethan.”

“Yes, this is the damn IMF crisis. Do I need to explain again?”

“……”

“Merging three groups will be a greater threat than the IMF for this country, not only
for the government but for the chaebols. All three owned by a foreign firm will be
even more serious. Don’t you think that’s too much?” (EN: A chaebol is a large
industrial conglomerate that is run and controlled by an owner or family in South
Korea. A chaebol often consists of many diversified affiliates, controlled by an owner
whose power over the group often exceeds legal authority. )

“I’m confused. Are you speaking for your clients?”

“I mean that we have to maintain our current relationship with the government.”

While Jamie would think that our efforts crumbled Daehoo, that was wrong. I had
just sped things up, and the conditions that led to Daehoo’s ruin had already been
there. In Korea, groups like Daehoo could not be attacked unless they fell by
themselves, since the chaebols would unify under an external threat.
“You’re saying the same thing as our directors, and if you also say it, that means I’m
wrong. I’ll modify my plans.”

“The real estate purchases are as expected. That’s good.”

“I’m just disappointed that I cannot eat everything that’s on the table because I’m too
full.”

“You will be able to digest them around September.”

Jamie’s face brightened.

“Are the investors planning on additional funds?”

“I would need to persuade them first.”

Jamie was saying with her face that I should have mentioned I was going to do that in
the first place.

“It’s right that you feel rushed and greedy if you are certain that this country will
overcome the IMF Crisis. I agree and am going to persuade my clients on that point.”

While the dollar ruled Korea for now, things would change after the IMF. The
chaebols would again take charge instead of the dollar.

“While I refused before due to realistic reasons, the chaebols in this country would
be the most delicious dishes.”

Jamie strongly nodded her head.

“However, let’s not hurry. This country’s financial crisis is just beginning, and they
need to stew a little more. How much do we have left?”

“About a billion dollars.”

Jamie took a summary and handed it to me. She had used ten billion to buy Daehoo,
and fourteen billion to buy real estate.

“Have you talked with the government about the delay in restructuring Daehoo?”
“It was done on a condition that things will not start until April. Instead, the 25
billion dollars has been…”

Jamie did not continue, as she could not find a way to put into “socially acceptable”
terms how Korea had laundered 25 billion dollars for us.

“The delay is enough for the money laundering fees, and that much was necessary to
make sure there will be no future issues.”

“Ethan!”

Jamie jumped and rolled her eyes. It seemed she was still unused to my bluntness.
This was perfect timing, as both the ruling party and the opposition party were
complicit in laundering the funds for me.

“Jaime, this country’s government is the one with the weakness, not us.”

“That… is so.”

“My clients’ funds have come from the Cayman Islands and Netherland and other
countries.”

Jamie also knew that the five firms that owned Jeonil were based on those areas. It
was then Jamie’s face turned dark as she began to suspect something. The smile that
tried to allure me disappeared and her eyes were deeply suspicious as she looked at
me.

She had been deliberately ignorant about some things. Has she finally been forced to
realize what she had come into?

“You only need to worry about profit, and the rest is up to me.”

I knew that my words would make Jamie more afraid of my non-existent clients and
me, but I spoke while staring at her. She smiled, but her expression was not natural.
Her gaze was turned to the corner of the room, and I also followed her gaze. I saw
the sword I had practiced swinging before she came.

The sword did not shine, and the lack of ornamentation and the stamped proof
marks would tell her that it was a real blade. She had enjoyed looking at that before,
and now she seemed to be afraid. Was she imagining that she would be beheaded if a
problem came up, with a large shadow coming out of the darkness and looking down
on her?

However, she would know that she had gone in too deep to step back by this time.
Also, she would not want to, even if she was risking everything.

“Why? Do you want to try that?”

I spoke indifferently, and Jamie quickly returned her gaze to my face.

“No. What were we saying?”

“Let’s focus on September when there will be additional funding.”

“Yes.”

“Also, about special purchases. While the rest has been well done, two are still in
holding. As I have mentioned numerous times, they should be the top priority.”

“Right. Since we’re in negotiations, there will be good news soon.”

“Then, let’s finish here. I think I heard all I need to hear.”

She had been about to go out when she suddenly stopped at the doorknob. She
turned around with a smile after a second.

“Did you say something?”

Of course not.

“It’s late, so be careful. And…”

“Yes?”

“Nothing. Have a good night.”

***

I called Jonathan after Jamie left, and he answered like he had just woken up.
<Sun, the book publishers set a date.>

<It’s not that. You have the ledgers, right?>

<Yes. Is something wrong?>

<No. Where are they stored?>

<In a safe deposit box at the Morgan Bank.>

<They won’t be lost then. I sent you an email three hours ago.>

<Wait.>

Time for Jonathan to turn on the computer and check the mailbox passed, and I
heard Jonathan’s surprised voice from the phone.

<You said nothing was wrong!>

<One doesn’t know what will happen.>

<Sun, you are… You know I just got goosebumps, right? Well, we should have done
this before. However, we would need to bring in attorneys specializing in inheritance
to make this official. Is that all right? You’ve been prioritizing anonymity more than
anything else.>

<I will be known after I die, so it doesn’t matter.>

<Right. The heirs are your parents, right?>

<Yes.>

<I ask this again, but nothing’s wrong, right? Why are you acting like an officer about
to be shipped off to war? That’s worrying.>
A road extended past the gate in the wire mesh fence, and it was a new construction
skirting the mountain to avoid the village. The car’s headlights were the only light
source from here, as I had intentionally not placed any lights on the road. The bare
mountain was like a dark ocean now, and it seemed like time had stopped, as if a
massive wave was about to roll in.

