WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 135: 135

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“...The Great Cataclysm.”

Jang Daehan quietly repeated the words.

The Great Cataclysm.

It was the term Torumph had brought up during the previous dinner at the Blue House.

Now, it came through the screen once more.

-Yes. The Great Cataclysm. A predetermined trial.

What could it possibly be?

Why was that man, the leader of the world's strongest nation, so grim as he spoke of it...?

Torumph spoke quietly.

-Daehan. Do you remember five years ago?

“Five years ago... You mean the Chaos Period.”

-That's right. The Chaos Period.

The Chaos Period.

Jang Daehan remembered that time clearly.

It was the second year after the Tower appeared.

The time when the whole world went completely to hell.

America suddenly turned isolationist.

Point support for its allies was cut off overnight, and High-rank Hunters stationed overseas were recalled to their home country all at once.

Europe and Russia went to war. China invaded India, and before long, the flames of war spread to Southeast Asia.

The entire world was burning.

Countries that couldn't secure Points collapsed one after another.

Dozens of nations vanished from the map.

Trade stopped. Economies collapsed. Energy supplies were cut off.

Riots and civil unrest erupted everywhere.

And during that brief period...

Thirty percent of humanity disappeared.

By the time the population fell from eight billion to four billion, half of those missing had not died to the Tower.

Humans had killed humans.

That was when the Republic of Korea truly began its decline as well.

“The Chaos Period... It truly was a terrible time. The international order, which had seemed as though it would last forever, collapsed so helplessly...”

That was the Chaos Period Jang Daehan remembered from five years ago.

A period of global chaos caused by humanity's failure to adapt to the unprecedented disaster known as the Tower.

A time when humanity as a whole bared its fangs at one another.

That was the common understanding of the Chaos Period.

Torumph gave a bitter smile at Daehan's words.

-People remember the Chaos Period that way. They believe humanity failed to adapt to the Tower and brought division upon itself. They think that's why the world ended up like this.

“...Is that not true?”

-It's not.

Torumph answered shortly.

-Back then, humanity... more precisely, several major powers... learned the truth about the Great Cataclysm. And they began preparing for it.

“...”

-That is why the Chaos Period came.

Jang Daehan turned Torumph's explanation over in his mind.

The Chaos Period had come because of the Great Cataclysm?

What was that supposed to mean?

That hellish period, when thirty percent of humanity vanished...

It hadn't happened because of a disaster, but because people had prepared for one?

He couldn't understand it.

Still, one thing was certain.

Torumph was speaking of the Chaos Period with such a grave expression.

There had to be something seriously wrong here.

“This Great Cataclysm, what exactly-”

-Accumulate as many Points as you can, Daehan.

Torumph cut him off.

-Something truly enormous is coming. You will need a vast amount of Points to endure the coming Second Chaos Period. A truly insane amount of Points.

“Of course we must gather Points... No, wait. A ‘Second’ Chaos Period? What do you mean by that?”

-And keep a tight hold on Jiho.

“President Trump.”

-That is all I have to say. I will now end this call.

“No, please explain in more detail-”

Click.

The call ended.

Only the White House logo remained on the screen.

“...”

The Blue House video conference room fell silent in an instant.

Jang Daehan stared at the logo for a long time.

The Great Cataclysm.

The Second Chaos Period.

And an insane amount of Points...

His mind was in chaos.

* * *

The next morning.

I mixed rice into my sister's soybean paste soup and ate it.

“Sluuuurp!”

“Jiho. I made soybean paste soup today, not ramen... Why are you still eating so loudly?”

“It's so good that I can't help losing all dignity.”

“Honestly...”

My sister let out another deep sigh.

For the record, she had seemed pretty busy lately.

The establishment of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group was nearing its final stage, and she had mountains of things to handle.

Starting a massive corporate group that an ordinary person wouldn't even dare dream of, and she was getting it all done so smoothly.

I really picked a great vice chairman!

