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Chapter 357. The Conquest Bible (4)
“Is there anything good?” Ted Song yawned. He spent most of his free time on the Community forums, and they had the same meaningless content as always.
- I want to buy a property in Frontier for 120 gold. I need recs for cities that are nice to live in.
- I’ve spent years looking into this stuff, and I recommend Mallon. The taxes are cheap, and the residents are nice.
-Ooh, thanks. Did you also buy a property in Mallon?
- I don’t have a property!
- ???
“Heh, what are these idiots saying?”
Ted lay down on the couch and scrolled through the posts without end. Once he got bored of the anonymous chatting board, he moved on to the video section.
“I’m starting to get bored of this stuff, too…” He suddenly felt an intense wave of regret and closed his eyes. “I swear, this is it. After today, I’m gonna stop using Community.”
If he only spent his time hunting or training rather than scrolling through Community, he could have been strong enough to become a part of the Big 6 by now.
‘I’m quitting for real this time.’ He was determined this time. He hurriedly scrolled through Community as a last hurrah.
And when he opened the trading board...
“Hm?”
There was a hot entry with zero sales that had been posted as soon as he opened the forum. It caught his eye.
[Guide for the Seo Jun-Ho difficulty for sale.]
“Tsk. It’s obviously clickbait.” It was a bad attempt, but he still clicked on it out of curiosity.
His jaw dropped when he saw the description of the item as well as the price.
“You’re crazy. 30,000 PP per book? And it’s even split up into two parts? What kind of lunatic would do this?!”
Was this what people meant when they talked about monsters created by capitalism?
Ted scowled. However, just as he was about to click out of it, his eyes were drawn to the poster’s username for some reason “Huh.”
He thought long and hard, and his eyes went wide when he realized. “Sonny… That’s Specter’s username, isn’t it?”
No, it could be a duplicate name, so he had to look through their post history.
[Test]
[Salmon in the mountain]
[Deleted livestream]
There were only three posts…
Ted was now sure of it.
‘I-It really is Specter!’
Seeing how many views and likes the videos had, this definitely wasn’t a fake account.
‘Wait. Then is this guide legit too?’ He looked at it with new eyes. Obviously, 30,000 PP was not a small amount, but he could still afford it. “And there’s a 10,000 PP discount if I buy both of them at once?”
It was a low blow! However, Ted was already checking out.
[Warning! Do not distribute illegally or share with others.]
“Duh.”
As soon as he paid the large sum, two pamphlets immediately appeared in his Inventory.
“...”
Ted started reading the first volume with a worried, fearful look. However, after ten minutes of reading through it, his eyes sparkled.
“This is real.”
He had only taken a cursory glance, but he knew it wasn’t fake. And the best tip it gave was the ‘diary,’ which Players had to acquire at the very beginning. “Endless regressions… Who knew the 4th Floor had such a secret?”
His heart started pounding. The book had re-ignited the adventurous spirit he once lost.
Ted Song soon made a text post on Community.
[What are you guys doing? Didn’t you see Specter’s new post?]
***
Seo Jun-Ho woke up. Actually, to be precise, he actually hadn’t been able to sleep at all.
[‘Seo Jun-Ho Difficulty Guide’ has been sold. You have received 50,000PP.]
[‘Seo Jun-Ho Difficulty Guide’ has been sold. You have received 30,000PP.]
[‘Seo Jun-Ho Difficulty Guide’ has been sold. You have received 50,000PP.]
[‘Seo Jun-Ho Difficulty Guide’ has been sold. You have received 50,000PP.]
…
“Geez, what is this?” he muttered in exhaustion. He forced his heavy eyes open.
He became wide awake as soon as he saw the hologram messages in front of him.
“Really, what is this?” Every second, dozens of messages would appear. He stared blankly at them. “Am I hallucinating because I couldn’t sleep?”
