Chapter 107

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 107: The Domain of Talent (4)

[Wow! ROK Zone, the donations are pouring in!]

[Whose idea was this? The differentiation strategy was excellent!]

The chat window was scrolling rapidly, and the donations were flooding in.

It was obvious that this stage was different from the ones before.

Even the host was getting excited, exclaiming over and over again.

"Wow, how did you come up with the idea to use that screen?"

"Yeah, seriously, noona! When they told me to go up on stage, I thought I had to physically get on it no matter what!"

"Haha…"

I could only give an awkward laugh.

Because…

'I got the inspiration from Jieun’s content.'

The idea came from the way Jieun edited her memory mission video like a romance drama.

I had seen firsthand how much the audience loved it back then.

Besides—

【The 'External Affairs Department's Rookie' is gleaming with excitement at the thought of watching the juniors’ antics.】

【The 'Brain of the Investigation Bureau' warns not to expect much since it’ll mostly be sword fights and singing contests.】

Since there were people looking for something different, I figured there would be demand for this.

And what solidified my decision was the audience's reaction when they watched the foul-mouthed guy and Myung Seungtae on my channel.

…Though, I didn't expect it to be this successful.

"It looks like you did your market research properly. You were lucky."

Anyway.

The talent show was coming to an end.

「00:30」

About 30 seconds left.

Just as I was about to step forward to signal them to wrap things up—

"Insult?"

The foul-mouthed guy scrunched his face and muttered.

'!!'

"It unlocked?"

"Uh…? Yeah. But something feels off…"

He frowned deeply and nodded.

That’s strange.

He had been waiting so eagerly for his ability to unlock, but now he looked unimpressed.

Regardless—

[ROK Zone, time limit reached!]

[That was a fresh and unique performance! I, Sera, had so much fun watching!]

[Did everyone enjoy it?]

—BEEP—

A loud sound signaled the end of the time limit.

Paahhh!

Instead of applause, fireworks exploded.

Our five minutes were up.

[Total donation amount: 57,000 points!]

[Wow! ROK Zone shoots straight to first place!]

[The sly foul-mouthed guys really pulled it off—!]

Whoa.

The results were even better than expected.

That foul-mouthed guy—turns out he has some real talent.

【The 'PR Department’s Smiling Angel' trembles with regret!】

"Ugh, just shut up and go already!"

【The 'Investigation Department’s Hook' demands one more word!】

'A weird fandom is forming…'

[As much as we hate to leave, we have to move on!]

[ROK Zone, connection terminated!]

[Onto the next zone! Keep your channels tuned in, okay?]

The host, her golden ponytail swaying, smoothly wrapped up her segment.

Then—Paahh!—the central screen went dark.

At the same time, the lively chat window disappeared.

【The 'External Affairs Department's Rookie' grins, saying they now understand the joy of watching juniors perform.】

【The 'Prince of the Investigation Bureau' smirks, asking if they figured it out already.】

【The 'Investigation Bureau Kitty' complains about not getting to see the cute female lead’s face.】

Of course, that precious silence never truly came for me.

'Still, these guys are actually useful sometimes.'

At least now I understood their preferences.

"Ah, finally, some peace and quiet."

The foul-mouthed guy rubbed his ears as if he had been overwhelmed.

I spoke up.

"Let’s wrap this up. The stage is over."

"Ah, right. We should."

Then, looking relieved, he turned to Myung Seungtae and tossed him one final remark.

"Alright, that’s enough, you bastard."

That was it.

He simply said a single sentence.

—Ptui!

The words spilled out like black cigarette smoke, swirling together—

—Tzzzzzzzzt!

And latched onto Myung Seungtae.

"…?!"

Both the foul-mouthed guy and I, as well as Myung Seungtae, were all caught off guard.

"What the hell is this?! It feels gross! Get it off me!"

The dark, murky energy crept up his legs and wrapped around him.

Just looking at it gave me chills—it was an eerie, ominous smoke slithering into his ears.

Then, with a squelching sound—

—Splat!

His cheeks turned pale.

"W-What the hell is this…?"

"What does it say?"

"…?!"

"The message! What does it say?"