Just as expected of a Korea University graduate and former trading-company employee!

She wasn't quite as intelligent as me, the Intellect Wizard.

Still, she had excellent business sense!

See? Education really matters!

‘Of course, I only finished high school. Well, I dropped out of college!’

Anyway.

The establishment of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group was progressing smoothly.

My sister pulled out several documents and said, “Jiho, I've narrowed down the candidates for the company headquarters. I picked out a few high-rise buildings for sale in Yongsan, just like you wanted, so take a look. Tell me which one you like, and we'll go see it together later.”

“Hmm! At last, this great one shall have his own company building! I look forward to sipping wine in the executive office atop a skyscraper while looking down on all the commoners below!”

“...Always the top floor.”

My sister turned another page and continued.

“And when you have time, make some more hair-loss medicine samples. The response overseas has been good, so I think we'll need more samples.”

“Hmm! It seems the fame of Extreme Lunatic Hell Pharmaceuticals is spreading far and wide!”

I'd made them so many samples.

Yet they had already run out.

As expected, bald people all over the world had been waiting for my potion!

“I'll make some more later today.”

“Okay. Oh, and you remember the Korea University researchers we commissioned? They say they want to work for our company. What should we do?”

“Hmm! People already wish to join the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group after recognizing its greatness... Huh? Work for us?”

I tilted my head.

Work?

What kind of random nonsense was that?

And what researchers?

When I gave her a bewildered look, my sister stared at me like I was pathetic.

“Did you forget? Those potions you brought back from the Tower. We asked the Korea University laboratory to look into them.”

“Oh, right. We did.”

That was right.

Among the various potions I had picked up in the Tower were the clear potion and the blue potion, whose uses I hadn't figured out.

So I had asked Korea University to investigate them.

There hadn't been any results, so I had completely forgotten.

Thinking about it now, it was pretty annoying.

‘What the hell is wrong with those Korea University guys? It's been over ten days since I commissioned them, and they still don't have results?’

As a proud member of Korea's hurry-hurry people, I had expected them to figure it out quickly and report back to me quickly.

Yet the supposed brains of this country couldn't even identify the use of one potion!

Those Korea University people aren't much after all!

I'd figured out that the clear potion was Aether Extract, an alchemical ingredient.

Even researchers with master's and doctoral degrees from Korea University couldn't compare to the intellectual brilliance of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard!

No, more importantly.

Professor-level researchers from the Korea University laboratory wanted to work for us?

My sister said, “You remember the hair-loss treatment you made. You said you'd eventually make things like Mental Illness Treatment and Weight-Loss Treatment too.”

“I did.”

“The researchers seem very interested in that. They say they want to work at our pharmaceutical company.”

“Oho.”

Apparently, the professor-level researchers at Korea University had become interested in the drugs I made.

Well, even the hair-loss treatment I had made was incredible.

And the things I would make next were all extraordinary too.

Of course they would be interested.

I lifted my chin and said, “Hmm... But do we really need to hire them? Honestly, I can make the medicine alone. Commoners can't use alchemy anyway, so they couldn't make it even if they wanted to.”

“It's still better to hire them. There are lots of things to consider when making medicine, like clinical trials. They're authorities in medicine and biology, so hiring them will help a lot with getting approval.”

“Clinical trials...”

You couldn't sell medicine immediately after making it.

First, it had to go through animal testing.

Then, it had to undergo multiple stages of clinical trials on people.

After that, the data needed to be submitted to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety for approval.

“Every part of that process is a specialized field. We could never do it on our own. But if authorities in medicine and biology from Korea University join us, everything will be much easier.”

“Hmmm...”

I rested my chin on my hand and thought about it.

‘Hmm. I had originally planned to sell it through a loophole, but in the long run, clinical trials really are the right move.’

What I had originally considered was selling it as a dietary supplement.

Modern scientific equipment couldn't detect my potions anyway.

I planned to make it look like a dietary supplement, dilute the potion somewhat, and sell it.

