Chapter 6:Money and Talent Pour In

      Chapter 6: Coin Information Rights (1)

After realizing that quests could only be obtained by encountering someone who genuinely needed help, Ryu Seong changed. Of course, that might not be the only condition, but since he had figured out at least one, he decided to act accordingly.

He became far more active than usual.

He went for walks diligently, poked around in many different places, stopped by street food stalls at night, and even worked out in his spare time. Unfortunately, though, no new quest appeared.

“Harder than I thought.”

Were there really no people who needed help?

That didn’t seem likely.

Surely, among the countless people he passed by, there must have been some who needed assistance. Yet the fact remained that no quest was triggered at those times.

Which meant there was another condition.

“Hmm.”

Maybe the quest system was playing tricks on him.

It might actually be the case.

Anyway, in the meantime, he had also gone to some interviews.

He got rejected, though.

He had passed the document screening for two companies and attended first-round interviews, but sadly received rejection notices from both.

(We regret to inform you of this unfortunate news. We wish you the very best…)

“Yeah…”

It wasn’t like his university was particularly prestigious, and it was true that he had been very nervous during the interviews, but rejection always shook him up.

“Sigh.”

When he felt this stifled, there was only one thing that came to mind.

Chicken and beer.

Feeling suffocated, he headed to Lee Shin-woo’s chicken restaurant. He took a seat in a quiet corner and ordered half a chicken and a glass of beer. Perhaps because there was some free time, Lee Shin-woo came over.

“Why’s your face like that?”

“Just… you know.”

“Got something bothering you?”

“Is it that obvious?”

Somehow Lee Shin-woo had noticed and asked.

“It’s written all over your forehead. ‘I’m so frustrated I could die.’”

“Ah… really?”

“Yeah. So what is it?”

“Nothing much, just… I’ve been doing nothing but resting lately. When you rest too much, all sorts of thoughts creep in. I went to interviews and got rejected from all of them. Sometimes I even think maybe I should just start a business or something. Just various worries like that.”

Since he hadn’t yet achieved anything concrete through quests, these kinds of concerns were only natural.

“Hey, how long has it been since you were discharged? You’re already worrying about stuff like this?”

“Because I’m not doing anything at home.”

“Hmm…”

Lee Shin-woo thought for a long moment before speaking.

“Take it slow. And if possible, do what you actually want to do.”

“Hm?”

“Whatever you choose, you’ll end up regretting something anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. So just pick the option you’ll regret the least. If you at least do what you want, you’ll regret it less, right? I regretted starting this chicken shop a ton of times too. But I started it because I liked it, and I’m not working under anyone else. That goal in itself became the driving force that kept me going.”

His vivid words struck Ryu Seong right in the chest.

Something he wanted to do…

Honestly, right now all he could think about was getting a job, starting a business, or focusing on quests. Even an idiot could tell that this was an opportunity to completely change his life.

The problem was that quests appeared too randomly and points were hard to collect, so he couldn’t make any firm decisions. Strangely, though, Lee Shin-woo’s words made his heart lean heavily in one direction.

Maybe it was okay to take things a bit more slowly.

Rushing wouldn’t make things happen anyway.

In that case, steadily figuring out the quest activation conditions one by one while also working on himself seemed like a viable path.

Hmm.

Nodding as he organized his thoughts, Ryu Seong looked at Lee Shin-woo.

“Thanks. My head feels clearer now. By the way, what about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah. The franchise thing.”

“Oh, I’m slowly getting ready.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Once this contract ends, I’m going to quit the franchise immediately. I’ll start fresh under my own name.”

“This one? The one you developed yourself?”

“Yeah. Isn’t it good?”

Ryu Seong tore into the chicken.

Crisp.

The batter tore apart, revealing the tender meat underneath. It was fried chicken with a slight spicy kick. Clean yet constantly stimulating the appetite. Paired with beer, it was truly a match made in heaven.

Naturally, his thumb went up.

“This is way tastier.”

“Right?”

“Yeah. This is gonna blow up big time?”

“Keuhehe.”

Before he knew it, Ryu Seong had completely forgotten his worries about quests and shop points, fully enjoying some chimaek with Lee Shin-woo.

*

When he got home, his younger sister greeted him with a pout.

“Ugh, seriously! Did you puke? Ew, what’s that smell!”

“Yeah, had a bit to drink. Urrp…!”

“Eww, gross! Get out!”

“Heh heh. You tell me to get out, but you’re the one leaving?”

“Hey, you psycho!”

He chased after the fleeing Ryu Hyun-ah’s heels, only for the door to slam—*bang!*—and lightly bump his nose.

“Ow. No allowance for you!”

“You don’t even have money!”

“I do!”

“Liar!”

“Don’t regret it.”

“Go to your room and sleep it off!”

“Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow.”

Even in his hazy, drunken state, Ryu Seong navigated well enough. He stumbled a little, sure. Just then, the kitten in the corner cautiously approached him.

*Nyaowww.*

At the mewling sound, Ryu Seong stopped and looked down. The kitten was sitting primly, head tilted up to gaze at him.

“Aigoo.”

Worried he might step on it by accident, he immediately plopped down on the floor.

“Come to think of it, I haven’t named you yet. What should it be? Butterfly?”

The kitten meowed happily, as if in approval.

