Chapter 49
A few days after returning from the raid, talks about money began to circulate.
“It looks like we made about a trillion won in net profit this time.”
In the training room. When Andrei casually mentioned this while weight training, Mason said with an indifferent expression.
“So?”
“What are you going to use it for, boss?”
“I don’t know?”
Mason’s share was 10% of the net profit. As a tanker and raid leader, he would be paid first and it would be deposited directly into his account.
“Is my share 100 billion won?”
Mason scratched his head.
“Where the h*ll am I going to use that?”
Mason roughly thought about where he could spend his money.
“I’ll order some clothes that fit me… eat delicious food… um…”
“…”
“… No matter how much I think about it, I don’t think I can spend more than 100 million won.”
Andrei chuckled and said.
“Why don’t you buy some good tonic food?”
“It’s pointless because of smart cells.”
“Or try drinking some expensive alcohol.”
Mason made a sullen face.
“Whenever I drink, I get into trouble.”
Mason looked at Andrei.
“What do you spend money on?”
“Buying antiques.”
“Antiques? Why?”
“Just souvenirs.”
Andrei grinned and said.
“The latest thing I bought is a Cadillac Eldorado. It’s from 1959. It’s the same model that Elvis Presley drove.”
“It must be a car since you said Cadillac, right?”
“Yes.”
“If it’s from 1959… isn’t it at least 60 years old? Does it still work?”
“It works. I didn’t buy it to drive, but there’s no reason to buy a car that doesn’t run, right?”
“That’s true…But why did you buy such an old car?”
“It’s not an old car, it’s a classic car.”
Andrei grinned and said.
“It’s the first car I rode when I went to America, and I decided I would buy it someday.”
“You said you would definitely buy it, so why did you buy it now?”
“Because the priority was pushed back…?”
Well, if you live a long life, there will be many things that remain in your memory.
Mason nodded with an understanding expression.
“Then should I buy some antiques too?”
“Isn’t everything an antique from your perspective, boss?”
“…That’s true.”
Mason groaned and fell into thought.
“How should I spend money to hear that I spent it well?”
At that moment, someone entered the training room. It was Deroa, dressed in simple workout clothes.
“Deroa, did you come here to work out too?”
“Yes.”
Deroa grumbled.
“I’ve been drinking so much lately that I’ve got a beer belly. I have to work hard to maintain my sexy bodyline.”
“… Beer belly? Sexy?”
Both were words that didn’t suit Deroa’s baby-like physique.
“…I don’t like the look in your eyes? Do you have a problem with that?”
“…No, I don’t.”
Then Andrei looked at Deroa and asked.
“Deroa, how much do you get paid?”
“5%. Because I’m the leader of the mage team.”
Deroa grumbled.
“I don’t know what kind of team leader I am when it’s just the two of us.”
“What are you going to do with the money?”
“What are you guys going to use it for?”
Andrei and Mason said.
“Antique collecting.”
“Thinking about it.”
Deroa clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Grow up. What are you going to do if you waste the money you earned by bleeding like that?”
Mason made a subtle expression.
“I didn’t waste it. I’m just saving it all.”
“Hey, in this low-interest era, saving is also a loss. You have to invest and grow your money to live well.”
“Oh…”
Mason had an impressed expression.
“So where do you invest?”
“Coins.”
“Coins? Do you collect currency?”
Instead of Mason, who didn’t even know what a coin was, Andrei asked.
“Bitcoin?”
“You can’t earn much by investing in such expensive major coins. You have to make value investments in minor coins!”
“Is it possible to make value investments in coins…?”
“Of course!”
Andrei, with a dubious look, asked.
“So what’s the name of the coin?”
“Barbarian Coin. It’s a bulky themed coin.”
Mason, who had been listening quietly, made a puzzled expression.
“My themed coin? I don’t know about that?”
“…What?”
“I don’t even know what a coin is.”
“I heard it’s a coin made by your closest aide?”
“My aide? Who?”
“…!”
Deroa’s face turned pale, and she reflexively took out her cell phone.
“Ah…Ah…Ahhhh…!”
From meaningless denial of reality, to futile hope, to relentless despair, to bitter resignation. Miserable expressions that were hard to watch flashed across Deroa’s face.
“…Are you okay?”
Deroa said with a soulless face.
“Big guy, lend me some money…”
“What are you going to use it for?”
“This month’s rent and living expenses…”
“Did you put all of that in there too…?”
“…”
Mason couldn’t say anything more at Deroa’s dazed face.
“I’ll lend it to you.”
“Thank you…”
Deroa walked out, staggering with a blank expression. She didn’t even seem to have the strength to stand, let alone exercise.
Mason said with a solemn expression.
“I think it would be better to use it than to invest it.”
“I agree…”
The fact that there was nowhere to spend the money even if he invested and increased it did not change.
From the beginning, what Mason wanted was to eradicate monsters and save humanity, not wealth and glory.
What use would gold and jewels be to someone who wanted to do something that money couldn’t do?