There were no stars in the sky, and only a half-moon looked down on the high wall
surrounding the facility. On nights like this, we used to think about who would die
that day.

“……”

I saw a tattered banner on the ground when I came out of the driver’s seat. A few
villagers had been protesting right here a few weeks ago. While they had become
quiet after receiving compensatory funds (bribes), there was still trash that showed
that people had been here. I kicked it away with my foot and raised my head. The
wall looked bigger at night, and I stopped my reminiscences.

I took out the items I had brought with me in the car trunk. I took the flashlight from
a military backpack before shouldering the pack. I unsheathed the sword, and left
the sheath in the trunk. I would not need the sheath where I was going. The trunk’s
red light also disappeared after it was closed, and the darkness was complete.

I went to the only entrance of the wall, and the flashlight revealed a steel gate.

[New Hope Mental Hospital]

A CCTV was running above my head, and the empty hospital looked like it was
abandoned. The bare gardens looked like it should be inhabited by ghosts, and as I
walked up to the dungeon, I remembered my fellow Awakened who had died there. I
remembered the screams of the traitors and the cheers of those who had gained
boxes.

Trust, deceit, faith, desire, despair, joy, love, hate, fear… Dungeons had all that since
literally anything could happen. I had always gathered or joined people to go into
dungeons with, since going solo into a dungeon was simply an exceptionally stupid
and painful form of suicide.

My heart was beating fast, which meant that I was feeling nervous.

“It’s only an F Class dungeon.”

However, murmuring that to myself did not help, as courage was irrelevant. Only
someone who was crazy enough to not care whether they lived or died would go in
alone with F-class stats into a dungeon.

It had been convenient in this peaceful world, as I had earned money using my
memory of what had happened in the previous timeline, which I would continue to
do. However, past knowledge was not reliable in a dungeon.

I needed to acknowledge that I was afraid of being alone in the dungeon, as I

dreaded the darkness and my mind was filled with the memories of my past.

While so much had passed until this moment, I was still not yet mentally prepared.
My lips turned in a bitter smile, as more time would have not solved anything. Going
into a dungeon alone with an F class stats meant that my fear was only natural. I had
not been able to gather other people or aquire escape insignias and monster alarm
insignias.

However, I was going to the dungeon even though the night sky warned me that this
was suicide. I could not delay this until the Trial Tests, which wouldn’t happen for
decades, as it meant nullifying the advantages I had gained by going back in time.

I had to believe my survival skills and murmured to myself that this was my job as I
walked forward.

I had designed this building so the dungeon entrance was located on the
underground floor, and the half open emergency exit door going down seemed like
the maw of some creature.

I could only hear my footsteps going down the stairs, and it was then a message
popped up.

I had not arrived at the dungeon entrance located in the underground storage room
and was still on the stairs.
[System: Would you like to open the dungeon?]

The “Explorer” title I had gained had been activated as it expanded the radius of the
area one could activate the System of a dungeon. I did not answer the message and
went into the storage room. Only a roughly painted sign said that this was the
storage room, and it was an empty space. However, I locked the door first and spoke
to the air.

“Open the dungeon.”

[System: The dungeon is now Open.]

The ground rang, and cracks appeared, and stairs made of dirt appeared below my
feet. A pale blue light spread like a barrier where the ground had been, and the stairs
rippled like it was underwater.

Many a person had been deceived by this fantastic appearance, not knowing that it
will lead to their death.

I had been about to take a step but quickly stopped myself when I remembered
something.

“I’m an idiot.”

I took out my cell phone and flashlight after turning their power off and placed them
on the floor. In dungeons, all electronics and firearms fail to function.

***

While I had made my choice, I still found myself hesitating at the moment I needed
to enter. I did not want to go in alone without the necessary items. I clenched my
teeth and took a step.

[System: You are entering the dungeon.]

I felt the stairs amidst the blue light, and I saw a warning message first pop up.

[System Warning: You may leave only after satisfying the conditions.]

I received my quest notifications.

[The quest ‘Sock and Buskin’ begins.] (EN: The sock and buskin are two ancient
symbols of comedy and tragedy.) (EN: Please ask Google-Sensei for details and pictures.)

[The quest ‘Declan Extermination’ begins.]

[The quest ‘One on One Combat’ begins.]

The first was the boss quest, the second was the hunting quest, and the third the
duel quest. I sat on the staris and waited until my eyes became used to the darkness.

[You have gained the skill ‘Night Eyes.’]

[You have gained 5 points.]

[Accumulated points: 92]

This skill was a basic skill given to all hunters and a must for survival. I no longer
needed to stay in the darkness after having gained this skill, as the skill class would
not rise by sitting alone in the dark. All skills were like that, and their mechanism
was quite simple.

Get points to open boxes and raise one’s ability by what was contained in the box.

However, everything that happens from then on was too complicated for words, due
to the random nature of the contents. I arrived at the end of the stairs and saw a
roughly cut wooden door. The door screeched as I opened it, and I saw the entrance
room inside.

With this low-class skill, I could not see the entire room and had to guess that there
would be walls and doors leading somewhere else in the darkness.

The F class dungeon in Hwasung had been a maze-type dungeon, and in the past, I
had come in with useless maps the military had given me. They had given me maps
showing that they had known that the maze would change shape after each entry.

However, they had forced us in here without any warnings.

Anyway, I took out a pad of paper and pen from my backpack and put them in my
pocket. I had to map the way out if I did not want to starve to death before being
killed by a monster.
One may think using a ball of string may be useful, and both the military and
Awakened had tried this method. Unfortunately, monsters tracked the Awakened
using the string, and the Awakened were mobbed and killed. The string had also
been severed, or more disturbingly, cut.

