Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Secretary Lee rushed straight over to Cheon Ryujin. Cheon Ryujin was seated cross-legged in the training room, radiating an unbelievable ferocity.

Even a starving dragon wouldn’t look like this. His mana decomposition had been worsening lately.

Cheon Ryujin opened his eyes to narrow slits.

“The goods.”

“Here they are. Five.”

The corner of Cheon Ryujin’s eye twitched. He had gotten genuinely excited over five servings of chlorella, only to immediately hate himself for it.

“Give them.”

“You’re just going to eat them like that?”

“Rotten green algae is still green algae no matter how much you dress it up... I’ll just eat it.”

Cheon Ryujin poured a generous amount of chlorella into an expensive whiskey aged for decades.

“Hmm. Director, looking at this reminds me of that mad era when chlorella foods were coming out everywhere... I really liked chlorella tteokbokki, but they discontinued it, which was such a shame...”

“Secretary Lee. Please. Shut up.”

Cheon Ryujin knocked back the drink. Whew. That liquor...

Just watching made Secretary Lee’s head hurt.

Along with the dizzying burn of the hard liquor, Cheon Ryujin’s mana, which had been constantly decomposing, locked firmly into place.

“Whoa! This stuff is real!”

Earth can’t touch it!

That greedy Earth atmosphere that steals mana whenever it gets the chance!

It’s completely powerless!

His mana is staying intact!

“Heh. Hehehe. Hahahahahaha!”

The rumored chlorella worked.

No.

It worked beyond the rumors.

“My mana is tightly condensing inside my body. Hey. You shitty Earth bastard. Haha. Go on, suck my mana out. Try it.”

“You’re seriously hopeless.”

“Am I wrong? I’m right.”

“Yes.”

Whew!

He felt so good he could burst. Maybe it was because he had eaten all five at once. At this rate, the effect should last for several hours.

“Did you investigate the Lord Merchant?”

“We found no leads. His activity record is too clean. He’s practically a ghost.”

Hmm.

What exactly was he?

Climbing isn’t something you can do alone.

Even a brilliant genius has to make use of social infrastructure. That leaves footprints throughout the industry.

But <​Lord Merchant> had no footprints. He had simply dropped out of the sky one day.

“Could he be a recently awakened Climber?”

“No. You think Tower vegetables are easy to get? Even mid-floor Climbers rarely see them.”

Mid-floor Climbers also suffer mana decomposition. But there are almost no edible Tower vegetables in the middle floors.

In the end, mid-floor Climbers often pick random vegetables and eat them, only to suffer the consequences.

Sometimes it ruins their lives. Sometimes the damage is minor.

They leave it to luck.

“You know what Wol Hayeon told me? She thinks the Lord Merchant’s species is spirit.”

“A spirit... Those are dangerous beings. We may need to prepare countermeasures.”

Spirits.

Their temperament was on par with demons. Perhaps even the products the bastard scattered around were no different from contracts with demons.

“Fine. Anything else the group needs to deal with?”

“There are a few matters to report. China and Saudi Arabia were jointly conducting a terraforming project.”

“More money-burning nonsense...”

“Apparently, they sent an artificial-intelligence robot costing hundreds of trillions of won to the first floor.”

“? Hold on. How does a robot cost hundreds of trillions? Isn’t that price inflated?”

“They say it’s the latest artificial life-form created through alchemy.”

“Huh... Those Chinese guys. They make all kinds of things these days.”

He was secretly jealous.

China’s mana engineering had surpassed Korea’s long ago.

They bought talented people at premium prices and ground down even their own talent to push their science forward.

Especially the very pinnacle of Chinese science.

The Thirteen Yuanshi...

They were threatening beings.

The title Yuanshi meant ‘masters who pursue the source,’ and in China, they were giants of science treated as living national treasures.

Ten thousand research doctors were assigned beneath each Yuanshi. Ten thousand PhDs.

One Yuanshi alone could lead a scientific project on the scale of an entire nation.

...Troublesome.

Their experiments were so radical that the gap in mana engineering between China and Korea continued to grow.

“...Keep talking. What happened to the artificial life-form?”

“They lost it.”

“What.”

Cheon Ryujin was unusually startled.

They lost it?

Was that even possible?

“They left it behind on the first floor to test whether it could overcome the reset. When they entered again, it had vanished without a trace.”

“Kha—.”

Kekekekahahahahakek! Cheon Ryujin laughed like a lunatic for quite a while.

“Smart as hell but not a shred of wisdom. Overcoming the reset, my ass...”

“If they pull it off, it’ll be huge. Overcoming the reset.”

“But they didn’t! When has the Tower ever just sat there and let people do what they want? Anyway, why do China and Saudi Arabia keep staking everything on the first floor? What the hell is in that wasteland?”

“They likely know some secret about the first floor that only they are aware of.”

Probably.

Cheon Ryujin’s eyes gleamed.

The Yuanshi were extraordinary bastards. If he dismissed them too lightly, he might end up the one getting his skull cracked.

“Whatever. How much did the chlorella cost?”