He did the mental calculations and realized that he had gained at least several million PP in the past few seconds. After considering it, Seo Jun-Ho carefully opened his mouth.
“Check PP.”
[User Seo Jun-Ho currently has 22,470,450 Player Points.]
“...”
He rubbed his eyes. The number didn’t change.
He rubbed his eyes again. The number still didn’t change.
“Froooooost!” he screamed.
- Uweh?!
In the other room, The Frost Queen was shocked out of her sleep. A moment later, she entered his room, dragging a teddy bear behind her while rubbing her eyes.
“Why are you yelling…? I was enjoying my sleep…”
“Take a look at this first.” Seo Jun-Ho waved at her to hurry up, and he showed her his PP. She took a cursory glance and…
She rubbed her eyes. The number didn’t change.
She rubbed her eyes again. The number still didn’t change.
“Contractooooor!” she screamed.
“Froooooost!”
The human and the Spirit hugged each other and started dancing with joy.
“I-I-I told you. I told you! I told you this would work.”
“Of course, I have always believed you. I have always believed in your words. I have always believed you, Your Majesty[1]!”
While they were in the middle of embarrassing themselves amidst their excitement, the sales kept going up.
“We’ve already surpassed 30 million PP. At this rate, I’ll reach a hundred million!”
“Ha, I am a legend…”
They watched the PP window intently as if they were watching a bitcoin graph shooting up.
[Notice: There is a problem with the trading forum, and it will be closed. We apologize for any inconvenience.]
The trading forum disappeared...
“Huh? What the hell? Why is it doing this?!”
“I-it must be a bug, Contractor. We’re in trouble!”
They had already gained 35,770,450PP at this point. If it had stayed up for even ten minutes more, they could have surpassed fifty million, but the entire forum itself had been removed.
“Come on, how is this fair?”
“Sue them! Let us sue them, Contractor.”
With fire in their eyes, the two of them started looking up ways to sue the System.
“You’ve put me in quite the predicament.”
Seo Jun-Ho looked up when he heard the familiar voice. It had been a while since he last heard that voice.
Somehow, their surroundings had changed as well. They suddenly found themselves in a white, empty space. They weren’t in the bedroom anymore.
“Mr. Gray!”
“1st Floor Administrator!”
“It has been a while, Specter. And the Frost Queen.” Gray removed his gray fedora. The man with snake-like eyes had a faint smile on his face.
Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen started complaining to him about how they were wronged.
“Listen. We were selling an item…”
“Hear my words. The announcement suddenly appeared just like that, and then the forum disappeared, just like that…”
“I am aware of the situation. I am the one who temporarily disabled the trading forum.”
So it was him? Rage filled their eyes.
Gray didn’t say anything and simply bowed at his hip. “First, let me apologize. Not even the System predicted that something like this would ever occur.”
“‘Something like this’? What do you mean?”
“One Player receiving hundreds of thousands of PP in a short amount of time.”
“Is there a problem with that?” Seo Jun-Ho said icily.
Flustered, Gray tried to soothe him.
“Of course, you did not do anything that broke the rules. However, because you have so many points… By any chance, would you be willing to take down the product?” he asked.
“No.”
“Hm.”
Even if a prophet came down to Earth and asked him to take it down, Seo Jun-Ho would refuse. Gray was always smiley, but now, he looked a little nervous as he scratched his head. “In that case, I will report this to my superiors and wait for their decision.”
“What’ll happen to the trading forum?” Seo Jun-Ho demanded.
“It will likely stay closed until they make their decision…”
“What will you do about the profit I would lose in the meantime?”
“W-well…” Obviously, a single Administrator didn’t have the authority to make decisions on something like this.
Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen exchanged glances.
‘He’s a pushover.’
‘He is indeed a pushover.’
If they played their cards well, they would probably be able to rip him off a bit more. Seo Jun-Ho sorted his thoughts. But just as he was about to speak, the space contorted, and a bronze-skinned woman came out.