I saw a wall after taking a few steps and circled the room by following the wall. There
were two doors leading to other rooms, one on the right and the other to the left of
the staircase.

Things truly began from the entrance room, as monsters, traps, and Pandora’s boxes
all awaited me, the invader. They may even be berserk because they had been
awakened earlier than their proper time.

I took the door on the right, as luck would decide my route, and it was obvious that I
dared not go to the treasure room, let alone the boss room, even though I knew how
to defeat the boss.

My goal was clear, and I would only try the duel quest at most. Surviving even that
would be luck.

***

“Status window.”

[Name: Sunhoo Na

Stamina: F(14) Strength: F(22)

Agility: F(15) Perception: F(25)

Accumulated Points: 92

Characteristics (2) Skills (2)]

“Skill list.”

[Odin’s Wrath (Skill) Effect: Enhance with the power of Lightning a target of your
choice.

Skill Level: F(0)

Duration: 30 minutes

Cool time: 24 hours]

With the skill, my sword, which I had made in a workshop for three hundred
thousand won, would become a capable weapon. However, due to the duration and
cooldown I could not use my skill all the time. I held the sword in one hand and the
other empty so I could open doors and had my sword ready for whatever was
necessary.

However, things were quiet even as the door opened with a screech. I could see
about seven meters due to my skill, and if I remembered correctly, the corridors of
this dungeon were about fifty meters long. The width was more than fourteen
meters, as I could not see the walls, and they were more like roads than corridors.

It was then that I saw, sitting by itself, in the middle of the room, apparently
undefended, a large chest. Since it looked like a bronze box, in my past life, the newly
Awakened had rushed to open it. If that was a real bronze box, I did not need to
hesitate. That chest may be real or fake, and if it was real, I would receive something
in random, but if not…

This was the curse that drove people crazy, sitting before me, as dungeon boxes
made me think about opening them despite knowing something bad may happen.
You could get something that you would normally need to risk your life for, without a
price. This box appearing here and now was one of the tricks the dungeon played on
you, to mess with your mind.

Of course, something good would pop out only when you were lucky. How many
monsters did you need to kill to get a bronze box? I began to calculate, as it was a
force of habit. One needs to kill 150 or 300 low-grade monsters to open a bronze
box, as you need 300 points to open a bronze box. It was a formidable number.

It was then I smelled something faint but disgusting to the nose, and I tightened my
grip on my sword. I peered into the darkness with my eyes and I reminded myself
that I would be able to only take on a few low-class monsters with my current stats,
even in an F class dungeon.

I realized again that I had come here when I was too weak, but the only place I could
raise my stats was the dungeon for now.
I had come here in the past after the Trial Tests, and my average stats and skills were
at E class. I was also not alone, as this dungeon needed at least ten people. However,
things were different now, and I only had my past memories to support me.

I saw three shapes come out of the darkness.

I had fought against monsters uglier, bigger, and scarier than these mutts. Compared
to them, they were the lowest of the low. However, in the dark, alone, the dungeon
walls had looked bigger than I remembered, so they looked more intimidating to me.

According to the database, they were categorized as KF-07, two-legged beasts, and
called Declan Patrol Soldiers. The “official” nickname was “Guard Dogs”. Inevitably,
those who faced them called them “Mutts”. They had the body of adult human males
and the heads of Dobermans.

I remembered when I had seen them before, and there were incidences of
superstitious fear because they looked like Anubis from Egyptian mythology, despite
Anubis having the head of a jackal.

Anyway, I had not drawn them with defined musculature in my drawing, and their
muscles were for running rather than fighting. They were nimble and fast, and the
three bolted towards me when they saw me. (EN: Chapter 7.)

They were really fast! One was ahead of others and running at me as fast as it could
with a mouth already wide open like a shark.

I saw a chance, as I would be able to thrust my sword into his mouth. Then, I will be
fighting with only two. I looked at the oncoming monster and willed it to die as I
raised my sword.

***

The moment I plunged my blade, dirty blood that came gushing out and splashed on
my face. I closed one eye by reflex. The weight on the end of my blade was heavier
than I expected, and I felt my right shoulder wrench painfully even as I rolled back
after letting go of the blade. I took out my dagger for the shadow that came up in
front of me. I had taken it out of the sheath on my thigh, and I had not been late. I had
some time as the other one, who should have been following the second, was not
there.

I pulled back the dagger and grabbed its neck with my other hand. Actually, I was
just blocking it from pushing its head towards me. I saw its sharp teeth clack right in
front of my face, and his drool flew everywhere as it shook his head.

However, I could not plunge the dagger in his neck. I let go of his neck and kicked its
stomach, but I was already being pushed back. The moment I kicked one, the other
tackled me.

My sight was blocked with its torso, and the monster was not heavy enough to kill
me with its weight. My lower body was vulnerable, and I clenched my teeth instead
of screaming.

I knew that my screams would drive them into a frenzy. I felt a sharp pain in my right
leg. It was the one I had tried to use the dagger on, and it was trying to rip off my leg
by standing up after clamping its teeth on my leg!

I punched the one that had tackled and pushed me down in the crotch and saw that
the monster on my leg was doing the exact thing I expected. Our eyes met, and I
threw the dagger. The dagger was quicker than stretching and stabbing it in its eye,
and I stopped paying attention to how it was screaming and holding its head.

I wrestled the one who had rushed me right after I saw the dagger hit the mark, as
that one had been going for my neck. I felt its head narrowly miss my neck and touch
my ear.