He grabbed the flustered foul-mouthed one and asked.

The foul-mouthed guy, his eyes trembling, answered hesitantly.

"A… A strong curse saps… his stamina…"

"And?"

"His health… drops by 10%…"

"!!"

‘It’s a debuff.’

Up until now, all the titles and effects I had gained were buffs—increasing attack power, movement speed, things like that.

But this… this was a debuff.

A 10% drop in health was huge.

There might be more effects, too.

I still needed to confirm whether that 10% was a fixed value or if there were specific conditions tied to it.

‘This will be useful against enemies.’

With a quick assessment, I glanced at Myung Seungtae.

His face was contorted in fury.

"Wh-What the hell…! You bastard, what did you do to me?!"

Even though his eyes were covered, he somehow knew it wasn’t me but the foul-mouthed guy who did it.

He was shouting at the top of his lungs.

‘Funny. He didn’t say a word when I messed with his bones and muscles.’

Even the foul-mouthed guy, who had been startled by his own ability, seemed to regain his composure as he looked at Myung Seungtae’s reaction.

Then, looking oddly refreshed, he smirked.

"Shut up, you bastard."

Ptooey! Tzzzzzzzt!

He let out another eerie breath.

And then—

“Argh! Stop this X-rated nonsense already!!”

Myung Seungtae's face grew increasingly pale.

Until the foul-mouthed man closed his mouth with a satisfied look.

Amidst Myung Seungtae's screams and flailing limbs, countless footsteps could be heard.

Tap tap! Tatatatatat!

The sound of people rushing over the moment the performance ended.

The sound that signaled—no, proved—that the plan had succeeded.

“That bastard…!”

“C-Captain! Please, calm down…!”

The first to arrive was Park Gongchan.

His face flushed red with rage, he huffed furiously.

Bang!

Unable to land a kick on Myung Seungtae's head due to his restraining juniors, he settled for the table beside him instead.

‘So he was a victim too, huh?’

Back when that guy suddenly showed up all buddy-buddy, throwing around “Gongchan” and “Gongchan-ssi” like they were lifelong friends…

‘I thought it was odd from the start.’

Regardless, Park Gongchan, a man of pride, wouldn't easily accept the fact that he'd been manipulated like a puppet.

Bang! Bang! Bang! BOOM!

“Hah.”

After repeatedly kicking the finely crafted gemstone table, Park Gongchan finally seemed to calm down, exhaling deeply.

Then—

“…I…”

Standing before me, he rubbed his face with his hands.

‘Huh?’

Why was he coming to me instead of Myung Seungtae?

“I almost dragged you into this… I’m sorry.”

He apologized, just like that.

“You had no choice.”

“Even so… Huff, I wasn’t in my right mind.”

A genuinely shaken expression.

“…That makes it twice now.”

‘Twice…?’

Was he talking about the time he accidentally passed me the ball during physical training?

It wasn’t a big deal to me, but—

“If you’re that grateful, pay me back later.”

I shrugged, replying casually.

Having a debt over someone like Park Gongchan wouldn’t be a bad thing.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

“…I promise.”

“Good. So relax a little. Your juniors are on edge.”

I lightly patted his shoulder.

His juniors—the national soccer team—were anxiously watching from the side.

“You…”

Park Gongchan started to say something with a complicated look in his eyes.

“…Never mind.”

And dropped it.

What a letdown.

Anyway—

“Jiwoong!”

“Noona!”

Kim Jiwoong came rushing in, gasping for breath, calling out to his older sister.

His eyes now sharp and clear.

‘They said that once someone learns the truth, the brainwashing effect fades.’

So, the stronger the ability, the greater its limitations?

“Seungtae hyung.”

Jiwoong stood before the blindfolded Myung Seungtae.

“G-Gim Jiwoong? Jiwoong-ah? A-About what I said earlier, if you heard it, it was a misunderstanding—”

Bound and desperate, Myung Seungtae pleaded.

But Jiwoong, his gaze sharp, simply said—

“Pay up.”

“W-What?”

“I’ve come to collect the stats you borrowed.”

Cutting off Myung Seungtae’s stammering, he spoke firmly.

