The dotcom bubble seemed to create IP addresses for everything that existed on Earth, even a grain of sand. Therefore, the dotcom crash was disastrous to all the relevant economies, and it had been especially harsh for Korea. Although Korea had escaped from the IMF crisis one year earlier, it was still burdened with severe problems. People were ruined overnight. Some had poured their retirement money into stocks and went bankrupt. In addition, there was a massive number of unemployed people, and so many businesses shut down. Couples divorced, and only temporary positions were available. The discrepancy between the rich and poor was widening at a frightening speed. During that time, I was still in the dungeon.

Swoosh-

I swung the scimitar as soon as I kicked the door open, and its energy swept through the room. The flesh of thirty-two monsters fell on the ground, and the blue light continued to burn them. Mana stones were everywhere, and they were the only sign that monsters existed here. I had cleared the area in an instant.

[Forerunner has been activated.]

[Your Agility has been upgraded. Change: C→ B]

There were two doors to the next corridor, and I chose randomly to sweep the area and return to Woo Yeon-Hee. Since she had upgraded her Sense to C-class, she no longer got surprised when I suddenly appeared.

“Let’s slow down.”

She made this request because she was busy creating a map as I didn’t need her support in fighting monsters anymore.

“Okay, I’m done,” she said while checking the map. A labyrinthine dungeon was troublesome as it forced us to waste time. When I arrived at the boss room, I could still use Odin’s Wrath for ten more minutes. Dealing with the boss monster was now easy, thanks to my upgraded stats. I could kill it in one shot by brandishing Youxia’s Scimitar with Odin’s Wrath, Shiva’s Knife, Durga’s Blade or Kali’s Sword.

The boss monster pointed his finger at me, and a crowd of monsters rushed madly at me. Then, blue light flashed once more, and the energy of the sword flew towards the boss after slicing the monsters’ heads.

Gush-

Blood spurted out like a waterfall from the boss monster’s severed neck. I ended it with Youxia's Scimitar. When I cleared the dungeon, Woo Yeon-Hee and I were in the exact same condition as we were when we entered. We didn’t even sweat and had received no damage, so our Damage Absorption Points(DAPs) remained the same. Two gold boxes opened one after another.

[You have opened a gold box.]

[Your Sense has increased by 5, but it got canceled.]

“Good job,” Woo Yeon-Hee said while taking out bottled water from the small bag around her waist. That was the only water we had brought in, and we deliberately didn’t even pack any canned food.

[You have opened a gold box.]

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity has increased by 1, but it got canceled.]

The rewards from the gold boxes were nullified again because they were only effective for stats, skills and traits that were at D-class and below. Most of my stats were in C-class, and the only D-class things I had were Night Eyes, Interdiction, and Explorer. These were the results of monopolizing the dungeons.

***

We returned with the agents watching us. The dungeon was on a small hill in the suburbs of London.

[You have destroyed the dungeon.]

[You have gained 1 Accomplishment Reward point.]

[Accomplished Reward points: 213]

“Thank you. You did a great job.”

This time, Woo Yeon-Hee also thanked the agents, but they only looked at her mutely. The newly replaced ones were trained to do so from the beginning, and those who had been with us knew the truth hidden behind her bright smile. Our stays in dungeons had become shorter, going from a day to half a day, half a day to three hours, three hours to within one hour. For the past sixteen months, the agents must have realized something as we came back from the supernatural spaces more quickly and looked less bloody.

I sent the agents back to their rooms after we arrived in The City of London, and it was one o’clock in the afternoon.

“It’s a nice place,” Woo Yeon-Hee said while looking at a diamond chandelier as I led us to a room. She sensed that it was not a regular restaurant, and looked at me, wondering how much this place would cost. This restaurant required significant membership fees and high social status.

The manager guided us to a private room. There were many doors in the narrow hallway like my palace of memories, and there were corporate executives from all over the world here. These people controlled the markets, ranging from precious metals, oils, dollars, yen, interest rates, and stock prices. I could hear their conversation by expanding my Sense a little bit. I had not brought Woo Yeon-Hee here to discuss such things. Half of my intention was to give her a taste of this world, and the other half was to confirm something in-person since I was in London.

