Chapter 13

Chapter 13

America.

Headquarters of a global pharmaceutical company.

An executive directly beneath the CEO was reviewing global performance.

For years, pharmaceutical companies had enjoyed tremendous profits. Herbs and alchemy had ushered them into a second golden age.

Even with outrageous pricing, Climbers had no choice but to buy their products.

Potions were not daily necessities.

They were survival necessities.

Failing a climb meant death. Who would pinch pennies when their life was on the line...

“Hmm?”

His gaze stopped on [Korean Sales]. Revenue in Korea was still healthy.

However...

‘Growth has slowed?’

Everyone in the pharmaceutical industry agreed on one thing.

The Korean market was an absolute gold mine.

It was because of Korea’s medical insurance system. Korean politicians had excluded their own Climbers from health insurance coverage.

What were they even doing?

Wasn’t Korea a country where even foreigners could receive medical insurance benefits?

Yet Korean Climbers received no such benefits. Instead, they still paid mountains of insurance fees.

Where else could you find a market like this?

Korean Climbers had no choice but to obediently buy expensive potions at whatever prices the pharmaceutical companies demanded.

And growth was slowing in a market like that?

Something was going on.

“Hey.”

He contacted the head of Asian sales.

The head of Asian sales contacted the Korea branch manager, who then contacted the person in charge of dream-treatment sales.

Orders went down from above, reports came up from below, and the gravity of the situation became clear.

An important issue.

An emergency meeting was convened with even the top CEO in attendance.

“...What exactly are they selling in Korea?”

The blue-eyed CEO pressed for an answer, and the Korea branch manager connected by video call replied.

[Mr. Iceberg. Lettuce. It is a Korean-style salad vegetable.]

“What does that have to do with dream-treatment sales?”

[Well...]

As the Korea branch manager explained the situation in detail, the CEO’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

“Lettuce treats nightmares? If something like that happened, you should have reported it in advance!”

[The authenticity of the effect was unclear...]

“Listen here, Branch Manager! Dream-treatment! Sales! Are! Falling!”

Bang!

A ghost possessed the blue-eyed CEO Iceberg’s gaze.

The ghost of money.

“Do you think Climbers are ordinary, hysterical consumers? Just because they hand us money so easily, do you think they’re idiots? If the lettuce didn’t work, would sales have fallen!”

[T-That is...]

“Especially Korean Climbers. They’re incredibly sensitive and persistent... Oh... headache...”

The CEO rubbed his forehead.

“Come to think of it... your country has a strange tendency to look down on its own Climbers. Do Climbers seem insignificant to you? Those people risk their lives climbing the Tower!”

Pharmaceutical companies sucked Climbers dry.

That did not mean they could treat Climbers like fools.

They were living weapons.

And the most powerful martial force in human history.

Not to mention that Korean Climbers were monsters who maintained top-tier performance despite terrible conditions.

“Contact the Korean establishment immediately and apply pressure. Make them delay lettuce sales, even temporarily.”

The CEO’s instincts were speaking.

A mere leafy vegetable replacing dream medicine. It was both a shocking product and a threateningly cheap one.

A creeping sense of crisis crawled up from the tips of his fingers and toes.

“Oh, and another thing. What organization developed the lettuce?”

[Well, it’s an individual seller.]

“...What?”

The blue-eyed CEO’s mouth fell open.

An individual? You mean a personal seller? The global dream-treatment market alone was worth several trillion won.

In the worst-case scenario, one personal seller could sweep that entire market...?

From the CEO’s perspective, it was like being dropped into a horror movie.

‘...Don’t jump to conclusions. They may be using an individual as a front while some enormous organization operates behind the scenes.’

But...

What if an individual really had done it?

The CEO swallowed.

‘Damn Koreans... What are they plotting this time...’

Korean Climbers had always shattered limits through individual ability alone.

The video meeting ended.

The CEO immediately began the next video conference.

This time, it was a research meeting.

[Greetings, Mr. Iceberg. I am a senior researcher at the Global Tower Research Institute. Thank you for providing such enormous research funding.]

The head researcher was extremely polite. Naturally so, after receiving such a massive amount of money.