Begone! I put my weight on the monster and glanced at the one I had hit with the
dagger. It was rolling on the floor and grabbing the dagger handle. I wanted it to try
pulling it out of its eye since it would bring it more pain!

I heard a scream under me as I turned my gaze at the one I held down, and I used my
fist while that sound rang the corridor. I smashed its nose three times until its snout
broke and changed positions to strangle its neck with my arms. I gave my arms all of
my strength until I was the one grunting at the strain.

The one I shoved my sword into its craw and the one with the dagger in its eye could
not fight, and this was my chance to reduce the numbers against me.

The one under me flailed like a fish, and the power it used to thrash around dragged
me along. The monster managed to stand up, and I was stuck on its back with my
arms around its neck. While I gave all of my power to pull it down, the monster
managed to stand upright.
However, I knew that the monster would die soon, and its last chance was when the
monster tried to grab my head by reaching out behind with both arms. I felt intense
pressure on my head and felt my world spin. That was a bad sign, but the Adversity
Overcomer title was not activated yet. It meant that while I was feeling a lot of pain,
the situation was not dire enough.

It was over in a moment, as the pressure on my head and the monster’s resistance to
my strength disappeared in a second. The monster went limp as I heard the loud
“Crack!” as I felt the neck give as I wrenched with all my strength, and it went down
and remained still when I let it go.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

[You have gained two points.]

[Declan Extermination: Exterminated Declan Soldier 1/60]

I breathed in deep and saw the two others that were down. The one with the sword
stuck in its throat was laboriously breathing, and losing its battle to breath while
aspirating black blood, and the one grabbing its empty eye socket was lying down
and trembling.

I saw additional messages that seemed to notify me of my win.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

[You have gained two points.]

[Declan Extermination: Exterminated Declan Soldier 2/60]

The one with the sword had died, and I walked up to the last one remaining. It was in
enough shock to not notice me, and I picked up the dagger it had somehow
wrenched out of its eye socket, bent down near its head, and stabbed the blade in the
back of the neck, severing the spine.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

***

If there had been other mutts nearby, they would have come running. The Guard
Dogs intellect and instincts were about that much. The moment I determined I had
emptied a corridor, I felt my leg ache and my shoulder sting. My head hurt from the
pressure it had received from the monster. It was only natural that I looked at the
box that was still there, as I may be able to get a reward that was worth fifty fights
like this from that box if I was lucky.

However, everyone knew about things like Equivalent Exchange, the Second Law of
Thermodynamics, and Montrose’s Toast. (EN: Equivalent Exchange is the principle
that limits alchemy’s infinite potential. It’s a simple concept: something cannot be
created from nothing, and so in order to obtain something, something else of equal
value must be lost.) (EN: The second law of thermodynamics states that in a natural
thermodynamic process, the sum of the entropies of the interacting thermodynamic
systems never decreases. The Second Law says that Perpetual Motion Machines, which
can only operate with free energy, is impossible.) (EN: “He either fears his fate too
much, Or his desserts are small, Who dares not put it to the touch, To win or lose it all!”
James Graham, 5th Earl of Montrose. Montrose’s toast says without risking defeat,
victory is unattainable.)

The risks of dungeon boxes were varied, and while I did not want to think about the
stat decrease or deep wounds, the worst were Afflictions of the Mind.

Those Afflictions were indeed curses, and ranged from fear of a certain monster to
complete destruction of the self.

Since the one in front of me was a bronze box, there was a high possibility that the
worst case scenario would not happen. I had received an escape insignia from a box
like this before but could not gamble just on that possibility.

Even Jonathan, who had been blind for revenge, only opened dungeon boxes when
necessary, such as when we had needed to find necessary items to conquer a high-
class dungeon.

I checked my wounds. The one on the shoulder was light, but the bite in my leg was
quite severe. I saw that the ground was wet with my blood that had spread before I
stopped bleeding, and it seemed that I had bled more than the monsters.

There was only one drug sold in the market useful for hunters. The contents of my
backpack were mixed up due to the fight, and I had placed liquids in metal canteens.
The top of the plastic pillbox was gone, and I reached out to the bottom of my
backpack to find the pills that had been spilled. I grabbed one that was codeine,
which was an addictive narcotic analgesic. This was the best I could do for now, as
drugs for hunters, which should be treated like dungeon boxes, did not exist yet.

I went to the nearest monster corpse to rip open its stomach with my dagger and put
my hand in like I had searched for the pills. I felt its heart between its ribs and found
what I had been looking for.

What was I doing? [email protected] habits. My body had been moving according to
my memories, even when I did not need to look through their intestines to find their
magic stones.

I took out my hand and wiped it on my pants. I could feel the monster’s blood wet
the cloth and remembered that they had red blood just like us.

It seemed that the painkiller was working at this point, as my head cleared. I wished
over and over again as I walked to the end of the corridor that there was only one
monster in the next room. Only one!

Ah, but I was not so lucky. I remembered again that one should not go into a dungeon
alone as the door opened. I saw them as the door swung open and saw at least five
within my field of view.

Closing the door carefully wouldn’t do anything to avoid the encounter, as their Night
Eyes were far superior to mine, and their eyes shined like cats in the darkness. They
were not surprised to see other beings, as they did not know fear. They only knew
blood and rage and had been waiting for someone to rip apart.

The one that saw me came up sprinting, and the others of the pack were not far
behind. Six, seven, eight, nine, and the number was increasing.

Trying not to use my skill had been arrogance on my part, as I should have used it
from the first room. [email protected] Using it on the weapon rather than on myself
had been effective during practice.