The advertising would only say that it might help with hair loss.

It was a loophole that would let me sell my medicine without complicated clinical trials.

I was taking advantage of the fact that Tower potions couldn't be scientifically analyzed.

If it came down to it, I had even considered asking the bald President to look the other way...

Still, that was only a shortsighted approach.

In the long run, clinical trials were essential.

You had to do things properly if you wanted to conquer the global market!

Besides, eager researchers with master's and doctoral degrees wanted to join us on their own.

Why would I refuse?

“Okay. Let's hire them. Sis, you handle it.”

“Okay. I'll take care of everything. Oh, and don't worry about their backgrounds. The National Intelligence Service already investigated them thoroughly.”

“Good.”

It seemed the National Intelligence Service was still helping us in various ways.

Come to think of it, that had also happened during the Extreme Lunatic Hell Power Plan.

Back then, they had suddenly kidnapped professor-level electrical engineering nerds and delivered them to the living room of our semi-basement home.

Did they not need to go that far this time?

Well, back then, the country had been in crisis.

“I'll have the hair-loss medicine samples ready today. Sis, work hard on establishing the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group. For the day when I sip wine like a celeb on the top floor of our skyscraper headquarters!”

“Honestly... Fine, fine. I'll get going now. Be careful in the Tower.”

With that, my sister headed out.

She was running around everywhere to establish the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group.

Once the setup process was over, she should be able to relax for a while...

My sister had been working hard lately.

I should get her a Kkikki II or something soon.

This time, I had to make it a large car.

* * *

After breakfast came my afternoon schedule.

First, I called Na Hyeji, the financial officer of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group.

“Jiho, I'm here.”

-Iing Iing!

“Iing Iing! Have you been well?”

Iing Iing came in, with Hyeji thrown in as a bonus.

I happily welcomed Iing Iing.

Hyeji pouted, looking a little upset.

“Jiho, aren't you being too much? You only ever think Iing Iing is cute. You don't even see me, do you? And you won't even give me a Reverse-Aging Potion...”

“I think I'm hearing the nonsense of some party sellout. Must be my imagination.”

“You're so mean...!”

That was enough WWE for a simple greeting.

I got to the point.

“So, Hyeji. How much did you make?”

I had entrusted Hyeji with my money so she could grow it.

I had appointed her the CFO of the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group and put her in charge of growing my seed money!

Hyeji puffed out her chest and said, “The return is over 200%. Here, check the account. There should be around two trillion won in it.”

“...!”

She was straight-up duplicating my money!

The return had exceeded 200%.

Six hundred billion won had become two trillion won!

The reason was none other than the exchange rate.

“Thanks to you, Jiho, we made a lot of profit in FX. You know how the exchange rate crashed again after the Hunter General Mobilization Order was lifted? Our short-term profits surged because of that.”

“Two trillion won! My fortune is hot on Elon Mengsk's heels...!”

“I did well, right? So as a kind of incentive, a Reverse-Aging Potion-”

“Wait for me, Elon Mengsk! Baek Jiho, the Extreme Lunatic Hell tycoon, is coming!”

“Hello? Jiho? Are you listening to me?”

My fortune was closing in on Elon Mengsk's!

Before long, I could become the richest person in the world.

An Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter had to be the world's richest man for it to look cool!

But...

‘What percentage of Elon's wealth do I have right now?’

I did a quick calculation.

“My current assets, including the Spatial Bag, are about three trillion won... The exchange rate is currently around two thousand won per dollar... And Elon Mengsk has 1.1 trillion dollars... So at the current exchange rate, that's 2,200 trillion won?”

My entire fortune was three trillion won.

Elon Mengsk's fortune was 2,200 trillion won.

One seven-hundred-and-thirty-third.

Converted into a percentage, that was 0.14 percent.

“Urgh!”

I clenched my teeth.

“I thought I'd made a lot of money... But I still have such a long way to go!”

It had been over a month since I became an Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter.

During that time, I had earned many Points.