“We paid a premium to build a buy wall. What you just ate cost well over 100 million won.”

“Good purchase. Fine.”

A company like Cheongyeol could easily spend a hundred or two hundred million won. Cheongyeol wasn’t some neighborhood grocery store counting pennies.

“Keep building buy walls from now on.”

“Yes.”

* * *

[3,000,000 won deposited]

[3,000,000 won deposited]

[3,000,000 won deposited]

The chlorella was selling like hotcakes again today. After climbing like crazy, the price had finally settled around three million won.

Because I had worked hard to increase supply. Over the past few days, I had built chlorella farms like crazy, and the product price had dropped severalfold as a result.

“The so-called affordable chlorella!”

As a result, I now had a whopping five chlorella farms.

A whopping 165 square meters!

A virtuous cycle of investment was underway.

The only problem was that my bank account was always barren. Every bit of money that came in went straight toward buying magic stones, making saving impossible.

=======

[Quest: Agriculture 1]

Objective: Sell 100 million won worth of crops (100 million/100 million)

Reward: 「Crop Praise」 skill.

=======

Thanks to that, I completed the quest today and received the skill as my reward.

Knowledge of how to use the skill naturally flowed into my mind.

Crop Praise.

Exactly as the name suggested, all I had to do was praise my crops.

“Hmm... Chlorella. Grow up big and strong...?”

When I awkwardly praised it, the chlorella’s growth rate suddenly exploded.

The brush algae farm likewise surged with growth.

[The crops grow well after receiving praise!]

[Growth +3 for several hours]

“Ohhh!”

Back in elementary school.

I had been taught something like that.

Apparently, if you praised an onion, it would grow nice and big...

A young and innocent Han Jain believed it wholeheartedly and praised his onion every single day.

But not long after, I learned the shocking truth.

“That was pseudoscience.”

Onions don’t have ears, so they can’t hear praise!

My childhood innocence was shattered.

But perhaps the power of a lord transcended even science, because the plants were growing like crazy.

Ding!

Another quest appeared.

=======

[Quest: Exploration 1]

Objective: Scout a 30 km radius from the base

Reward: Obtain the 「Lost Item Radar」 skill

=======

Oh? The quest category had changed from [Agriculture] to [Exploration]. Looks like there are many different kinds of quests prepared.

Whoooooosh...!!!

A sandstorm swept across the wilderness. And I had to travel thirty kilometers through that.

‘Not like I can’t do it.’

There weren’t even any monsters. This was practically a giveaway quest.

At that moment.

[18,000,000 won deposited]

[20,000,000 won deposited]

[22,000,000 won deposited]

[24,000,000 won deposited]

[26,000,000 won deposited]

“????”

What is this?

The price suddenly jumped into a completely different range?

Someone had bought five servings of chlorella for around 100 million won.

Someone paying a massive premium for chlorella whose price had already fallen.

“Oh dear. Did they make a bidding mistake? I should refund them...”

I tried looking for the refund button, but the buyer had already enthusiastically pressed [Purchase Confirmed].

“Heh. Then it wasn’t a mistake?”

If someone insisted on buying it at a high price, I wasn’t going to stop them. Maybe they were my mysterious benefactor.

“I’ll put this money to good use upgrading the farm to Level 3. Haha.”

The chlorella farm was Level 2.

The requirement to upgrade it to Level 3 was as follows.

Stuff more than 100 million won worth of magic stones into it!

I had wondered when I’d ever save that much.

But now the story was different.

I’ll use it well.

Mysterious benefactor.

“I’ll be able to build a Level 3 farm soon.”

Before that, I decided to complete the exploration quest. The reward for this quest was more interesting than I had expected.

Since 「Crop Praise」 had turned out to be this useful, I had high hopes for the next reward, 「Lost Item Radar」.

[Aqua... Explorer spirit! Very skilled when it comes to exploring!

Q–(ᵔ.ᵔ Q )

]

One-two, one-two∼

Aqua was brimming with motivation too. But an adventure requires preparation.

First, I left the Tower and visited a bicycle shop.

* * *

The neighborhood bicycle shop.

The owner greeted me warmly.

“Welcome.”

“What kind of bikes are popular these days?”

“You should choose a bicycle according to how you plan to use it. Where are you going to ride?”

“Hmm... a wasteland.”

“A-A wasteland? You have unusual tastes. Most people ride along the Han River...”

The owner looked flustered.

“Yes. My front yard is a wasteland.”

“Huh... Then forget about road bikes. Even electric bikes would be dangerous in terrain like that.”

After thinking for a moment, the owner showed me an enormous bicycle sitting in the corner of the store. The tires were thick enough to rival those on a small motorcycle.

“This model is called a fat bike. It’s an off-road bicycle with extremely reinforced wheels and tires. As you can see, the tire contact area is on a completely different level from ordinary bikes.”

Ohhh. Then it must be that much safer.

I pictured my first-floor territory. Something like this would definitely make me feel more secure.