[You have activated Odin’s Wrath.]

[Target: Weapon, your longsword.]

Blue light came out in sparks from the blade, and I kicked the door open. Come here,
you [email protected] mutts!
The greater the skill’s potential, it was more likely the System would assign it names
from various myths worldwide, such as Isis, Loki, Hermes, Shiva, and the Devas.
When entered into a database, those names were used as an indicator to quantify the
skill’s power. While no one knew the mechanisms behind the skill names, it cannot
be denied that the divine names in the skill greatly influenced the individual hunter’s
confidence, who were all already strong from the start. (EN: They had to be strong
enough to acquire these powerful skills.)

The closer the hunter was to an S class, the individual would derive their codename
from their major skill. The codename of the unofficial sixth of the Eight Virtues, who
had been the original owner of this skill, had been Odin. While he may have been
flighty in daily life, he was the incarnation of Odin during battles. He had been like a
lightning storm itself, and if he had been Odin, I will now let these mutts have a taste
of my thunder!

***

I felt a clean slice, and my swing beheaded the Declan without feeling my sword
grinding through the neckbone. I would have effortlessly beheaded this mutt if my
strength had been E class, but it seemed that the lightning flowing down my blade
was making this possible.

This was indeed a skill from a challenger box, and if I could kill the monsters with
one shot, I could do this. I waited behind the door I had broken, as this was an
advantageous spot. No matter how many monsters there were in front of me, the
number of those who could go against me would be limited.

The problem was how long my strength will last…

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

The message dissipated as another dog’s head shoved in through the doorway, and I
saw the monster’s chest where the message window had been. I stabbed the
monster, so the blade stuck out of its back and I kicked its corpse away from me, and
off my sword.
I pierced the third monster’s face, and the mutts may have realized something when
they saw three bodies pile up in front of me. Another came jumping in without
thought and made the number four, and I kicked away the body with my foot.

The monsters were no longer running into my sword, but they were still willing to
fight, and the number increased though they maintained a certain distance from the
doorway and my sword. I quickly checked the corridor behind me, and if they had
raised the alarm, the other door in the first room would open for another herd of
monsters to come in from behind, which would mean my death.

However, I did not hear anything behind my back, which meant the alarm had not
been raised yet. Had a spellcaster who could do such a thing been among this group
of Declan Patrol Soldiers? Since I had not gotten the Monster Alarm Insignia, there
was no way for me to tell. One good thing was that there should have been only one
spellcaster in this group.

I was betting my life on that fact, and if I faced another group, and they had a
spellcaster… [email protected] I could only hope that I didn’t get surrounded and
ripped apart.

The rest of the mutts were still hanging back and thinking of my limits as an F class,
and the duration of my skill, I could not afford to spend more time. I had to either
advance or retreat, and I moved a step backward and then another.

My leg had not been healed because I was still feeling the pain, and I would drive
them into a frenzy if I showed them my back. I saw countless monsters from the
open door, and while I had to fight against them, I did not have any healers or
tankers. I only had a damage dealer, and that was myself.

***

While this was only one of the many rooms in the dungeon, my goal had changed
from fight to survival. This situation was inevitable since I had to come here alone.
However, I had no choice as the world had changed, and I had come of my own
volition.

Mother [email protected]

The monster may have read my anxiety, and one of them jumped towards me even
though I had not continued my retreat. Moreover, the monster’s speed was faster
than others, and I knew that when I stabbed its chest. I tried to block its darting head
with my hand, but it moved its head faster.

The monster avoided my hand, and bit my shoulder as hard as it could. My legs
shook, and I could not take my sword out. I was lucky I had not let go of it, and the
monster pushed in until the sword’s guard slammed against its chest, in its savagery
pressing home a suicide attack.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

It finally died, and the head that bit me was tearing into the meat of my shoulder
with the weight of its limp body.

I stifled a moan as I shoved away the body, as the pain increased because the teeth
locked in my flesh were wrenched due to the motion of the dead mutt. I saw other
monsters behind the mutt’s shoulders, and if they recognized what was going on,
everything was over.

If they came in at once, I had no way of attacking or enduring. I counted up to three

inwardly and gripped the monster’s head as hard as I could, and twisted with all my
strength.

I could not hold back a scream as its head snapped back with a chunk of my flesh in
its mouth. However, I managed to take out my sword and aimed it at one of the
monsters rushing at me as it jumped over the corpses of its fellows.

Damn, I got thrown to the ground, as I still was not used to being an F class. I had
made a mistake and instinctively held my sword horizontally. Even if the monster
tried to twist its body in mid-air, it could not do so due to the speed. The monster
pierced itself on my sword, and pinned me under its corpse.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

I did not care about the message anymore, as I already knew that the monster was
dead. I could not throw off its body without letting go of my sword, and before I
stood up, I threw my dagger at the monsters. Only one fell down, and the rest were
through the door. I did not have any time to think or respond.

I wanted to run away when I had fallen on the ground, ignoring the unspoken rules
of the dungeon and going back the way I had come. However, I did not have an
Escape Insignia, and my instincts and intellect gave me different orders.

One never got used to this no matter how experienced they were, situations where
their survival instinct screamed “Fight!” or “Flight!”. Anyone’s hands would shake
facing death. However, I had not come here without my final trump card.

I gave the one running up to me a chance to kill me and exposed my neck. I wanted it
to bite it like it was a lunging shark.

“GET OVER HERE!” (EN: ^_^ )

***

With a crunching sound, I saw a message.

[The trait the Man Who Overcome Adversity has been activated.]

