Chapter 10 – Solo Start
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
What is the most annoying situation when you wake up in the morning?
Is it the smartphone alarm you set last night ringing? Is it the stickiness of the greasy oil that stayed in your hair all night? Is it just the fact that you have to go to work again today?
-Wake up! Wake up quickly!
“Ah, for christ’s sake, a little mo…”
-If you don’t wake up right now, I’ll start singing a song I love from my hometown. Did you know that I learned music all my life? When I sang a song, over thirty people broke down in tears!
Not at all. The worst situation was when there was a ghost fluttering around your home.
-Look at the time and you’re still in bed!
“What time is it?”
I cracked my eyes open and looked at my smartphone.
On the lock screen, 4:01am was written in a nice font.
“It’s only 4 o’clock in the morning you crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
-Uh huh. Four o’clock in the morning is when the worms wake up and begin to move. You’re weaker than a worm so you should wake up earlier.
“I guess you were just bored because you can’t sleep.”
-I don’t know what you mean.
Bae Hu-ryeong looked away as if he’d been caught.
“Wow. I always wondered why the Sword Saint woke up at 4am to practice. It wasn’t because he was hardworking, it was because you were too noisy!”
-Fine. I was bored alone and woke you up. Better? Thanks to that, if you get up and practice now, it’s for your benefit. Come on, bow down and thank me.
“Ki-, I want to kill…”
-Huhu. I’m already dead so you can’t kill me. If you want to try then you’ll have to die first! Ah, but you can’t even die. You zombie b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Your name should be Kim Zom-bie not Kim Gong-ja.
“d.a.m.n it.”
I came out of the apartment dressed in sportswear. In the 2 pyung room, the ghost chattered without rest and I really couldn’t take it anymore. For the sake of my mental health, I left my home and started jogging under the dark morning sky.
“Huk, huk…”
-Zombie Kim. I’ll repeat, you really don’t have any talent outside of your willpower.
Bae Hu-ryeong floated and caught up to me.
-I usually prefer to teach from the bottom up. But you don’t even have a bottom. Should I say you’re the bottom of the bottom?
It has been three days since I copied the skill [Sword Constellation] from the Sword Saint. In that time I killed Yoo Soo-ha once more, and avoided meeting the Sword Saint. Now, I was training according to a schedule that Bae Hu-ryeong had made himself.
-In terms of talent, you have what we should call the abyss talent. Kuh. So cool! I’m jealous!
“Huk…when people are running, you shouldn’t interrupt them…hoo. Let’s go..!” (TL: the ‘huk’s and ‘hoo’s are basically him panting)
-What? The bottom line is, you need special tutoring. And in order to receive special tutoring, you have to pay an expensive tuition.
Bae Hu-ryeong laughed.
-You’re going to get a lottery ticket, Zombie.
…
There is a guild called Sangryun.
The common name for it was the Merchant’s Union. The leader was the third ranked hunter who was commonly known as ‘Count’.
As mentioned before, Count is the only player who could send and receive things from the outside world. He was like a one-man company. Thanks to this ability, the Sangryun Guild basically controlled the economy in the tower.
What that meant was.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, guest. How may I help you?”
“I’m here to receive my winnings for the lottery.”
On the first floor, the Sangryun Guild in the city of Babylon was the only one who issued lottery tickets.
“Ah. Your lottery ticket won?!”
“Yes that’s right.”
“Congratulations!”
The clerk who was wearing cat ears bowed toward him, a sunny smile across their face being a bonus.
-Hey, whenever I see this clerk I get curious about why they’re wearing cat ears.
‘The head of Sangryun likes cats.’
-No matter how good a cat is, do you need to make a normal person wear cat ears? He’s just a perverted b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I can guarantee it.
‘Is that even important right now?’
Of course the clerk didn’t wear the cat ears because they wanted to. They simply didn’t have a choice. Be it cat ears or a c.o.c.kroach’s antennae, if the guildmaster told them to wear it, they had to do so.
Oh, for reference, this clerk was a man. The uniform was just unis.e.x…
“Excuse me guest but have you confirmed the date? I’m sorry but you can’t win the prize if the ticket was purchased long before.”
“That’s fine. It’s a ticket from last week.”
“That’s great!”