“In the first place, we might d*e today, so what does it matter if we become rich tomorrow?”
“That’s true…”
They had forgotten, but they were people who stood on the battlefield. Just because they were alive until now didn’t mean they were guaranteed to be alive next time.
What they had to prepare for was not the rest of their lives, but the next battle, and wealth was only a part of the resources they had.
Money was not a resource to be stockpiled. It was a resource to be consumed.
“I need to think about where to spend the money.”
“Yeah, do that.”
Andrei said with a grin.
“First, how about starting by buying me a drink today?”
“…”
Mason shuddered and shook his head.
“Absolutely not.”
“…Why?”
“Everyone who went to the bar with me slept with me.”
Andrei had an impressed expression.
“You’re good at that too…”
“It’s the opposite…”
“Okay, okay. Then I’ll tell you the old Viking’s stories another time.”
“…!”
“…Why again?”
“I really want to hear that…Ugh…”
Mason pondered and said.
“Can’t we talk over coffee?”
“I don’t like that.”
“D*mn it.”
While Mason and Andrei were chatting, Masika, dressed in workout clothes, came in. She, who had earphones in her ears, had a puzzled expression.
“Huh? It’s unexpected to see you here?”
When Masika said with a smile, Mason asked bluntly.
“Masika, what do you spend your money on?”
“I spend what I need, and invest the rest in my home country.”
“Your home country…Was it South Africa?”
“Yes.”
“What do you invest in?”
“Privatization of the player system in the military.”
Mason chuckled. However, Masika was not joking.
“…Are you serious?”
“My family is quite wealthy. We’re rich enough to send our youngest daughter to study abroad because she likes Korean dramas. Of course, we have our own private soldiers.”
“Are private soldiers a given…?”
“Isn’t it natural to protect your own house and land?”
Korea had excellent public order, and the arming and violence of civilians were strictly controlled. Thanks to that, they tended not to imagine that there could be a lack of public order or armed forces that were not under the control of the state.
“Koreans don’t understand the concept of civilians having troops.”
That was why Korea’s player system strictly regulated the number of members in a raid team. It was to prevent players from becoming warlords and to keep them under government control.
“Since I’ve settled down as a player in Korea, I’m helping out. Sending them old equipment and tactical manuals.”
“Is that okay?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
Masika said with a calm expression.
“Monsters are everywhere, but players are not everywhere.”
“…”
Masika, who passed by Mason, who was speechless, started running on the treadmill.
Even in the short question and answer, the abyss of reality was felt.
Korea was one of the countries suffering the most from the monster outbreak, but at the same time, it was one of the countries coping best with the monster outbreak.
That meant…that there were many countries that weren’t.
Mason, suppressing his bitterness, looked at Andrei again.
“…Anyway, tell me about the Vikings.”
“I won’t tell you when I’m sober. And if you’re not going to exercise, can you go somewhere else?”
Andrei began to bench press.
Mason grumbled and left the training room.
At that moment, he ran into Seo Yeonhee in the hallway.
“Mason.”
“Seo Yeonhee.”
Mason made an awkward expression.
“You’re not here to tell me that the interview schedule has been set, are you?”
“No, it seems it’s not urgent right now.”
The fragmented information that Mason provided was used to set research themes or provide clues. Scholars have databased and shared Mason’s interviews, and they are each using them for their research.
As research progressed further, there would be moments when detailed help would be needed if things got stuck, but not now.
“Why, should I set a schedule for you?”
“…No, it’s okay.”
Mason asked bluntly.
“Seo Yeonhee, what are you going to do with the money you received?”
“NASDAQ player-related ETFs or rare earth resources…”
Seo Yeonhee, who was about to say something fluently, smiled bitterly. She realized that she had forgotten that she had to speak in a way that Mason could understand.
“Uh…I’m going to leave it to an expert to make money.”
“An expert? Are there experts in making money?”
“Yes, there are.”
“Hmm…”
Mason stroked his chin and asked.
“So you’re going to invest after all?”
“Yes, because I have…something I have to do.”
Money was a tool for Seo Yeonhee. A tool for power. And power…would ultimately be just a tool to fight against Yekaterina.
“…You could d*e in the next battle. Then wouldn’t it be better to use it than to invest it?”
“If you d*e, there’s no next, so what’s the point of making plans considering the case of death?”
“Hmm…”
Everyone had a different way of dealing with and handling money.
Everyone had their own way of life and their own philosophy of life.
Whether it was wise, foolish, successful, or unsuccessful.
Everyone would choose something according to their own philosophy of life.
The problem was that Mason only came into contact with the resource of money after he moved dimensions.
Money was a foreign substance in his life, and in order to melt money into his life, he had to decide how to live.
“Where should I spend my money?”
Flustered, Seo Yeonhee blinked, but quickly understood Mason’s situation.
“I see. Mason has never dealt with money.”
“Yeah.”
Money was a choice. It was to gain something and to give up something.
For a 28th century person whose every desire was fulfilled, choosing something was unfamiliar.