I did not feel any shock and instead felt quite calm.

[Your stamina class has been changed. Change: F -> E.]

[Your strength class has been changed. Change: F -> E.]

[Your perception class has been changed. Change: F -> E.]

[Odin’s Wrath class has been changed. Change: F -> E.]

[Your wounds will be moderately healed.]

[You will be immune to pain temporarily.]

I saw a blue light on the ground, as the sword that had been standing up due to being
stuck in the corpse was now leaning as it burned off the mutt’s flesh that touched its
blade, due to Odin’s Wrath.

I reached out to the smoking, stinking void that had been made in the mutt’s body
and felt the handle. I immediately used it to slice the neck of the one biting mine.

I now felt something I had been unable to feel with my F class senses, which was the
strength of the deathgrip from its teeth when it died. I used my left fist to punch the
head, and the monster’s skull dented visibly with the sounds of bone splintering.

The pain was sharp, as I felt my skin rip from its teeth.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

I killed three at once after standing up. I sliced one in half sideways, used my
lowered blade to slice upwards, opening it up from crotch to sternum, and slashed
the third with the blade that was now raised up. I vertically sliced the third one, and
when the monsters hesitated, I used the time to step back with my eyes on them.

They had intellect, especially regarding fights, and the distance from the entrance
was wide enough for them to spread out.

Some ran to circled me from the back, and I would not let them surround me. My
back route would be completely blocked soon, and I could not let them block my line
of retreat. Four had gone behind my back, and I could now kill all of them.

I was now able to use my sword more fluidly with my strengthened skill level and
was able to swing it with a lot more force.

Even if my leg was wounded, it moved better than an unawaked uninjured one. That
was the difference between an F class and an E class. I killed the four, and others
came behind me like moths to a flame.

Their heads were now rolling on the floor.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

[You have gained two points.]

[Declan Extermination: Exterminated Declan Soldier 17/60]

While Odin’s Wrath lasted for thirty minutes, Adversity Overcomer lasted for five.

[Adversity Overcomer time remaining 0 hours 4 minutes 00 seconds]

[Adversity Overcomer time remaining 0 hours 3 minutes 59 seconds]

I could see the message from the corner of my eye and started almost running
backward, and I could hear their growls that said they would not let me escape.
I could not run. If I could, I would have made a break for it. I intentionally lowered
my speed in front of the oncoming monster mob and pretended to stumble. It was
not difficult to act naturally, as putting weight on my wounded leg was painful and
made my balance unstable.

I deceived two idiots, and as they came high and fast while screaming, I cut through
them both.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

Intestines and blood fell in a torrent and still spilled out, after their corpses were on
the ground. One of them was crawling on the floor, leaving behind a bloody trail,
since the hit had not been fatal. I stepped on its head as hard as I could. I could hear
its skull crunch. My upgraded power allowed me to crush them, and I only had a few
steps until the entrance room.

It was then I knew how many monsters there were, and only ten of them remained
alive. However, going against ten in a frontal attack was suicide, and I opened the
door and went in and closed it as quickly as possible. The wooden door shook like it
would break, and I pressed my back to the wall parallel to the door, waiting with my
sword raised for the first unwelcome guest.

[The Man Who Overcame Adversity time remaining 0 hours 2 minutes 59 seconds]

I had less than three minutes remaining, and my disadvantages would increase as
time passed. However, they could not know this, and as the door was ripped to
pieces, one stuck its head in. While I saw only its ear and cheek and not its neck, my
sword was already slashing down.

I heard a scream, and Odin’s Wrath coupled with my E class power had cut the
monster’s head into two. The moment the disgusting corpse which had received an
extreme field expedient haircut fell into the room, I kicked it away.

At the same time, I moved to where the door had been and thrust my sword into a
mutt that had been stupid enough to be within reach. I had consecutively sliced off
half of one’s cranium and pierced another. I saw two messages pop up at the same
time.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

I did not hide behind the door and threw myself at them. I could now attack for the
first time after entering the dungeon, as I should be able to just handle eight at my
present state.

***

[Declan Extermination: Exterminated Declan Soldier 29/60]

I threw off my burdensome backpack, and the message in the air looked like it was
sneering at me as I lay down on the floor. To think that an F class hunting quest the
System seemed to have given to me as a present was this dangerous.

Going solo and passing through the first room was as bad as a boss fight. While my
body was heavy, I needed to do some things before the Man Who Overcame
Adversity wore off. I shook my backpack, and survival items dropped on the pools of
blood the dogs had made.

I found the zipper bag dripping with blood, and I took out bandages to treat my leg,
shoulder, and stomach. I had a lot to cover.

[The Man Who Overcame Adversity time remaining 0 hours 0 minutes 1 second]

I was thirsty, but if the effect wore off…

[The Man Who Overcame Adversity time remaining 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds]

[The Man Who Overcame Adversity effect will now disappear.]

“Ah…!!!”

***

I woke up because I was in pain, thirsty, and hungry. I felt a dog’s head as I reached
for a water bottle and remembered that I was in a dungeon. I tried to sit up, but my
entire body screamed. I had to support myself with my hands to remain upright.

After managing to sit up, I drank water and found a codeine pill lying in a pool of dog
blood. I dry swallowed it, sticky with clotted blood. Standing up was a problem, and I
could only do so after three tries using my sword like a staff.

When I saw the exit I came back to my senses. I instinctively walked and crawled up
the stairs, desperate to flee this place, knowing I would die here.

I saw that the outside world was also dark. People say fantasy and reality cannot mix
together, but they all lied. They co-existed at least here, and the world outside this
blue barrier was fantasy and the dungeon was the only reality. The reality had
become a nightmare and could only think of getting out.