“Oh, then Butterfly it—”

He was about to decide when the door suddenly burst open, and Ryu Hyun-ah stuck her head out.

“Butterfly? What butterfly! Mom and I decided on one today.”

“You were agonizing over it forever, huh? Finally picked. So, what is it?”

“Lucky.”

“Rugby?”

“Lucky, you idiot.”

“Ohhh. Lucky as in good fortune. Seven!”

“*Sigh*.”

With Ryu Hyun-ah retreating back inside, Ryu Seong, now alone, gently stroked Lucky’s head. Pleased by the touch, a soft purring sound filled the air.

“Feels good? Me too.”

Ryu Seong grinned happily as well.

He played with Lucky for a while when, out of nowhere, a bell rang.

[*Ding!*]

Startled, Ryu Seong looked up.

[*Special Event Activated!*]

[*Today only—one unique opportunity! A half-price sale on shop items, lasting just 30 minutes!*]

[*Don’t miss this chance!*]

[*However, items priced at 1 point remain unchanged!*]

[*Time Remaining: 29:59*]

After staring blankly for a moment, Ryu Seong shook his head to clear it.

Half price…?

He cautiously opened the shop.

[*Item List*]

1. 1,000,000 KRW Cash

 Required Merit Points: 1

 Discounted Price: 1

2. Random Stock & Coin Information

 -Acquire information related to domestic or overseas companies, as well as coins. However, the quality of the information is random.

 Required Merit Points: 30

 Discounted Price: 15

3. Fatigue Recovery Potion (Low-Grade)

 -A potion that instantly recovers a certain level of fatigue.

 Required Merit Points: 20

 Discounted Price: 10

4. Treatment (Low-Grade)

 -Expect immediate healing for conditions requiring simple surgical or internal medicine treatment. For severe illnesses, only minimal effects can be anticipated.

 Required Merit Points: 100

 Discounted Price: 50

5. Random Draw (Low-Grade)

-From utterly useless trash to some items unavailable in the shop, anything can appear randomly. At extremely low odds, you might even obtain unique items not found in the regular shop.

Required Merit Points: 10

Discounted Price: 5

[Current Merit Points Held: 10]

The discounted prices had been newly added.

He had 10 points on hand.

The cash was unchanged, so skip it. The Fatigue Recovery Potion was now affordable, but he didn’t need it right now, so pass.

The stock and coin info was incredibly cheap, but there was no way to scrape together 5 more points in under an hour. With a gut-wrenching feeling, he looked down again.

Skip the treatment.

The last one, number 5, caught his eye.

Random Draw.

At the discounted price of 5 points, this was a chance to buy not just one, but *two*.

“Two of them…!”

This had to be the system’s deliberate nudge to go for the random draw.

Anyone could see it, right?

Ryu Seong desperately clung to his alcohol-addled mind and stared intently at the shop items, descriptions, and points.

“Huh, heh heh.”

No matter how he sliced it, he couldn’t let this slip away.

Yeah, let’s do it.

Ten minutes had already passed, leaving just over 20 minutes on the sale. He couldn’t blow the opportunity by overthinking, so he reached out immediately.

Excitement buzzed through him.

It was a discount opportunity, but the thick veil of randomness made tension unavoidable.

“Whew.”

With Lucky on his lap, he confirmed the selection.

[Would you like to purchase item 5, ‘Random Draw (Low-Grade)’?]

[Yes/No]

Hitting Yes deducted 5 points, and with a pure white light, several cards floated up. He picked one from the spinning cards. It zoomed forward, emitting a red glow.

[Acquired ‘Merit Points Random Box’]

The first item felt off from the start—not in a bad way. Thinking it was better than expected, he opened the random box. A number popped out and sank into his forehead.

[Acquired 1 Merit Point]

Spent 5 points and got 1 back.

In a word: dud.

*Damn it.*

He felt his composure waver for a split second, but he gritted his teeth and steadied himself. Ryu Seong exhaled deeply and slowly raised his trembling hand.

I-it’s okay.

He still had one more shot.

“Please…!”

Ryu Seong scooped Lucky from his lap into his arms and gently touched its front paw.

“Lucky, I believe in you.”

He pressed the air along with Lucky’s soft paw pad. Selecting one from the new cards, an orange light flew in this time. Different from the first pick’s red glow, anticipation swelled naturally.

The cards spun for ages.

The light rays dimmed.

The revealed text filled his vision.

[Acquired ‘Imperfect Coin Information Right’]

He savored every character of the message.

*Imperfect Coin Information Right.*

He read it again.

This time, aloud.

“Imperfect Coin Information Right…!”

The regret of ‘Imperfect’ paled against the thrill of ‘Coin Information Right.’ Trembling fingertips, uncontrollable excitement surging from his toes to his head—it scrambled his brain. An irrepressible burst of ecstasy erupted.

“Woooaaah!”

“Ugh, shut up! I told you to go to bed!”

“Aaah…”

Ryu Hyun-ah’s yell from beyond the door tempered his excitement a bit, but the grin plastered on his face wouldn’t fade.

Heh, heh heh heh.

It was a *mega* jackpot, after all.

*Check!*

Heart pounding with anticipation, he tapped the card inscribed with “Coin Information Right.”

*TOC*Previous