NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12 - This is Cheating!
This is Cheating!
Everyone was bewildered by the sudden influx of money. Most reactions were along these lines:
“What the… 5,000 won? What am I supposed to do with this?”
“The banks are all down, so can we even use it? I only have 300 won.”
Players hiding in the sauna just frowned or tilted their heads as they saw the messages.
“Huh? 50,000 won? Is this for cigarettes?”
“Oh! I got 150,000 won!”
The Weplug members had it better. But since they were originally good employees at a big company, even sums around 100,000 won didn’t seem like a big deal.
“Hmm… I got 200,000 won.”
“Wow, Haewon got a lot. I got 50,000 won. Just like Team Leader Huh.”
Similar reactions, even without Choi Seo-yeon and Heo won-moo. But there was one person with an exceptionally distinct expression.
‘Crazy…!’
It was Kim Iseo. The highest salary among Weplug members didn’t make him surprised by this small amount.
[Current Balance: 1,200,000 won]
An amount ten times that of others. It wasn’t just because of the number of constellations. Kim Iseo had received considerable support from constellations due to his consistent satisfaction with their expectations.
“…Team Leader?”
As Kim Iseo remained stunned, Choi Seo-yeon approached and waved her hand.
“How much did you get?”
“Ah… Oh? Ah… well. I…”
Kim Iseo didn’t want to lie about the amount of money to the Weplug members.
However, there were too many eyes watching them in the sauna.
So he whispered into Choi Seo-yeon’s ear.
‘1,200,000 won. Let’s get out first.’
Choi Seo-yeon’s eyes widened in surprise. She forced her lips together and nodded.
“Are we going somewhere?”
As they suddenly started preparing to leave, Jannelet hurriedly stuffed the remaining eggs into her mouth. It seemed she quite liked the baked eggs.
“Yes, yes, Lady. We should leave. Should I get more eggs for you?”
“That girl, for God’s sake…”
Jannelet smiled and patted Choi Seo-yeon’s forehead in thanks.
* * *
They quietly left the sauna and began to follow Jannelet’s lead. Meanwhile, Heo won-moo spoke up loudly.
“1, 1, 1,200,000 won!?”
Heo won-moo looked at Kim Iseo with eyes full of envy.
“Yeah. Keep it down.”
“But… is this money actually usable? Isn’t 1,000,000 won a day insane?”
“They say it’s deposited, but we don’t even know where…”
Kim Iseo checked various parts of the system interface while walking. It wasn’t in the inventory, nor was there a separate window for it.
It wasn’t a bank account either. Without the internet, it couldn’t be verified, but banks had long since lost their function.
“We haven’t accumulated any gold. We’ve killed so many monsters… isn’t it because of that?”
Choi Seo-yeon’s opinion. Upon hearing that, something clicked in Kim Iseo’s mind.
“Can we buy gold with cash?”
“Oh, yes. The executive said to reflect the mobile game revenue model as much as possible…”
“Here it is.”
Kim Iseo opened the cash recharge window from a corner of the interface.
It displayed the current balance. It should have been 0 won, but there was money in it.
[Current Balance: 1,200,000 won]
Originally it was in the unit of ‘jam,’ but it had changed to honest cash units. Apart from that, the meaning of the number wasn’t much different.
“It came as cash.”
“Cash?”
“…Wow. It’s real?”
Kim Iseo’s mental calculator started running rapidly.
Cash, gold 0, settlement…
The indicators these elements pointed to were clear. The settlement amount varied according to the number of constellations watching.
‘Viewer count must be important. Since gold acquisition isn’t possible.’
He couldn’t get gold from monsters, so he had to buy it with real money. The exchange rate, like in many mobile games, wasn’t that great.
“This is such a scam… it’s our company’s trademark.”
The so-called scam exchange rate. Kim Iseo might be okay with depositing 1,000,000 won in a day, but Heo Won-moo and Ji Ho-tae would struggle with that.
Cash might be used for boxes, but you need gold for various things like supplies and potions.
“Won-moo. Ho-tae. Did you get any constellations?”
It was urgent to secure Ji Ho-tae and Heo won-moo’s viewer numbers. For that, they needed to perform well, but it was difficult without the help of constellations.
“Ah… well…”
Heo won-moo and Ji Ho-tae looked at each other and hesitated.
*‘Hmm? What’s with that reaction?’*
Since they had received the item “Blessing of the Star,” they could contract with any constellation just by using it. So the expression of trouble over not having constellations shouldn’t be the case.
