Chapter 108

As the man stepped aside, Jun-sang quietly looked at the people gathered around and then spoke, “Why are you blocking me?”

The people exchanged glances. In truth, they didn’t understand why they had to fight Jun-sang like this. The people who had been restlessly waiting inside the training center for a quest to appear had simply dressed and come outside, without knowing the reason, when the Alliance executives, led by Major Kwon Hyung-sik, issued a summons. It was the same for those who had been residing outside and rushed back after receiving the summons. All the information they had received was simply that there was an intruder and they needed to unite to defend. Therefore, they could not answer Jun-sang’s question of why they were blocking him.

All except for one, a high school girl.

“Because you’re trying to destroy the Alliance.” She was Suyeon, a high school student who had become affiliated with the Alliance after being treated in the same hospital as Sung-jin. Jun-sang recognized her as the high school student who had been summoned in a hospital gown with Sung-jin during the Forest Purification quest.

“Why is that a reason?” Suyeon then said, “You seem fine.”

“What do you mean?”

“Because of this damned quest, we can’t go to school, work, or participate in any social life. No matter how much power we have, we can’t go back to our old lives.”

Jun-sang nodded. “I know.”

Suyeon, hearing that reply, spoke again, “I still can’t sleep at night. That muscular man over there is still secretly taking tranquilizers. This kid still can’t eat properly.”

Jun-sang nodded again. “I understand.”

Suyeon looked at Jun-sang and continued, “The Alliance provides us, people like us, with the minimum environment to live. It’s only at the level of basic livelihood support, but… we get money every month, and being here, people in the same situation can help each other.”

Jun-sang nodded once more. “I see.”

Suyeon, with a look of exasperation at Jun-sang’s calm reaction, said, “Well… you’ve been casually digging through zombie heads since I first saw you, so you probably don’t understand our feelings. That’s why you’ve come here to destroy the Alliance, I suppose.”

To that, Jun-sang replied, “Is that all?”

“…” Suyeon looked at Jun-sang with a bewildered expression for a moment, then held out the wooden sword she was carrying and said, “Yes. That’s all. What are you going to do now? Are you going to kill us all and burn this place down?”

Then, the people cautiously took defensive stances towards Jun-sang. Honestly, they didn’t want to fight… but they realized how much harsher their already difficult lives would become if Jun-sang really destroyed the Alliance like this.

However, Jun-sang shook his head. “I don’t think there’s a need for that.”

“A need?”

“Yes, a need.” Jun-sang said that and then concluded, “Ultimately, isn’t the reason you need the Alliance because of money?”

“…” The people were momentarily stunned by his incredibly simple and clear conclusion. It wasn’t wrong, but it was perhaps too blunt. Jun-sang looked at them and spoke again, “How much money did you say you receive earlier? At the basic livelihood support level?”

“Th-that’s right.”

“I can pay that much money.”

“…” The people were dumbfounded for a moment. Even if you conservatively estimate the Alliance’s personnel at around three hundred, the monthly cost alone is about 120 million won. Moreover, this cost is literally just money being poured out, meaning there’s no return on investment. To bear such a cost… alone?

“Are you… here to brag?” Jun-sang shook his head at Suyeon’s words. “Of course not. Furthermore, I have no intention of running a charity for others.”

Suyeon frowned. “Stop playing games. It’s annoying.”

But Jun-sang continued, “I am making you an offer.”

“An offer? What kind of…” To Suyeon’s words, Jun-sang replied with a calm expression, “Bring me Seeds. Then I’ll buy them.”

At his unexpected words, the people looked bewildered. Seeds out of nowhere? After all, there’s a limit to the number of Seeds a single person can use. What would he do by collecting such things?

“Seeds?” Suyeon asked with a suspicious expression, and Jun-sang nodded, continuing, “Yes. Any option is fine. The price will be the percentage of the option, let’s call it N, multiplied by 100,000, and then raised to the power of 2^(N-1).”

The people instantly looked perplexed. Jun-sang’s stated price didn’t immediately sink in.

“Th-then how much is it exactly?”

“Well?”

Then, the muscular man who had stepped aside earlier muttered and began to calculate. “So… for 1 percent, it’s 2 to the power of 0 times 100,000, which is 100,000 won.”

The man standing next to him chimed in, “For 2 percent, it’s 2 to the power of 1 times 100,000, so 200,000 won…”

This time, the woman standing next to him cautiously said, “If it’s 10 percent… it’s 2 to the power of 9 times 100,000… Gasp!” The woman, who had been calculating silently, gasped in surprise.