“Come on! I was sleeping. This is so annoying.”
“R-Reiji!” Gray said cheerfully.
And with that, Seo Jun-Ho lost the chance to rip him off. After all, Reiji was quick-witted and scary.
“Hey.” Sure enough, she stared daggers at him.
“Yes, Reiji-nim.”
“I helped you out to lessen my workload, not for you to stab me in the back.”
“Stab you…?”
“Haaa.” Reiji let out a loud yawn. It seemed that she had been sleeping. “For now, you won’t be able to sell any more guides. That’s what the higher-ups decided.”
“But…!”
“Stop throwing a tantrum. We’re gonna reward you in return.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Seo Jun-Ho clamped his mouth shut under Reiji’s sharp glare.
“I will be opening the Administrator’s Store soon, even though I wasn’t originally planning to do so. It’s all because of you.”
“That’s my reward?” It was very disappointing, considering that he had lost the chance to gain a hundred million PP.
However, Reiji wasn’t finished just yet. “You’re funny. You collected all that PP, but what were you gonna use it for?”
“Well, the Administrator’s Store…”
“And what if I don’t open it?”
“...”
It would be extremely dirty and petty of her to do that, but in reality, PP would become worthless if she stopped opening the Administrator’s Store. Then, all it could be used for would be editing videos or for transactions within the forums.
“I was going to open the Store next year at the earliest, but I’m gonna open it now just because of you.” Reiji continued shortly. “Of course, that’s not all. You’ll be the first one that’ll have access.”
“The first one?”
“For you humans, it’s similar to VIPs at a department store. They get to go in earlier before it actually opens.”
“Ohh.” Seo Jun-Ho nodded. Even if he had a hundred million PP, the System could decide to be as unfair as it wanted to be. Reiji was the one who decided the order of those who could enter, which meant that she could put him last, leaving him with no useful items to buy.
‘If I think about it like that, early access is a pretty great reward.’
On top of that, he already had 35 million PP. With that amount, he could buy most potions like they were sold wholesale. Another perk was that he could obtain those items sooner rather than a year later.
‘Accept it. Accept it. Accept it. Accept it.’
The Frost Queen tried to send him a telepathic message through her eyes, and Seo Jun-Ho eventually nodded.
“I understand. Since both of you had asked me for it, I suppose I can’t be selfish and think of only myself.”
“Phew. Thank you for making a difficult decision.”
“Fuck that. Now I have to work because of this little squirt. Hmph.” Reiji clicked her tongue and once again split the space with a snap of her fingers. “The Administrator’s Store will open in ten days. And after a week, you’ll have early access.”
“How can I access it?”
“Use this.” Reiji tossed him a small business card. It simply said ‘entry ticket’.
“I will see you in one week.”
“Yeah. I’m gonna go clean the Store now.”
After Reiji left, Gray was all smiley again. “I’m glad that we were able to sort that out.”
“Yeah…” Seo Jun-Ho and the Frost Queen sighed as they looked at Gray. If Reiji hadn’t come, they probably could have pushed him into giving them something more.
“Hm. I wonder if I have a cold.” Gray shivered slightly as he felt a sudden wave of cold. He thumped his cane on the ground. “Well then. I hope that you two continue to keep working hard for the sake of humanity.”
In a flash, they returned to Seo Jun-Ho’s bedroom. They stared blankly at the PP window.
Meanwhile, there were people who were even more disappointed, and they shared their complaints on the forum.
- I was gonna buy the Seo Jun-Ho Difficulty Guide, so why did the trading forum suddenly disappear? Come on!
- Anyone selling their copy? I’ll pay twice the price once I check it’s real.
- Would anyone be willing to make a copy and share it? I’ll pay a lot with gold, dollars, or PP.
The complainants were the players who had missed the opportunity to buy the Guide.
1. Jun-Ho usually speaks to her casually, but with each sentence, his speech becomes more formal.