“Don’t tell me… both of you received yellow?”
“Hahaha! Hey, I-seo, are you learning mind-reading or something? Ridiculous…”
Heo won-moo, when in an awkward situation, often laughs loudly with ridiculous gestures. He tried to ease the situation with a joke.
Although he knew it never worked with Kim Iseo.
“Ha…”
Kim Iseo covered his head and suppressed his anger. He wanted to smack Heo won-moo’s mouth immediately but held back.
“The Blessing of the Star… use it when blue constellations show interest.”
“But! If we don’t do this, the constellations won’t even notice us… ahhh!”
Thud.
Kim Iseo couldn’t hold back and struck him this time.
* * *
The team needed a blue constellation. It wasn’t certain that Kim Iseo would go with a black constellation. Securing one would make him feel more at ease.
Moreover, having two tankers on one team seemed a bit problematic.
“So what? Hahaha, having two solid tankers on the team!”
Heo won-moo continued to laugh with an exaggerated voice, seemingly not feeling awkward at all.
“This guy… not only is he not a tanker, but he also draws aggro like crazy.”
“Hey, come on, it was just for fun, don’t get all worked up… hmm?”
Kim Iseo wasn’t referring to that type of aggro. He meant that the monsters were actually drawn to them.
Growl…
A pack of large wolves drooled and stared at Weplug. All thanks to Heo won-moo laughing loudly.
“Kyaa… I’m bringing all the experience points… ugh!”
Heo won-moo couldn’t joke anymore. Kim Iseo had pushed him from behind.
He suddenly found himself at the forefront.
“Ugh… Aaaah!”
Ji Ho-tae was in the same situation.
“That’s your position. Until you die.”
The two new tankers were learning the ropes of their role.
“Until we die?”
“Don’t worry. Haewon will heal us since he’s from the green constellation.”
“Wait, why are we so far apart? Hey, where are you going!”
*Roar!*
The wolves, indifferent to the clumsy new tankers, charged at them.
* * *
The ferocious pack of wolves was dealt with in about thirty minutes. Ji Ho-tae and Heo Won-mu, seasoned players, managed to survive.
Of course, they sustained numerous injuries in the process.
“Pant… pant… that damn Kim-seo…”
“I thought I was going to die!”
The glare in the eyes of the two tankers and the satisfied look on Kim Iseo’s face met.
“You’re alive, so it’s all good. What’s the status of your physical skills?”
“Pant… Robust Body level… 5.”
“Ah, so the yellow constellation’s physical grade increase?”
“Yeah… and it went up by 2 levels from getting hit earlier.”
An increase in grade was a significant leap compared to a level increase. Moving from ‘Robust Body’ to ‘Resilient Body’ was a major upgrade, and it was a unique passive skill of the yellow constellation, which had quite a good effect.
“And the skills?”
“Both Ho-tae and I got ‘Area Taunt.’ Rare grade. It seems the yellow constellation always gives this first.”
The skills were the same for both. Kim Iseo wasn’t particularly upset about this. Having two or more players with taunt skills was beneficial.
“That’s good. We can take turns drawing aggro. We did that earlier, didn’t we?”
“Yeah. That’s why we’re still alive, otherwise, we’d be dead.”
“Then…”
Kim Iseo hesitated for a moment.
“What about the interested constellations?”
Heo Won-mu couldn’t immediately answer. The question was unexpected. He thought Kim Iseo would ask about swordsmanship levels, not interested constellations.
He didn’t know the relationship between the settlement amount and the number of constellations. The only messages they received were about the money coming in.
“Interested… constellations? Why are you asking about that?”
“Just answer if you can.”
“Well… I have 67 now. It was around 30 in the morning. It’s increased a bit.”
“I have 70. Mine has also increased since this morning!”
“Hmm… good to hear.”
“Good? What’s the function of this? Have you figured it out?”
Kim Iseo glanced at the chat window.
‘No notable reactions.’
Based on past reactions, the constellations didn’t seem to know Kim Iseo was a game planner.
‘Maybe it’s being muted or mosaic-filtered?’
The chat window showed conversations as if Kim Iseo hadn’t said anything. Some were complaining about the frequent disconnections.
‘So it’s likely being muted.’
Kim Iseo was reassured by this realization but still knew to be cautious. Overuse of mosaics might lead to a decrease in viewers.