“How much is it?” When the person next to her quietly asked, she finally spoke in a trembling voice, “Fi-fifty-one million two hundred thousand won…”

“Gasp!” Only then did the people realize how outrageous this calculation method was. If an 11 percent Seed came out… they could instantly get over 100 million won!

As the people finished calculating the Seed prices, Jun-sang quietly said, “At this price, it seems you at least won’t have a reason to be tied to the Alliance like servants and be dragged around like this. Am I wrong?”

Of course, Jun-sang already knew that regular Seeds, as opposed to Rare Seeds, rarely appeared with more than 7 percent, but there was no need to mention that here. In fact, even 7 percent was 6.4 million won, which was more than enough as income.

Gulp. The people unknowingly swallowed hard. Was this what they called saeongjimas (a blessing in disguise)? Their situation, which had just made them pessimistic about life, had instantly jumped to a level comparable to that of a large corporation employee. Of course, money isn’t everything in life, but it’s clear that life becomes more prosperous with money.

Suyeon stared at Jun-sang for a moment, unable to speak, then slowly opened her mouth again with a trembling voice. “Y-you’re not joking. There’s no reason to buy such scraps so expensively, is there?”

“Then you don’t have to sell.”

“…” Suyeon was dumbfounded. That’s right. Whether he played jacks with the bought Seeds or used them for a game of territory, it was entirely up to Jun-sang, wasn’t it? They just had to sell him the Seeds and take their profit.

The people thought Jun-sang was crazy, but in reality, this was a business that would yield him several times the profit. Even now, Jun-sang had a lot of Seeds. Naturally. He had collected all the Seeds from four Epic Quests, so how much would that be? The Seeds that were originally supposed to be evenly distributed among four countries were now all swept up by Jun-sang alone. If he just kept them piled up, they would literally be nothing more than junk. However, if he could create demand, this could become a lot of money.

The problem was how to reach the prerequisite for creating demand. For players to properly understand the utility of Seeds and reach a level where they could perform item enhancements or Seed combinations, they needed to get stronger first. But if their lives were unstable like now, preventing them from finding psychological stability, they couldn’t focus on training, and it would take time to get stronger. Moreover, what would they do even if they got stronger? They couldn’t accomplish anything if they were just desperate to survive.

However, what if they were motivated? There was no way to escape the quests anyway. So, what if they could earn money through those quests? Yes, this was a form of investment. For now, Jun-sang, who was buying Seeds, might seem to be at a loss. But what if he bought Seeds for 100,000 or 200,000 won and used them to enhance rings with options like Life Force Enhancement to sell? Even if they weren’t players, there would be countless buyers for options like Increased Life Force. When life force increases, it’s not just about a larger HP bar like in a game. Life force also affects vitality, or stamina. What was the biggest concern for men throughout the entire century? It was virility. And isn’t that ultimately just a type of stamina?

Furthermore, this doesn’t require additional costs. It’s not something you have to constantly consume like Viagra, vitamins, or other tonics. You just buy it and wear it on your finger, and that’s it. If such a ring came onto the market, would there be any rich person who wouldn’t buy it? No. If its efficacy was proven, they would buy it even for billions. Increased Life Force might even be a trivial example. This was evident from the items Jun-sang possessed. Of course, if the number of players increased, the supply of such rings would also increase, but to enhance the effectiveness of items, Seeds would again be needed. In other words, supply and demand would create a virtuous cycle, continuously expanding the market.

In such a situation, who would benefit the most? It would be Jun-sang, who had the most Seeds. Depending on how one looked at it, this could take a long time, but there was no meaning in just accumulating them anyway. Moreover, this was ultimately just a matter of who pulled the trigger and would happen someday anyway, and Jun-sang was merely trying to accelerate it.

However, the people, unaware of Jun-sang’s plan, looked at his incredibly tempting proposal with mixed feelings of skepticism and wouldn’t easily agree. Among them, Suyeon, in particular, was casting the most doubtful glances.

“I understand what you’re saying. But shouldn’t we first confirm if you have the financial means to buy them?”

Then Jun-sang nodded and took out a cabinet from his Inventory. And to the people who wondered what this was, he opened the cabinet and showed them a bag inside.

“It’s a little over 900 million won. I don’t need much cash right now, so I only have this much, but getting more isn’t a problem if needed.”

“…” Jun-sang put the bag of money back into the cabinet, returned the cabinet to his Inventory, and then looked at the people and said, “Do you have any more questions?”

“…” Suyeon couldn’t step forward anymore.

Jun-sang then spoke to the people again, “Then go and gather your belongings. That building will disappear tonight.”

The people seemed to hesitate for a moment, then in a rush, they entered the building and began to pack their belongings.