“I think these people are from the Rothschild Bank.”

Woo Yeon-Hee glanced at the wall and whispered quietly even though they wouldn’t be able to hear her. She was right. This restaurant was managed by the Rothschild family, and it was like a microcosm of the Bilderberg Meeting[1]. The next room held board members from their bank and the London Bank. While I had not specifically targeted them, we had arrived on a good day.

“Do you know what the Rothschilds do?” I asked.

“Of course, it’s common sense~” she replied.

Her eyes glistened at the sound coming behind the wall. Despite the sound insulation system and the building’s prevention against wiretapping, the walls were no match for our upgraded Senses. She was deeply immersed in the secretive meeting. Woo Yeon-Hee would find their world to be surreal, similar to the first time she encountered dungeons and monsters. It was also my first time hearing a talk like this. The two groups had reached an agreement.

“Yes, I think so. Let’s agree to a nine percent increase from the current price. We’ll set up a meeting with AP Morgan and Silverman,” one said.

Another said, “We’ll reschedule the meeting with Berlin Bank and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Well, I don’t know if they will agree with this…”

“They must be happy with it no matter what.”

I made eye contact with Woo Yeon-Hee, and she was so surprised that her eyes widened. She looked incredulous at the fact that the price of gold in the world  was determined only by a few people.

“What have I just heard?” she questioned.

I replied casually, “It seems that the gold cartels are going to raise the gold price. Invest in gold when you return to Seoul. You must have lots of money, but you can leave it to Jonathan Investments if you want.”

She gulped as I continued to speak.

“Do you get it now? The reality is more grotesque than a dungeon. Don’t think that we’re the only ones living in a different world.”

She should have become bored of our current routine, and I had no further plans to enter any more F-class dungeons.

“They’re old-fashioned and are not helpful in preparing the Day of Advent. I’ll take care of them, so do your best in things you can do and don’t worry about my job,” I added.

I had not even told my plans to Jonathan yet. I didn’t care if she could understand me or not, but I hoped she could at least feel my emotions.

“...”

She began to calm down and didn’t ask anything. She replied with a serious look, “If you’re saying that…that means our next target is a higher-class dungeon.”

***

Calculating the points I needed to upgrade all my categories was simple.

! 16 categories (4 stats, 8 traits, 4 skills.).! The average number of points I get from each box is 5.5.

! 19 platinum boxes are required for each category.

! A total of 304 platinum boxes are needed for 16 categories.

Therefore, I had to estimate the probability of getting points instead of items, skills, or insignias.

! I assumed that there was a seventy percent probability of obtaining points.

! The number of platinum boxes needed had increased to 435.

! 13,500 points per platinum box.

! 435 boxes x 13,500 points = 5,872,500 points

! The average number of points I earn from one F-class dungeon is 5,000 points.

! 5,872,500 points ÷ 5000 points = 1,174.5 dungeons

! I can get 435 platinum boxes-worth points from 1,175 dungeons.

Although it only took less than an hour for us to conquer a dungeon, it took two days in total when we added in the travel and sleep time.

! 1,175 dungeons x 2 days = 2,350 days (approximately 6 years and 5 months)

Therefore, I had to focus on conquering F-class dungeons for over six years to earn the points I needed. It would take longer if I received points for my upgraded B-class categories as those would be nullified. Hence, I needed to open diamond boxes rather than platinum boxes to shorten the span. Since diamond boxes offered more points than insignias and items, I could hope for a half-year decrease in my estimates.

However, that already drove me crazy as I couldn’t spend all of my time in dungeons. In addition, an enormous event would happen on September 11 this year that would change the entire world. The date might change, but the event would occur no matter what. Israel had bombed Lebanon in 1982, the Kosovo War had happened, and the Texas governor had been elected as the forty-third U.S. president. The huge trend had remained unchanged. Today was August 11, so the preparations for terrorism would be in progress somewhere in the world.

When I was about to leave the restaurant, my phone rang along with others at the same time from all around me. It happened all at once as if the timing had been set on every phone. I heard surprised voices everywhere.

“A plane crashed into the World Trade Center.”

“The World Trade Center is…”

My phone in my pocket also rang furiously.

<Sun, are you watching the news?>

1. annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America ☜