He began explaining carefully to his team.
“This is just my guess… listen carefully.”
Kim Iseo emphasized that it was only his speculation and explained the basis for the settlement amount.
* * *
“Eh…? Are you saying it’s like an internet broadcast with viewer counts?”
“Wow… that’s a bit scary.”
The game developers understood the concept quickly. Even though Kim Iseo hadn’t mentioned viewers or broadcasts, they grasped the idea.
“Yeah. If it weren’t that, there wouldn’t be a basis for the settlement amount. It’s based on settlement and the number of interested constellations…”
Kim Iseo lowered his voice significantly at this point.
‘We didn’t create this setting.’
His team members finally caught on to why he was lowering his voice.
“Ahem… Got it. So, we need to perform well, right?”
“Yeah. My constellation count exploded during the goblin event.”
“How many now?”
“1,132.”
“Wow…”
“Whoa…”
The team was impressed by the number of constellations Kim Iseo had.
“What are you all discussing? Planning something?”
Jannelet seemed displeased that everyone was chatting without her. She pouted and interrupted.
“Ahaha… Goddess Jannelet. We’re just having a strategy meeting.”
Seoyeon Choi always played the role of calming Jannelet. It seemed Seoyeon’s favorability was quite high.
“Really? If it’s settled, come over here.”
Jannelet called the members over and pointed somewhere.
“Do you see that…?”
In the distance, a faint light was rising, barely visible unless you focused closely, hidden by sunlight.
“That’s the portal to the temple.”
It was a sign that the temple quest was about to begin in earnest.
“It’s not far now.”
Jannelet started moving towards the portal.
“Wait. There’s somewhere we need to stop by first.”
Kim Iseo blocked her path.
“We need to hurry. What’s the matter?”
Kim Iseo checked the quest timer.
‘Still 12 hours left… No need to rush.’
Jannelet was likely just an NPC saying what was needed.
“We’ll be fighting a lot soon. We need to prepare thoroughly. Plus, we’ve got money now.”
With that, Kim Iseo pointed to something.
“Oh… What’s that…!”
The first to react was Heo Won-mu.
“It’s a lottery shop?!”
It was the only random box vendor in Mana Sword, a shop for armor lottery boxes. It was standing among the ruins like a mushroom.
Kim Iseo turned on the ‘Creator’s Eye’ to get a better look.
* * *
Inside the lottery shop, the members expressed their amazement.
“Wow… it’s really well-made.”
“Doesn’t Donson put the most effort into these places? Hahaha.”
“Wow… seeing it like this makes it feel like a real game…”
“Hmmm… what a curious place.”
The shop’s interior was dazzling with vivid color lights, just like in the game.
“Let’s aim for at least the ultra-rare. No need to push ourselves.”
Kim Iseo said this with apparent disinterest but kept his eyes on the chat window.
‘Ultra-rare? I’m going for legendary.’
The chat room with 1,200 constellations was bustling with activity. They knew everything, even if they weren’t premium users. They could at least check the status windows of others.
[Colorless / 489: Oh!! Gonna open boxes lol! Gather around!!]
[Colorless / 90192: Better than Jannelet’s boxes haha!]
[Colorless / 291: Opening boxes with 5 million won from the prologue lol. The content of the century!]
‘Let’s see… Do they even know what’s inside?’
Kim Iseo steadied his racing heart and approached the shop owner, who was standing behind a long bar like a bartender.
“I’m here to buy some boxes.”
“What kind of boxes are you looking for? Ah, first time here?”
Ralph, with a thick beard, began explaining.
“Basic boxes are 10,000 won per bundle. We have about 20 bundles today. Each bundle has 10 boxes, and we throw in one extra. If you have some money, I’d recommend the premium grade boxes. If you buy 10, you’re guaranteed to get at least one hero-grade armor…”
Kim Iseo paid no attention to the detailed explanation. His eyes were fixed on the strange sight unfolding before him.
[Normal 7, Rare 3]
[Hero 1, Rare 3, Normal 6]
Text overlapped on top of the box bundles. Kim Iseo’s eyes widened in amazement.
‘Wow… this is insane… isn’t this cheating?’
Among them, one bundle made his eyes even wider.
[Legendary 1, Normal 9]
* * *
[Beginner Tip: In Mana Sword Online, all armor must be obtained through boxes. Armor boxes can only be traded with cash. The developers need to make a living too.]