전생검신 84권 2화

Screech –

Lee Hwan-woong, who was busy looking at his smartphone, spoke up.

“…Looks like two of them already zoomed off to the other side of the Earth. It’ll take a while for them to arrive, so tell me what happened in the meantime.”

I spent about an hour detailing the situation to Lee Hwan-woong. As he nodded while listening carefully, he said,

“Hmmm… So you’re asking for advice because of the problem of choosing one of the three major forces?”

“Yeah.”

“……”

Lee Hwan-woong thought for a moment before continuing.

“To me, that doesn’t seem to be the important issue right now.”

“Uh?”

What was he talking about?

Surprised by his unexpected remark, I looked at Lee Hwan-woong as he sat down on a nearby bench and gestured for me to join him. Once I sat down, he leaned back comfortably against the bench.

“From what I hear, it seems like the situation around you is changing without context, but that’s not the case. There’s something really important, and plenty of pointless events are happening before you get to that.”

“That seems about right…”

“Similarly, negotiating with the three major forces isn’t what’s crucial for you. It only seems significant because it’s on a larger scale.”

I was baffled and shot back,

“Not important? Nothing’s gonna move forward until I choose one of them…”

“What exactly isn’t moving forward? Go ahead, tell me.”

“Well…”

I hesitated to speak about the Phoenix’s request because there was still a prohibition on disclosure. Yet, for some reason, Lee Hwan-woong smiled knowingly and said,

“I think I know. There’s a hidden mission just for you, right?”

“……”

“No need to say it. Even if it’s a secret, my figuring it out doesn’t count as a breach of that restriction.”

With that, Lee Hwan-woong tapped his smartphone lightly and continued,

“Master Mangnyang said that in order for you to restore reality, you need to kill the Wheel King first. But killing the Wheel King isn’t something you can do alone. You’ll need the Emperor or Fuxi’s help to do it, right?”

“Exactly.”

“And here’s the new possibility. What if you join hands with the Wheel King? By lending his power, you could take down Fuxi and the Emperor, and then betray the Wheel King and kill him too. If you don’t kill the Wheel King, you won’t be able to restore reality and meet your companions in the future.”

“……”

“If you claim to be on the side of justice, then that choice might not look so good, right?”

“That’s true…”

As I hesitated to answer, Lee Hwan-woong smiled broadly.

“But the answer I calculated is that holding hands with the Wheel King is the way to go.”

“……?!”

I exclaimed in disbelief.

“Hey! You just said betrayal! Why’s your tune changed from before?”

Lee Hwan-woong shrugged his shoulders.

“Changed? I never said you shouldn’t betray him. I just said it wouldn’t look good.”

“Hey…”

“Listen up. Let me tell you how things will unfold.”

Lee Hwan-woong leaned closer and whispered.

“Think about what happens if you team up with the Emperor first. Once you eliminate Fuxi and the Wheel King, you’re definitely going to get double-crossed by the Emperor. But how will you handle the Emperor and the three emperors he commands? You lack the power, and you can’t beat the Emperor one-on-one. How will you respond to the Law of Cause and Effect? There are variables, but teaming up with the Emperor is the riskiest choice you can make.”

“Hmm.”

“Now think of it this way, teaming up with Fuxi. Fuxi is the most amicable being towards you, and if you rally the Three Sovereigns around him, you could bring the ancient god forces scattered everywhere onto your side. However, if Fuxi inevitably uses Pangu’s axe to eliminate the heads of the factions, there’s a chance that Pangu, as a wildcard, could show up, leading to total destruction. Plus, the ideals of the ancient gods may not align with yours. That’s the biggest issue.”

I tilted my head at Lee Hwan-woong’s words.

“The ideals of the ancient gods don’t match mine? How’s that a big problem?”

“Looks like you haven’t really thought it through. A world filled with a clear order would be vastly different from how we humans imagine order. Mortals would likely undergo a DNA restructuring, and every form of ‘chaotic’ human freedom might be heavily constrained.”

“What? DNA?”