It was a lottery ticket that I’d bought right after my discussion with Bae Hu-ryeong. It was because I intended to win the lottery once anyway, and Bae Hu-ryeong had pa.s.sionately shouted, ‘You need the capital!’.
“Then we will begin the identification and verification process. Ah, if I may ask, what place did you win?”
“First place.”
“Yes?”
The clerk asked reflexively.
“I got first place.”
“…”
“Here, please check the number.”
Above the head of the clerk hung a billboard. On the billboard the words [The 1st Prize for the Sangryun Happiness Lottery.] was written, followed by the amount of money that was displayed on slots like a slot machine in a casino.
53,000 gold. If I was to use the currency from my hometown, it would be 5.5 billion won.
-Hey, it’s so easy to make money isn’t it?
The humming voice of Bae Hu-ryeong filled the suddenly quiet hall area.
Wearing an embarra.s.sed look, the clerk suddenly said.
“…I’ve checked the number. No-, now please wait a minute customer while I call for my manager to take over.”
“Yeah, take your time.”
The clerk hurried away into the main area of the building. I could feel people peeking at me and gossiping. Talking about my win of the first prize and expressing their envy.
-Will you be okay Zombie? Won’t you get stabbed in a dark alley?
“I have an idea.”
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Hiding it doesn’t mean that it’ll be hidden.”
All the hunters who won the lottery were recorded. The same was true even for the Flame Emperor. So everyone could see that he won the first place twice in a row.
‘If it’s going to be known anyway, it was better to do it openly.’
When I won the lottery I was immediately a.s.sa.s.sinated. If such a rumor was to spread the one who would be affected more would be the ones who organized the lottery in the first place. (TL: I think the person who got a.s.sa.s.sinated would be the most affected…but those are just my thoughts)
After a while.
“You’ve been waiting for a long time Mr. Kim Gong-ja. My name is Arthur Taylor.”
A man who was dressed more professionally than the previous receptionist appeared and bowed slightly to me. His greeting was very polite. However something that didn’t change was the fact that he also wore cat ears on his head.
“Call me ‘Vault Keeper’ and I would appreciate it if you spoke to me comfortably.” (TL: In Korean there are different levels of politeness depending on your standing and familiarity with the person you’re speaking to, he’s basically saying ‘you don’t need to be too polite’)
“I’m Kim Gong-ja and that’s a pretty interesting name.”
“Haha! I often hear those words. Then let’s go upstairs.”
The Vault Keeper smiled brightly.
No matter how you looked at him, this man was a hunter who was at least in the top 300. But although I was only an F cla.s.s hunter who could only look up to him, the Vault Keeper remained very polite to me.
-That’s how 50,000 gold customers are treated of course.
The ghost made himself known once again.
-Hey Zombie, do you know what I’ve been thinking about? I think you’re too easily flattered because you’ve never been treated well before. A few days ago when I complimented your talent for dying, you looked so moved. I feel so sorry for you. (TL: Oof so savage…)
‘Ah. Shut up, please, just a bit.’
-Men shouldn’t be that easy, man. Be like me. You gotta believe that everything in the world is simply for your benefit.
No matter how I thought about it, Yoo Soo-ha and Bae Hu-ryeong were very similar. They even had similar nicknames. One was the Flame Emperor and the other was the Sword Emperor. Perhaps all the people who were called ‘Emperor’ were psychopaths.
“Ah, Mr. Kim Gong-ja. I’m sorry, is there something wrong..?”
The Vault Keeper asked while guiding me up the stairs. He seemed to be afraid that he’d done something wrong.
I hurriedly replied so that I didn’t look crazy.
“Ah, no. I was thinking about something.”
“Ah, I’m glad.”
The Vault Keeper sighed in relief.
“Your expression wasn’t too good so I thought I’d been rude without my knowledge. Haha. When you said no, I felt so relieved…”
What the. This person…is he an angel?
-Tch. So easy, it’s so easy.
I ignored the nagging psychotic ghost behind me. We entered a VIP reception room.
The gold coins were already piled upon the table of the reception room and it seemed that a clerk had come and prepared it in advance.
The Vault Keeper smiled again.
“This is all the coins that customer Kim Gong-ja has won.”
“…It’s amazing.”
Over 50,000 coins!
