WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Hydrogen B.

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 82: 082

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Flash!

The bright halo faded.

I slowly looked around.

What I saw was a small city.

As expected, it was on fire.

Buildings of all sizes, two or three stories tall, were engulfed in flames.

And I was the Extreme Lunatic Hell Firefighting Helicopter.

I simply couldn't stand the sight of fire...!

I immediately drew upon the Blue Motes.

"Extreme Lunatic Hell firefighting!"

I activated air manipulation magic.

I drove the air out of the burning city, creating a weak vacuum.

Then...

Fwoooosh...

The flames died down in an instant.

The blazing fire disappeared, leaving only thick clouds of acrid smoke.

I nodded.

"Putting out fires is way too easy. I won't need fire insurance for the new house."

"Jiho! Jiho!"

While I surveyed the now-extinguished city, Hyeji called out to me urgently.

I turned to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Is that really true? Korea is going to sign a currency swap agreement with the United States?!"

"You've been asking about that this whole time... Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Of course it is!"

Hyeji was asking about the Korea-U.S. currency swap.

I'd briefly told her what Han Seonga had said before we entered the Tower, and she'd been like this ever since.

Biting her nails, she said, "Ah...! Is that why FX was acting that way all morning? There really was solid information!"

"What's FX?"

"Foreign exchange trading. Anyway, Jiho, that information is reliable, right? The currency swap is really happening, right?!"

"It's probably true. The National Intelligence Service gave me the information."

"As soon as we're done climbing, I need to open a short position. I've been making a nice profit going long on USD/KRW for a while now, but a currency swap...! I almost got my money deleted."

"Um... Hyeji. If I'm understanding this right..."

I scratched the back of my head.

The FX foreign exchange trading she mentioned...

It seemed to mean making money off exchange rates.

And USD/KRW referred to the exchange rate between dollars and won.

She'd been making money through foreign exchange trading.

Korea's exchange rate had steadily climbed until it finally reached 2,600.

That meant the won's value had kept falling.

And she'd profited from that...

Which meant...

"Hyeji. Don't tell me... you were betting on our country's currency losing value to make money?"

At my question, Hyeji calmly nodded.

"Yes. It was obvious the won would keep falling, so I took a long position on USD/KRW. Simply put, I bet that the dollar would rise and the won would fall. I've made a fairly decent profit so far."

"...You made money betting on the won falling! You traitor!"

As expected, financial people had neither blood nor tears when money was involved.

How dare she bet on the won falling?

She was practically praying for the country to collapse!

Hyeji furrowed her brow.

"What are you talking about? That's completely different. I predicted the future and made a profit. It has nothing to do with patriotism."

"Can't you see the bloody tears of Korean citizens suffering under these horrible exchange rates! And you made money from that?! You traitor! Monster of capitalism! Evil Jew!!!"

"Iing iing iing!!!"

"What's with the evil Jew part...?"

Iing Iing and I fiercely condemned Hyeji.

Wishing for Korea's won to rise wasn't even enough, and she was making money off it crashing!

This was why people who played with money were like this!

"This is the only thing I'm good at, so I have to earn money somehow."

"You ride my bus every day and get hundreds of millions of won. Isn't that enough? Why do you need a side job playing with money?"

"Still, climbing the Tower doesn't give me any sense of accomplishment. I just ride Jiho's bus every time. Making money through finance, on the other hand, is completely based on my own ability, so it feels rewarding."

Well, there was nothing she could do about wanting that sense of accomplishment.

I relieved stress by slaughtering enemies in the Tower, improved my magic, and felt fulfilled.

But Hyeji, who only rode my free bus, must have found it boring.

She couldn't help having little interest in climbing.

Still, playing with money...

I suddenly got curious and asked, "By the way, if you have the currency swap information I told you, how much can you make?"

Judging by Hyeji's reaction, it seemed like valuable information.

I didn't really understand just how valuable it was.

I figured I could get a sense of it if I heard the expected profit.

Hyeji answered quietly.

"A currency swap. And a standing currency swap at that... If the exchange rate falls by 10%, you could make a 100% return by positioning yourself well and using ten times leverage."

"A 100% return means the principal doubles? Really?"

"Yes. Ah! It's such a shame. As an individual, I can only use ten times leverage. If I were at a company, I could use fifty times leverage and make five times as much...!"

Hyeji muttered something under her breath.

But I was too stunned to care.

A 100% profit?

Wouldn't that mean if I put in the 200 billion won I had, it'd come back as 400 billion won?

'Wow, that's crazy. Is this why people buy stocks?'

Strictly speaking, foreign exchange trading wasn't the same as stocks...

But wasn't it ultimately the same in that it was gambling with money to make money?

Anyway, it was incredible.

Money could be copied!

On impulse, I said, "Hyeji. I have 200 billion won, and I think I'll get several hundred billion more soon after selling artifacts. Want to manage it for me?"

"...What? All of a sudden?"