I had collected enormous amounts of loot.

I had sold electricity, made plans to sell potions, and actively expanded my business.

I had done my best to earn lots of money.

Yet even so.

I.

Still.

Had not.

Become.

The world's richest man.

Not yet!!!

Not yet!!!

“2,200 trillion won... How am I supposed to catch up? A whole month, nearly an eternity, has passed, and I haven't even caught up by one percent. Could it be... Will I never catch Elon Mengsk at this rate? Will I end up living as a poor man with nothing but a pathetic few trillion won?”

“Jiho? The Reverse-Aging Potion-”

“Heavens!!! Primordial Heavenly Venerable!!!”

-Iing Iing...

Pat, pat.

Iing Iing patted my shoulder to comfort me.

Thanks, Iing Iing.

I'll make lots of money and buy you delicious snacks...!

The wall standing between me and the world's richest man was certainly high.

Still, it was too early to be disappointed.

I was an Extreme Lunatic Hell Wizard Hunter.

The word surrender did not exist in my dictionary.

I would continue expanding my business and surpass Elon Mengsk's wealth someday soon!

Anyway.

Once the financial report was over, I jumped to my feet.

“Now then. Shall I go make some medicine?”

“Huh? Where are you going, Jiho?”

“To make medicine. My sister asked me to make more hair-loss medicine samples.”

“Then we'll have to wait until Jiye gets here. We're going to the Tower late today?”

“Probably.”

Hyeji nodded.

For the record, that was why Hyeji had come earlier than usual today.

She had come to meet my sister and hand over the funds for establishing the Extreme Lunatic Hell Group.

My sister and Hyeji were both busily working behind the scenes to establish the company.

I should give them some kind of incentive later.

For Hyeji, a Reverse-Aging Potion should do, right?

“I'll make some medicine. Let me know when Yejin arrives.”

“Okay.”

I trudged down to the basement.

* * *

The basement of our house was a storage space and workshop of sorts.

It was filled with loot from the Tower and all kinds of random junk.

And in one corner stood my alchemy workshop.

Calling it a workshop was a bit of an exaggeration.

There were several large plastic containers from Daiso, funnels, measuring cups, burners, several pots, and hundreds of glass bottles with lids.

All together, the equipment cost less than a hundred thousand won.

But who cared?

What mattered was not the equipment, but the creator's skill!

“Now then. Shall we begin?”

Just as I rolled up my sleeves and approached the containers...

“...Huh?”

I suddenly spotted something in the corner.

It was a pitch-black jar.

“What is this trash?”

I walked over and took a closer look.

Then I remembered.

“Ah. Isn't this that weird jar I picked up on Floor 40?”

I had wondered why it was mixed in while sorting the loot.

I was sure I had told my sister to throw it out.

Honestly, my sister.

She couldn't even throw out one piece of trash properly.

I would take it out myself when I left later.

Just as I reached for the jar...

-Iing...!

Iing Iing suddenly let out a low cry.

It was definitely different from her usual adorable sound.

I glanced over.

Iing Iing had somehow come down to the basement and was glaring at the jar.

“What's wrong, Iing Iing?”

-Iing!

-Thump!

Iing Iing suddenly kicked the jar as hard as she could.

The jar rolled across the floor.

What?

Why was she kicking the jar?

“Iing Iing, what are you doing? Stop. You'll hurt your foot.”

-Iing!

-Thump! Thump!

Iing Iing kept kicking the jar despite my protests.

Why was someone usually so well-behaved suddenly acting like this?

Just as I stood there in confusion...

-...Stop.

“?”

I heard a voice from somewhere.

It was strangely familiar, sinister, and unpleasant.

The source of that voice was none other than...

-Stop... Stop kicking me, fairy... Spare me...

The jar Iing Iing had been kicking moments ago.

I froze in place for a moment.

Then...

“Oh my! Fuck, you scared the hell out of me!!!”

The jar was talking!!!

Footnotes:

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