The room was bright and it illuminated all the coins at once. Just looking at them made my heart swell. A feeling was overflowing within me, though I couldn’t really describe what it was. (TL: is…is this love?)
“You can take all of these gold coins, or you can purchase a personal vault from us for safekeeping. What would you like to do?”
“Well.”
I tried to gather my thoughts.
‘As expected, the magical power of money was great.’
Frankly speaking, my mouth was watering. But my goal was to stand on top. To be a handsome hunter who was the envy of everyone. Money was just a means to reach that goal. (TL: that’s right gong-ja! ganbatte!)
‘To be a man who controlled money, not a man controlled by money Kim Gong-ja.’
Regaining my calm, I nodded slowly.
“I’ll keep it in a deposit box.”
“Ah. That’s a very wise choice customer!”
The Vault Keeper was delighted.
“I always personally suggest this for the winners. I understand wanting to hold all your wealth in your hands, but I always strongly recommend getting a safety deposit box. After all there are many people who have bad intentions…”
“And.”
I opened my mouth again.
“I would like to purchase the status of an honorary member of the Sangryun Guild.”
“Yes?”
“The cost of purchasing an honorary members.h.i.+p is 10,000 gold coins, isn’t it?”
I approached the table and rested my hand on the stacks of gold coins.
Gold. The color that dazzled the eyes of man. But I already knew a gold that would be even more enchanting, my future. For that future, I’d have to invest these gold coins without restraint.
“I’ll buy it in a one time payment.”
“…”
The Vault Keeper studied my face for a moment.
“Customer Kim Gong-ja…you haven’t joined any other guild right?”
“Yes.”
Guild.
A hunter guild wasn’t simply for socializing. The greatest significance was instead the [Protection] given by the guild.
Even if it was the Hunter Bureau or a vigilante…
‘I might get attacked before I could even say anything.’
I could tell from the way the Flame Emperor and the Sword Saint had killed me.
Lawlessness. Compared to the world outside, this place was much more brutal.
‘I shouldn’t foolishly follow the footsteps of the Flame Emperor.’
The Flame Emperor had preferred to move alone. After winning the lottery twice, he wouldn’t have had any protection. It must’ve been a hard and exciting life because many people were after that money.
‘That’s why he was poisoned and a.s.sa.s.sinated later on.’
It was very pathetic. Why was there a need to compete with the big guilds?
“…Okay.”
The Vault Keeper took out a notebook and began to scribble something.
“Anyone can become an honorary member of our guild for a fixed price. I’ll have an employee immediately come and issue you a second-cla.s.s honorary members.h.i.+p card.”
“Ah. Oh yeah, and.”
I added a bit more.
“I live in a small, cheap apartment right now. I would be really grateful if Sangryun could recommend a place for me to stay. Of course, I’m willing to pay the necessary price.”
“…”
“In addition, you’ll probably announce the first place winner in the newspaper. At that time, even if you reveal my name, please ensure that they also report my status as an honorary member of the Sangryun Guild.”
The Vault Keeper wrote all the things I requested in his notebook with a blank expression on his face.(TL: I bet he’s regretting being so polite now hehe)
“You are quite thorough, customer.”
“Ugh. With the world as it is nowadays? I need to be prepared for anything.”
“…you’re absolutely right.”
Behind the Vault Keeper, Bae Hu-ryeong was holding his stomach and laughing boisterously.
-Hey. This expression of his as he’s being treated like this by a pushover. It’s so sweet. This is why I love making fun of the elite.
‘No. You were the one who said I was easy. What’s the big deal?’
-I did? I’m not sure. I don’t quite remember so maybe it didn’t happen.
Oh my G.o.d. Even if he had to be disgusting, he didn’t need to be this disgusting.
-Anyway, you’re doing a good job on your own.
Bae Hu-ryeong kept laughing.
-I was worried that I’d have to clean your diaper and wipe your a.s.s like a baby. But from seeing this, I think you’ll be fine.
‘If you don’t talk, no one would hate you.’
-Boy, you seem to be in a good mood.
That was right. My mouth was grumbling but my heart was happy.
‘Absolutely. It starts from now on.’
4000 deaths to return 4000 days. This was an ability of the regression skill that the Flame Emperor didn’t take advantage of.
Now, it was my time to enjoy it.