"I don't know how to invest. Can't you manage it for me? If there's a profit, I'll give you a cut."

I'd originally only planned to get investment advice from Hyeji.

But thinking about it, why not just ask her to manage my money for me?

There was no reason for me to study investing when I had a former proprietary trader right beside me.

I hated things that gave me headaches.

The more I thought about it, the better the idea seemed.

I could focus entirely on climbing without thinking about complicated investments.

And Hyeji could freely make the investments she loved with much larger amounts of money.

"You want me to manage your money? Hundreds of billions of won worth of it?"

"Yes."

"Well... investing doesn't guarantee profit. I tend to invest aggressively, so there's a considerable risk of losses too. What if you lose money?"

"Then it'll be a shame. Honestly, money doesn't feel that urgent to me these days. It just looks like numbers in an account. Even if I lose it, I'll make billions or tens of billions again soon enough."

"..."

"So don't feel pressured. Give it a try."

At my offer, Hyeji rolled her eyes before quietly speaking.

"Management fee. Give me just 2% of the profit. Overseas investment funds usually charge around that much."

"Deal."

Na Hyeji had been drafted as my financial manager.

From now on, Hyeji would grow my money for me.

If she lost my money, I should tell Iing Iing to grab her hair and yank it out.

Anyway.

"Then let's talk about the details later..."

I glanced around.

Then I saw them.

"Grrrk. Grrrk...!"

"Kieeeeee!"

"Kraaaah!"

Ghouls.

While Hyeji and I had been talking, they'd found us and started swarming our location.

Of course, dealing with them was simple.

Kaboom, boom, boom!

Bam bam bam bam!

Screeeech!

I fired Air Bullets and unleashed a barrage of Fireballs.

Then I sliced through them with Wind Cutter and Protective Aura.

Blood and chunks of entrails scattered everywhere, while rotten pieces of flesh flew in all directions.

After thoroughly grinding up the Ghouls...

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 32)]

[You have completed Tower Floor 32.]

[You have defeated 4,041 Ghouls (100).]

[Points are being calculated.]

[Tower Floor 33 has been unlocked.]

[Returning.]

I cleared Floor 32.

I killed four thousand Ghouls and got several Medium Magic Stones.

"Jiho! I found potions! There are even two Reverse-Aging Potions! You'll give me one of them, right...?"

"No. I'm giving them to my sister."

"Please, no...!"

As an aside, we also found five potions.

Two Reverse-Aging Potions, one health potion, one clear potion, and one blue potion.

As expected, putting out fires gave us lots of potions.

It was a fairly ordinary raid.

* * *

After returning to reality, I immediately opened my status window.

[Baek Jiho (Republic of Korea: Floor 33)]

[404,100 Points]

What I saw was the number four hundred thousand.

I muttered quietly.

"Four hundred thousand Points... It's still way too little."

"What's too little?"

"Points. At this slow rate, when will I ever save all the citizens of King Korea?"

"...It's four hundred thousand Points. You think that's too little? If you earn four hundred thousand Points a day for thirty days, that's twelve million Points. That's enough Points to save 23% of the country's population. And you're earning it alone. That's too little?"

"As an Extreme Lunatic Hell Patriotic Chungmugong Hunter, I have to save all 51 million citizens! I can't be satisfied with only 23%!"

I was earning four hundred thousand Points a day.

Four hundred thousand Points a day meant twelve million in a month.

That was enough to save 23% of Korea's 51 million citizens!

But I wasn't about to be satisfied with that.

I had to keep climbing the Tower until I became a Hunter who earned more than 51 million Points every month.

I had to save every citizen of King Korea.

From destruction!

"I don't know whether I should say your ambitions are incredible or that it's absurd because it really seems possible... Either way, you're amazing."

"It's me."

Anyway, today's climb had ended safely.

Now it was time for my post-climbing routine.

Click!

I took a photo and quickly wrote a post.

[Post Title: Newbie Hunter... Went to Floor 32 today...]

[Author: Blue Dot]

(A picture of five potions)

Went to Floor 32.

Just like I heard, the small city was on fire.

And there were lots of Ghouls...

So I killed them all... sniffle.

Like the Extreme Lunatic Hell Firefighting Helicopter I am, I put out the fire.

Then I was having a wholesome conversation about investing.

But suddenly the Ghouls swarmed us?

They were getting in the way, so I had no choice but to kill them...

Anyway, the Ghoul moms are the problem.

I checked HunterNet, and apparently Black Mages who are Ghoul moms appear starting from Floor 35.

I hope I meet a Ghoul mom Black Mage soon so I can teach them a lesson.

Why do they keep feeding stray Ghouls?

They aren't controlling the population, so the numbers just keep increasing!!!

Anyway, today's earnings!

I wiped out 4,041 Ghouls and earned 404,100 Points!

17 Medium Magic Stones!

Total... 4.551 billion won!

A so-so income.

Oh, I also got five potions.