“It’s only natural for a pharmaceutical company to invest in new drug research. I can provide as much support as necessary. Consider the budget effectively unlimited.”

[U-Unlimited! I’m deeply grateful...]

“Let’s get to the point. How is the research on [Nightmare Debuff Stage 7] progressing?”

The senior researcher continued his report.

The Nightmare debuff.

A curse spread by the Lost Fairy Kingdom.

The curse consisted of seven stages. Upon entering the final seventh stage, the patient would fall asleep [forever].

They became trapped in the world of dreams, reduced to a vegetative state that no longer responded to outside stimuli.

Furthermore...

Some Stage 7 patients melted into pitch-black liquid.

As though absorbed by something.

That was the final stage of the Nightmare debuff.

No one knew the criteria.

Some melted into black liquid.

Others endured.

“There is a Nightmare-7 patient who must be saved before he melts. Do you understand?”

The blue-eyed CEO Iceberg had already poured hundreds of trillions into the matter.

And still, research on Nightmare-7 remained insufficient.

“Continue pushing the research forward.”

[...May I ask one question?]

“Anything.”

[There are only several thousand Nightmare-7 patients worldwide. It qualifies as an ultra-rare disease. Why is the global CEO investing so heavily in such a commercially worthless market...]

“You’re overstepping. We’ll speak again.”

Beep.

The video call ended.

The CEO and his aide sat in silence inside the conference room. Even with the brilliant cityscape visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows, today they had never felt more powerless.

A pharmaceutical company that couldn’t even overcome dreams.

“Can we really do it?”

The CEO’s expression, cold all day, was now saturated with exhaustion and defeat.

This horrific battle had already gone on for decades.

The CEO briefly touched the pendant hanging around his neck. Inside was a family photo.

He had touched it so often that the surface had worn smooth.

He had to succeed.

There was someone the blue-eyed CEO Iceberg absolutely had to awaken.

“Mr. Iceberg. We have unlimited cash. We also possess the infrastructure to replicate every technology in the world. All that’s needed is your will, CEO. Your next appointment begins in five minutes.”

“Right. Let’s go.”

The CEO stood while gripping the pendant. He had already returned to being the cold-blooded money demon.

“Nightmare or whatever else, I’ll conquer it... There’s nothing money can’t accomplish.”

This was a battle between a money demon and a nightmare.

* * *

The peaceful first-floor territory.

At last, the time had come to make Golden Lettuce.

[Great Lord. From this point. I will evolve. Ordinary lettuce. Into Golden Lettuce.]

[Aqua... Gulp! Satisfying curiosity is really fun!

ꉂꉂ (ˆoˆ )

]

Expectations rose as Geumsul gathered energy.

Something about analyzing the lettuce’s genetic characteristics and modifying specific base sequences.

[Energy consumption. Approximately. Ten billion won.]

Either way, it was an insanely expensive process. Thank goodness Geumsul already had magic-stone energy stored inside.

‘I’m going to have to make a lot more money.’

Crackle crackle crackle.

Geumsul fired beams into the lettuce.

A spectacle of golden energy!

It ended quickly.

Maybe three seconds?

“Holy crap. Did we just spend ten billion won in three seconds?”

The lettuce struck by the golden light began glowing brightly.

But the light kept intensifying until it became too bright for us to endure.

“Huh? Geumsul?”

[Great Lord. There is. A minor issue. I failed. To mention earlier. Success probability. Is approximately one percent.]

“Geumsul. Are you broken? That is not minor at all.”

[If it. Fails. An explosion. Worth ten billion won. Will occur. The territory may. Collapse entirely. Crisis.]

“Hey.”

You’re supposed to tell me that beforehand.

At this rate I’d have to rename Geumsul to Scrap Metal.

[To resolve. The energy wave. A higher-dimensional. Being is required.]

“W-What does that mean?”

[Spirit. Dragon. Immortal. And so forth.]

Oh.

You had me worried.

So this was all just Geumsul joking around?

“What’s with the forced sense of crisis? You scared me.”

[It is not. Forced. Great Lord. Please get a grip.]