I reached out to the blue barrier.

[Warning. You have not satisfied the exit conditions.]

I felt my fingers tingle and remembered the fate of those who had ignored the
system’s warning as terrible images played out in my head. I flung myself back on the
stairs and fainted for quite a long time.

“…Traits… list.”

[Overcoming Adversity (Trait)

Effect: The moment you are incapable of fighting, all stats and skill classes increase
by one. Also, there is a minor healing effect, and you are immune to pain until the
duration ends.

Class: F(0)

Effect time: 5 minutes

Reuse time: 7 days (6 days and 1 hour remaining)]

I had fainted for 23 hours, and I felt somewhat human because of the length of time I
had lost consciousness. I unrolled the bandage on my leg, and the teeth marks that
showed my bone were quite healed. However, my shoulder was another problem,
and the wound was deep enough that I felt sporadic pain even with codeine.

I came back to the entrance room and started to organize my survival items. I
checked whether they were clean and ate an MRE for my hunger. Then, even if I had
just risked my life before, I now had free time. I felt the darkness deepen, and while I
knew it to be impossible, my sights dim. (EN: Meals Ready to Eat.)

***

Times like this tended to go two ways. While we could rest up, after an ambush like
this, it may be time for another fight. If people had been gathered together without
any choice, teammates who had fought together would turn into enemies at the drop
of a hat. They may have already suffered from severe PTSD, had been inflicted with a
curse before going in, or had received a curse from the dungeon.

If mental illness was not a problem, problems happened if someone’s original aim
was to kill everyone else in the party for a nice payday, or something went wrong
with the contract or someone coveted an enticing item on another teammate.

Not only that, but someone may have become angry due to some incident during
battle. Anything could happen in a dungeon.

However, there were other things. You could feel some relief from teammates you
could trust, and healers could heal you even if you did not trust them. Also, people
could take turns on the night watch for rest and immediate response. I used the
space next to the dungeon box as the place I would spend the night as I was alone.

While it should not happen, if a monster appeared, I would open the box. It would be
better to risk my life on luck than just dying. Now, the points I needed for a real
bronze box were…

[Accumulated points: 150]

I needed 150 points for a bronze box and one typically needed to hunt 75 Canine
Pawns in total. I only wanted one thing, which anyone with my wounds wants.

I wanted an Escape Insignia, which was the only chance to get out of the dungeon
without meeting the exit conditions.

While not running may make you stronger, I knew that having an Escape Insignia
raised one’s survival rate. There was comfort in knowing that one could escape
alone, and while runaways were severely punished, it was better than dying in a
hellhole. You could hide your identity and live among civilians.

One thought of all sorts of things in the darkness, mostly about the past and not the
future. This darkness reminded me of pain and suffering, of my comrades’ deaths,
brutally killed corpses, the stench of severed intestines, blood, and traitors.

One thought of the future while walking in the darkness, about sudden traps,
suspicious teammates, and monsters stronger than one’s estimates.

The scariest things about dungeons were not monsters or traps but the mental
stress and loneliness. They took hold not only of our spirits but our bodies, and we
crumbled and attacked each other.

Ideals, love, and friendship. The possibilities of them happening were lower than
getting high rank box rewards.

***

It was time to go out again, and I gripped my blade. However, I changed my main
weapon to the dagger, which suited me better at my present level. The corpses I
killed were left as breadcrumbs, to mark the entrance, as I walked up to the next
room, and I continued as I had finished up in there.

I spotted one room, and while I would have to open it, I examined it closely instead
of pushing the door open. There had not been any traps in the corridor and this
room, and now was time for one.

I then saw a thread on the doorknob and thought it was like an F class trap. I moved
to one side of the door and after cutting the thread I heard a boom.

Even though I had moved sideways, I still had to cover my face with my hands. I saw
the door splinter and the huge log that had crashed through the door spun away
after demolishing it. I also felt the wind of the passage of the hunk of wood that
would have turned the unwary into meat paste and bone splinters. The sounds the
log made hitting the walls rang the air for quite a while.

[You have removed a trap.]

[You have gained 2 points.]

I saw a new sentence pop up.

[Congratulations. You are the first to have completed the hidden quest ‘Declan Trap
Removal.’]

[You have gained 4 points.]

What had been his name? Youngjin Woo? Hyungjin Woo? Youngjin Yu?

I now knew why he had been awkward after removing the trap in this room. This
had been a free quest, and he would have gotten the reward, as he had been first.

Now I saw what the first reward was!

[You have received a ‘bronze box’ as your first completion reward.]

The box worth 150 Guard Dogs was opening, and while I was desperate for the
Escape Insignia, the possibility was quite low.

[You have received the Escape Insignia.]

I saw a ray of light shine from the box to my chest, and I now knew why the Eight
Virtues had been fanatic about the System. What luck!
[Escape (Insignia) Effect: The exit conditions of the dungeon are met. Single Use-
Class: F]

The Escape Insignia was carved to where the Revival Insignia had been, and I went
to the entrance room door and wedged an empty food can to keep it open. I was still
not well enough to break the door, to absolutely secure my retreat. Now I had
another chance to escape, even in case of an ambush.

I had another life as long as I could make it to the entrance, and my smile became
bitter. The System had always toyed with us, and it always had been like this. The
contents of the boxes were truly random, and would either be a blessing or a curse. I
had stayed away from the Eight Virtues after realizing that, and even after coming
back, getting Overcoming Adversity, and giving Father a Revival Insignia, I still did
not believe in the system’s goodwill which the Eight Virtues had advocated.