I'll give the two Reverse-Aging Potions to my sister.

I'll keep bringing home Reverse-Aging Potions until my sister turns into a complete baby...

Does that make me a good little brother or what?

As expected, only this Extreme Lunatic Hell little brother takes care of my sister's health.

Oh, right.

I might meet President Torumph of the United States soon.

Does anyone have tips for dealing with him?

I've never met someone like a president before, so I don't know what to talk about.

What if he asks me about global politics or international oil prices or something?

It'd be fucking embarrassing if I just stammered because I didn't know.

└First.

└What, Blue Dot is meeting Torumph?

└Just thinking about those two insane attention seekers meeting makes me dizzy lol.

└Why are you meeting the U.S. president?

└└Blue Dot: He says he wants to meet me...

└└Can't you just refuse? I'm worried Blue Dot will get lured by America and abandon Korea...

└└For real, those American bastards already took two of our country's Hard-rank Hunters. There's a high chance they're eyeing Blue Dot too.

└└Not a high chance, it's 100% you fuck. Those Yankee bastards took our Hard-rank Hunters one after another, it's fucking disgusting.

└└Blue Dot: I didn't want to meet him either, but I have no choice if I want to save King Korea's economy.

└└What does meeting the U.S. president have to do with Korea's economy?

└└Blue Dot: There's something...

└But even if you meet Torumph, he probably won't ask you anything that impressive. He likes direct speech and uses simple words.

└Maybe Torumph and Blue Dot will really get along lol. That guy likes people who get results, are confident, and know how to work the media. People like Elon Mengsk. Didn't they act like bromantic soulmates together since the election?

└└Didn't Torumph and Elon Mengsk have a huge falling out and completely wreck their relationship?

└└They made up ages ago... Lately they meet for meals all the time, praise each other on social media, and hang out like crazy.

└└Those crazy bastards aren't even lovers, what are they doing lol.

└Torumph likes people who get results, are confident, and know how to work the media...?

└└Results, earns a fuckton of Points. Confidence, says he'll save Korea alone. Media work, beloved Hunter Gallery attention-seeker...

└└Wait, isn't that exactly Blue Dot?

└└Come to think of it, Blue Dot is totally Elon-type too.

└└Blue Dot, don't get close to Torumph and go to America, you fuck.

└└King Dot, please don't abandon Korea.

...

Comments kept pouring in.

I clicked my tongue.

"Hunter Gallery users are saying all kinds of weird things. Why would I get close to Torumph? There's no way I could get along with an attention seeker like that."

I didn't know much about current affairs.

But I did know that Torumph was an absolutely insane attention-seeking bastard.

And attention seekers instinctively guarded against other attention seekers.

Just as I had made Elon Mengsk my rival, Torumph was nothing more than another rival to me.

I couldn't help instinctively guarding against another attention seeker trying to steal my attention!

So there was no way I could get along with someone like Torumph.

Anyway, I'd left a post on Hunter Gallery.

"Should I start selling artifacts now?"

I glanced toward the plastic boxes piled in one corner of the living room.

They contained the artifacts Han Seonga had left earlier.

They were the spoils I'd gained by killing the foreign Hunter special operations units that had invaded Korea.

I planned to get rid of them today.

"I'll try to sell as much as I can on the Raid Team board, then ask my sister to sell whatever doesn't move overseas."

There were two Grade 1 artifacts.

Eleven Grade 2 artifacts.

And twenty-three Grade 3 artifacts.

Wouldn't I be able to sell at least half of them to the Raid Team members?

There were around three hundred people across the late Middle Floors and the High Floors.

At the very least, I could sell all the Grade 3 artifacts.

'Come to think of it, I should sell the potions too.'

There were also the potions I'd picked up from the High Floors.

I planned to sell those as well.

Two Blue Potions, two clear potions, and two health potions.

I could sell six in total.

"Still... what are those blue potions and clear potions even for?"

I naturally knew what the red potions, health potions, were for.

But I still hadn't figured out the blue potions and clear potions.

Nothing came up when I searched for them.

Even when I asked Hunter Gallery, nobody had a useful answer.

Well, I could ask while posting an artifact sale listing on the Raid Team board.

Hunters from the High Floors and above would surely know what those potions were.

So I entered the Raid Team board.

What I saw was...

[Blue Dot posted weird potions again today.]

[Those blue potions and clear potions have never been found in the Tower before, right?]

[Big Sis Yejin, who is the man you're interested in... Wait! Could it be me?!]

[Why isn't Baek Jiho joining the Raid Team? Did getting praised on Hunter Gallery make him abandon this place...?]

[So what the hell are those potions?]

[Could they be hidden pieces?]

The Raid Team board was buzzing over the post I'd just made on Hunter Gallery.

I muttered quietly.

"Hidden pieces?"

The potions I found on Floors 31 and 32.

The blue potions and the clear potions.

They seemed to be hidden pieces.

Footnotes:

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