“The higher-dimensional being you’re talking about is right here.”

[Where is. Here?]

“The spirit.”

[Aqua... Proud and smug!

( ◡̀_◡́)ᕤ

]

When I held Aqua out, Geumsul went silent.

Huh?

Thinking back on it, had I ever explained to Geumsul.

That Aqua was a spirit?

Geumsul’s body trembled.

[Encounter probability. Calculation error. Spirit appears? What? Huh? Wait. No. Seriously? Lord Aqua. Is a spirit? What? Huh? What is this?]

“...”

Geumsul was competent.

But sometimes it turned into a tin can.

“Geumsul. I admit my explanation was lacking... but now I’m curious too. What did you think Aqua was this whole time?”

[(Ellipsis...)]

“Don’t tell me you thought it was just some tiny thing that sprays water?”

[I did think that...]

Just as Aqua’s lips began to jut out at that painfully honest answer, Geumsul explained itself.

[Spirits are. Extremely high-level beings. No cases. Discovered on Earth. Encounter probability. Approaches zero. As mysterious. As terraforming.]

At Geumsul’s praise, Aqua’s mood improved rapidly!

[Aqua... Was it that impressive? Didn’t really know the details!

ᕤ

]

“Aqua. From now on, I need you to stabilize the Golden Lettuce’s energy. Please.”

Do it!!!!!

Aqua answered my call.

[Aqua... Sluuuuuurp!

ꉂꉂ (ˆoˆ )

]

Aqua promptly gobbled up the lettuce.

But the effect was remarkable.

The energy spreading out from the lettuce began flowing into Aqua.

“Ohhh. Aqua’s getting a little bigger?”

Aqua gradually grew until it was about the size of a tangerine.

Still tiny, but it was tremendous progress.

[Golden Lettuce stabilization. Proceeding steadily.]

Golden Lettuce created, Aqua getting bigger too.

Two birds with one stone.

I should do cultivar improvement more often.

[We simply. Need to wait. Until Lord Aqua. Stabilizes the energy.]

Hmm. I see.

I gave the esteemed Lord Aqua a lavish massage.

Knead knead.

[Aqua... Ohhh, refreshing!

づ

]

“So what does Golden Lettuce actually do?”

[It allows one. To travel into. An even deeper. World of dreams.]

Hmm.

An even deeper world of dreams?

I’m curious.

“Then I’d better keep selling ordinary lettuce diligently.”

Lettuce grows ridiculously fast, so it has to be harvested and sold every day.

Massaging Aqua.

Harvesting lettuce.

I’m busy.

When I listed today’s lettuce on the marketplace, something strange happened.

[16,000,000 won deposited]

[18,000,000 won deposited]

[20,000,000 won deposited]

“Huh?”

The price of lettuce was skyrocketing.

Double, triple the previous eight-million-won price...

Huh?

The price kept climbing!

The mad bidding rally had begun again.

“What the hell! We agreed on eight million! You’re attacking me like this?!”

Why!

Is!

The price rising!

Which bastard is manipulating things!

I immediately opened the internet. Breaking news was plastered across the main search portal.

[Government Emergency Announcement]

[HACCP Certification System to Be Introduced for All Tower Vegetables!]

HACCP.

Pronounced ‘HACCP.’

It was Korea’s food safety management certification system, and apparently they intended to apply it to Tower vegetables too.

[Korean politicians’. Armchair theorizing. Tower food. Cannot be managed. By nations.]

I agreed.

The government was going to manage all Tower vegetables?

How?

Implementing a system like that would take at least several hundred years.

“The Climbers panicked at the government’s announcement and started hoarding lettuce! They were afraid the government might somehow block trade!”

I still had questions.

How exactly was the government supposed to stop Tower transactions?

Declare national law at the Tower?

Impossible.

[Korean politicians’. Thought process. Illogical.]

Because of that illogical action, I had unintentionally been showered with money.

This violated my low-margin, high-volume principle.

“Buy mid-grade magic stones.”

The price tripled?

Then I’ll lower it again.

I Set Up House in the Tower, and Making Money Became Too Easy