Since I now had an Escape Insignia, I would try to stay near the entrance room as
much as possible while doing quests rather than going forward so I could escape if
necessary.

I understood from the last few days that I could not do the “One on One Combat”
quest until I finished the “Declan Extermination” quest if I was lucky.

I had brought material I could get in this era and was usable in a dungeon. I placed
traps in the exit and the entrance room doors and then dropped myself on the floor.

If I had just been wasting time before, now I had an exit behind my back. I could
check my physical condition and wait until I could fight again. I spent a day in the
darkness, and now bandages caked with dried blood littered the floor. Codeine was
working now on my shoulder, and I could not feel the pain. While the wound may
reopen with large movements, I could fight at this level. I opened the closed door in
the entrance room, and while I had thought there were no monsters, a Guard Dog
came out of the dark corridor.

“You’re alone?”
If there had been a choice, I would have chosen solitary encounters like this to slowly
get used to battle. While these monsters had intellect, their rationality never won
against instincts, as the mutts came rushing in even as I smelled of their sibling’s
blood.

The monster had a blade stuck between its eyes as a price, as I threw my dagger. I
had not prepared throwing weapons as I knew I would not be able to see far. I
stepped on its shoulder to take out the blade, and the blood came gushing out. The
message popped as I kicked its head.

[Declan Extermination: Exterminated Declan Soldier 30/60]

Half of the Extermination quest remained, and I just needed to do what I have been
doing so far.

***

I stopped walking when I saw a door at the end of the corridor. The second room on
the opposite side had twenty plus monsters in my previous life, and while that room
may have more, I could not use the Man Who Overcame Adversity now. I could not
bring out one at a time, as I would have to fight with all of them if I opened the door.

In my past life, unless one wanted to commit suicide, going solo was taboo. We
would go into dungeons with at least five and more than ten if possible. We had to
train for changes in positions and roles since a single loss meant less chance of
survival for all, without compensating our formation for the inevitable casualties.

When the military had placed us here, there were only four of us, and we were three
attackers and one tanker. The result was obvious, and I had been an E-class at that
time. I was one of the many survivors of the Trial Tests thrown into this world and
who would do anything to survive.

The situation had gotten worse as time passed, and the dungeon box had been our
only hope. Despite the low probabilities, we started fighting among each other to
death just for that chance. The winner, obviously as I am here, was…

“[email protected]”

It was the darkness nibbling again at my brain. I swept my hair back with some force
and moved up to the door. There were no traps, and I only needed to push the door
open. That was the only thing left for me to do, but my body was resisting with all its
might. A frontal attack was definitely not my style, but I had no choice since I was
alone.

I opened the door, and the small creak was as eerie as tens of monsters started
screaming at me. The room was filled with savage killing instincts, and I could see
many heads behind the ones who started running at me.

There would be more, not less, than in the rooms I had seen. I hurled my longsword
like a spear at the frontrunner and took out my dagger.

[You have activated Odin’s Wrath.]

[Target: Weapon, your dagger]

It was that moment.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

One came rushing through the message window with clawed fingers to grab and rip.
I deflected its hands with my empty hand, and aimed between its eyes with my
dagger. I stabbed it three times, and blue sparks from the dagger scorched its blood,
filling the air with the scent of burnt iron.

[You have beaten the Declan Patrol Soldier.]

I killed again and was somehow enduring with my back to the door. The difference
this time was that my final card was the Escape Insignia, and I looked over the mutts
that had increased in number. The spellcaster with red eyes was not present,
perhaps because I was still at the beginning of the dungeon, and that was why I was
still standing.

“GET OVER HERE!!!” (EN: ^_^ )

I gave the finger to the one in front of me, and when it didn’t react, I bit the back of
my hand. Every monster I faced would go into a frenzy at the smell of blood like
sharks. However, the reason no one was attacking me was evident as another
monster came out of the darkness.

It was bigger than the rest of them and had two heads with four glaring eyes. The
One on One Combat quest, the Double-Headed Declan had come out from the deeper
parts of the dungeon, and this was cheating!

After finishing the Declan Extermination quest, I planned to meet it after ALL my
cooldowns reset. Of course, this was not the first time plans changed due to the
dungeon’s fickleness. All I needed was to see the danger I faced, and I turned my
back and ran as fast as I could. The sound of baying and howling mutts chased me
down the entire corridor, and the Double-Headed Declan howled the loudest in
hunger and excitement.

When I saw the Entrance, it snarled in rage, and it rushed ahead of the pack with the
speed of an E-ranked. I rolled with the monster, and it must have bitten and
scratched me quite deeply. I thought of only one thing, and that was the trap at the
door should have been activated, to hold back the rest of the mutts.

I averted my eyes from behind me and looking only straight ahead, frantically
crawling on the floor, holding back my fear and desperation to crawl as fast as I
could. Like the day I crawled over the corpses of my fellow guild members to escape
from the boss monster, I could not think about my nails being broken.

I felt the stairs on my fingers, and time had run out. The speed the howls came
seemed quicker, and I thought I had been caught right at the end. Therefore, I had
been preparing for my last battle when I realized that there were no more stairs. A
new message popped up.

[The Insignia ‘Escape’ has been removed.]

I survived! I got out! The screams had disappeared, and it was then I saw the blade
stuck in my arm. I grabbed the flashlight I had left at the entrance rather than taking
it out. I then turned it on towards the boundary between reality and fantasy.

I first saw its face, and the Double-Headed was glaring at me with both heads. They
were promising that they would kill me the next time.