“Beaches, mud roads, snowy roads... this thing can ride anywhere. You could say it gets stronger the rougher the terrain. And see that heavy-duty suspension? Barely any shaking.”

“I like it.”

“The product is even called the Marslander. As in Mars rover.”

“Would it actually run on Mars?”

“...”

Whenever I posted pictures of my territory, people immediately brought up Mars.

So I figured I might as well ask.

“It would... probably run on Mars? Maybe? The price is a bit steep, though.”

“H-How much?”

I immediately shrank back.

A lifetime of living as a commoner had ingrained the habit into me. My heart always pounded before I saw a price tag.

“It costs a whopping five million won.”

Whew!

You had me worried.

Even Aqua, tucked inside my clothes, let out a sigh of relief.

[Aqua... Took ten years off my life!

(꜄꜆꜄•ㅁ•)

]

With Tower prices, I feel like they would’ve asked for two billion won.

I pulled out one hundred crisp 50,000-won bills I had prepared in advance.

“Here.”

“Eek! Paying the full amount in cash...!”

The owner jumped in surprise, then threw in lifetime free repairs, a helmet, night lights, and protective gear.

Quite the benefits!

“If you give away all these services, what do you even make from the sale?”

“? Sir. I just sold a five-million-won bicycle.”

“? Exactly.”

“?”

Five million won inside the Tower would only buy a worn-out dagger.

This was incredible value for money.

We happily returned to my studio.

“Enter the Tower!!!”

My Mars-like territory.

I put on the protective gear and started pedaling.

[Aqua... Vroom vroom!

ꉂꉂ (ˆoˆ )

]

Rattle-rattle-rattle!

The shop owner had said the crank was high quality, so the pedals moved well with little effort. I had no idea what that meant, but apparently it was good.

Whoosh∼

The Marslander advanced.

[Aqua... Raise the sails! Rubble field spotted ahead!

(ง •̀ʖ•́)ง

]

A patch of rough terrain appeared, with chunks of rock scattered around like shards of glass. I tensed up but didn’t slow my pedaling.

Entering rubble field! Whoosh!

“What????”

[Aqua...????

( ⚆ㅁ⚆)

]

The Marslander was so ridiculously sturdy that it simply plowed straight through the rubble.

Any other bicycle would’ve gotten ten flat tires.

I pedaled even harder.

Who knows how much farther we traveled. I had only been enjoying the ride, but before I knew it, I’d completed the full thirty-kilometer scouting objective.

=======

[Quest: Exploration 1]

Objective: Scout 30 km (30/30)

Reward: 「Lost Item Radar」 skill.

=======

Flash!

A new skill settled into me. When I activated Lost Item Radar, a paper map appeared.

It was a map of my first-floor territory, and red X marks were scattered all over it.

Go there!

That was the feeling I got.

Was it basically like following a treasure map until you reached a ‘lost item’?

The skill was called Lost Item Radar, after all.

“There are lost items on my first floor? Who dropped them here, and when?”

I decided to check.

I pushed hard on the Marslander’s pedals and rode onward. Before I knew it, the sun was sinking, and the stars of early evening shone overhead.

Sparkle, sparkle.

The stars watched me.

Their gazes were still filled with curiosity. They seemed especially interested in my beloved new ride.

“Hehe. Got myself one.”

Jealous? Of course you are.

This Marslander.

Looks amazing!

The farther I rode, the more interested stares the stars sent my way. Apparently even veteran lords couldn’t resist the latest bicycle.

“The nearest lost item should be around here.”

The map had an interesting feature. Areas I hadn’t explored yet were covered in pitch-black fog.

‘Like the minimap in a strategy game.’

Even beyond the black fog, X marks were packed densely together, so there was something fun about clearing the fog while hunting for lost items.

“Here we are.”

When I reached the X mark, the lost item immediately caught my eye.

A glittering coin.

It seemed to have been abandoned for quite a long time and was covered in dust. I picked it up and blew on it, revealing intricate circuitry engraved across its surface.

There was writing on it too.

Simplified Chinese.

“What... Did a Chinese person come here?”

While I was still confused, the coin spoke.

[Bioelectricity. Signal detected → DNA scan. Initiating → Match rate 0.000% (You are not a Yuanshi.)]

[Hello. Your language. Korean confirmed. Automatic translation. Beginning.]

“Huh.”

It was pretty surprising, but I had already picked up a talking water droplet, so I managed to stay calm.

Meanwhile, Aqua.

[Aqua... Boing!

( ㅿ )ﻌﻌ⊙⊙!!

]

[Aqua... First time seeing a talking coin! Nearly scared the life out of Aqua!!!!

(꜆꜄꜆⚆ ⚆ )و✧

]

That’s an impressive reaction coming from a talking water droplet.

“Hey, mysterious talking coin. What exactly are you?”

[I am. An alchemical device. Developed by. The Yuanshi. Of the Chinese Communist Party.]

“A-An alchemical device...!”

[And. Right now. I have been abandoned alone. And am. Extremely sulky.]

Pout!

It was an alchemical device that had been abandoned for so long it was furious.

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