“Do you really think gods can’t manipulate mortal DNA? With divine power, they can remodel them into obedient beings. Those human-like races, closer to chaos, wouldn’t sit well with the ancient gods.”

“……”

“Moreover, all abilities that previously belonged to chaos will be sealed, and the laws of physics could change dramatically.”

Lee Hwan-woong crossed his arms and continued.

“We’re currently thousands of years in the past. If this state continues, the civilization of China as you knew it will never be established. Civilization is a mixture of order and chaos, so without chaos and evil, there won’t be power struggles between countless dynasties, only simple humans who submit to the ancient gods living their lives in peace. This means you won’t have the chance to meet your future companions from Soeul Village.”

“……!!”

“Fuxi knows this too, which is why he can’t force you too hard. Even if he steps in, he has no confidence to recreate human civilization as you remember it in a state without ‘chaos.’ Even if it’s possible, you’d have to become the absolute ruler of a simulator, controlling humans for thousands of years, starting a civilization that may not be in your destiny. Are you smart enough to pull that off?”

“Ah, no way…”

Simulator? God? Civilization control?

What on earth was that?

I was flustered by these unexpected revelations when Lee Hwan-woong continued,

“On the other hand, teaming up with the Wheel King has much lower risks, and it offers a better chance for you to grow stronger. First off, the Wheel King has promised to give you the Seven Treasures, and he’s already transferred a decent amount of his power to you. In fact, if you take down the Order faction with the Wheel King’s help, you could seize Pangu’s axe from Fuxi!”

“……You’re not suggesting…”

“If you team up with the Wheel King, take out the Emperor and Fuxi, then use Pangu’s axe and the Seven Treasures to take down the Wheel King, you’d achieve a perfect victory. On top of that, you might get the secret to the Hat Warrior’s power, so it’s quite the gain, don’t you think? Plus, you’d fulfill Master Mangnyang’s request while meeting your ‘hidden conditions.’”

“…….”

Listening to Lee Hwan-woong, I briefly zoned out, then realized he was speaking the truth.

‘There’s nothing wrong with this…’

In fact, his logic was so coherent that it felt like he cleared up all the confusion I had until now. He was considering everything without emotion and merely focused on efficiency.

But I bit my lip and said, “Taking on the role of betrayer isn’t an easy thing to swallow. Am I really going to betray the very person who’s been helping me without any justification? If I do that, my other companions will find it hard to trust me.”

“True, justification is quite important. Well, just consider what I’ve said as reference. Anyway, like I mentioned before, negotiating with the three major forces isn’t that important.”

“What? Then what’s the important thing?”

“Power.”

Lee Hwan-woong smiled broadly.

“You need to build power! What’s more important than that? Power is always more significant than negotiating with others.”

“Who doesn’t know that? But now my potential to build divine power has limits…”

“No, I’m not talking about divine power.”

Lee Hwan-woong said firmly.

“I mean [Commercial Power]! You need to develop that ability. That way, you’ll have better chances to lead negotiations favorably and have more options.”

“……!!”

Commercial power?!

I was shocked by this unexpected turn. I said to Lee Hwan-woong,

“That power might be handy, but it seems meaningless in front of gods like the Emperor or Fuxi. It’s just an ability to exchange values, which doesn’t mean much to powerful gods…”

“That’s not how I see it at all.”

Lee Hwan-woong said, and then tossed his smartphone towards me.

As I caught it reflexively, he gave me an enigmatic look and said,

“Baek Woong. As a Reborn Person, how many trades (去來) have you made? I’d say at least hundreds.”

“Well… that’s true.”

“When lacking power, making deals can gain you great benefits. In that sense, the ability to trade is precisely a power tailored for you as a Reborn Person. The issue has been that you haven’t bothered to properly research and utilize that ability.”

“Research?”

“Turn on the smartphone I just gave you.”

Click

As I pressed the button to turn on the smartphone, I was greeted by flashy figures with bars and lines all over the screen. There were also a ton of numbers, and I felt dumbfounded, unsure of their meaning.

“What’s this screen?”

Lee Hwan-woong seemed shocked, saying,

“You learned about modern knowledge from Professor Sima Ling, didn’t you? You don’t know this?”

“……No idea.”

“Hmm… That’s called stock (株式). Those bars represent stock charts; you’ve heard of that, right?”

“Ah!”

Come to think of it, I might have heard about stocks before. I must have brushed it off because I was too busy with other things. While I was still intrigued by the notion of stocks, Lee Hwan-woong elaborated,

“Stocks don’t hold much significance for someone like you, a Reborn Person. Money has little meaning either, so what’s the point of stocks? But from now on, you should understand the concept of stocks.”

“Why?”

“Hehe… Don’t you get it?”

Lee Hwan-woong chuckled.

“The ‘commerce’ in your [Commercial Power] encompasses the entire concept of trade. In other words, it’s not just about hunting monsters to earn money like in an online game but also about incorporating various trade systems to evolve your abilities!”

“……?”

“Even secondary resources can turn into advantages depending on how you utilize them.”

What on earth was this guy talking about?

I was completely lost, so I could only listen blankly to Lee Hwan-woong’s words.

“Honestly, I wasn’t that interested in hearing about the trials you faced among the gods. But if you can properly develop that ability….”

Lee Hwan-woong clenched his fists.

“You’ll obtain an ability comparable to Emperor Gong Sun Xuanwen’s Law of Cause and Effect calculation!”

“……!!”

Is it really that powerful?!

I couldn’t help but feel my heart race at Lee Hwan-woong’s words. I had presumed that the Commercial Power was a far lesser force compared to the creative techniques I received from Brahma, but now I was completely shocked.

After a moment, Lee Hwan-woong said,

“Before all that, just take me back to reality with you.”

“Uh? I still need to meet Lee Kwang and Shim Su-ryeok.”

“I just need to confirm one thing; it won’t take long. Besides, those guys are on the opposite side of the Earth, so it’ll take some time for them to show up anyway. Let’s go.”

“Okay… got it.”

Swoosh

I took Lee Hwan-woong back to the reality. The moment we arrived, he said:

“Let’s go see the girl.”

Lee Hwan-woong and I went to find the girl, and when she saw us in Takrok Village, she warmly welcomed us.

“Have you come? I see a new face here!”

“This is Lee Hwan-woong.”

Lee Hwan-woong casually accepted the girl’s greeting and then turned to me.

“Baek Woong. Call forth Daegwi with your Commercial Power.”

“Come forth, Daegwi!!”

Swoosh

Moments later, Daegwi, the spirit of the turtle associated with Commercial Power, appeared before us.

[Did you call for me?]

“Baek Woong. Give me the right to ask Daegwi questions.”

“Understood. Daegwi, from now on, answer Lee Hwan-woong’s questions truthfully.”

[Understood.]

After confirming Daegwi’s appearance, Lee Hwan-woong asked,

“Daegwi, how many secondary resources, specifically those coins, do I need to collect to promote to Qianshen (錢神)?”

[You need to hold a total of 99999999999 coins. Once you do that, you’ll offer them to the Void Record. In return, you will receive one Qianshen Wealth (錢神之財), and when you gather ten of those, you will reach Qianshen.]

“……Wh-what? That’s tougher than I thought.”

With a bewildered mumble, Lee Hwan-woong turned to me and said,

“Baek Woong. Now I understand why Chi You gave up on upgrading his power. Because it’s tied to the Void Record, to gain a level 1 Merchant’s power, you essentially need to hunt more than half of the spiritual beings existing in the universe to collect the requisite wealth.”

“Ar-are you kidding me?”

I too was left dumbfounded. Now that it was a time of warring gods, it was still even harder to gather the coins needed for just one Qianshen Wealth, despite it being relatively easier than before. What makes that condition so ridiculously tough?

Lee Hwan-woong just smiled and said, “But… we have the money duplication cheat.”

“Huh?”

“Girl.”

Lee Hwan-woong addressed the girl.

“Please set Baek Woong’s secondary resources, the coins, to [Infinite].”