“I-I’ll give them back later! Jiwoong-ah, don’t you see I’m struggling right now—”

“Summon.”

Jiwoong pressed his lips into a thin line and opened his eyes.

“W-Wait a second!”

Something appeared in his left palm, which he grasped tightly.

Something just slightly larger than his hand.

Neatly arranged numbers like those on a keypad.

And with his right index finger, he began pressing them, one by one.

‘A calculator?’

Flash—!

A rectangular, semi-transparent screen appeared before Jiwoong.

A dividing line in the middle, splitting it into two sections.

Then—

“Debit side.”

Jiwoong spoke while continuing to press the keys.

“Stamina: 20. Strength: 10. Agility: 8. Endurance: 15.”

Shrrrk—

On the left side of the blue-tinted screen, text appeared.

Stamina 20

Strength 10

Agility 8

Endurance 15

“Credit side.”

And then—

“Borrowed stats: 53.”

The right side of the screen displayed:

53.

The total sum of the four stats he had just listed.

Both sides matched.

Confirming this, Jiwoong punctuated his action with a single word—

“Offset!”

Fwoooosh—!

Jiwoong’s body glowed.

And so did Myung Seungtae’s.

Then—

Fzzzt! Flash! Flaaaaash!

Beams of light burst from Myung Seungtae’s body, breaking into countless particles.

Shrrrrk—!

They flowed straight into Jiwoong.

“!!”

“Kim Jiwoong!!”

‘Debit, credit, offset…?’

“Jieun, did Jiwoong… ever study accounting?”

"Oh, yeah! He was preparing for the CPA exam. He only had one subject left for the second exam..."

Huh?

'Gaslighting, verbal abuse, and accounting skills, huh.'

As I was thinking about how well he grasped the essence of things—

"You—You just took it?! Just because of what those bastards said?!"

Myung Seungtae was trembling.

Wait a second.

But this guy, his stamina...

「0.3%」

'Why is it that low?!'

Even with the side effects of bone-grinding perseverance and the curse of the foul-mouthed, there was still plenty of stamina left.

If it had dropped to this level, it meant most of his total stamina originally belonged to Jiwoong.

'Just how weak was he before?'

Maybe he had considered his base stats sufficient after stealing them, and had poured all his rewards into skills instead.

Like an investor who took out an overwhelming loan they couldn’t handle.

"Should've taken it easy."

After passing through three different people, he had become someone who could die from a single hit to the back of the head.

But whether he realized this or not, the bastard—

"...Ki, Kim Jiwoong, that son of a bitch..."

He ground his teeth and started crawling.

His blindfold had slipped down to his nose.

"You should probably stay still."

"Shut up! That ungrateful bastard...!"

Muttering nonsense, he crawled toward Jiwoong.

Like a legless ghost.

"D-Don't come near me!"

"You dare betray me?!"

"Uwaah!"

Freaking out, Jiwoong swung his arm at the crawling bastard.

And then—

[Target 'Myung Seungtae' has died.]

...What?

* * *

I've seen a lot of deaths.

Even more so after the restructuring began.

But I've never felt one so deeply before.

The fact that not all deaths are tragic.

[You have eliminated the target 'Myung Seungtae'!]

[You have earned a large amount of Welfare Points!]

Myung Seungtae’s death wasn’t tragic—it was empty.

Not sorrowful, but absurd.

And apparently, I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.

"He’s dead?!"

"S-Seungtae hyung?!"

The foul-mouthed guy grimaced, and Jiwoong cried out in shock.

"What the hell? For real?!"

"That bastard... I should’ve hit him first..."

The idols, who had rushed in belatedly, clenched their fists in fury.

"This son of a bitch… he’s already dead."

"Shit, we ran here for nothing!"

Even the big guys who had suffered under me came running, clutching their half-treated wounds, cursing.

Everyone reacted differently.

But one thing was clear—there wasn’t a single person sincerely mourning him.

Only people who were horrified at how much they had suffered under him.

That aside—

"This bastard, didn’t he say he was rich...?"

"I-I just got a ton of points!"

Somehow, we had ended up inheriting his fortune.

"How many Welfare Points do I have now?"

[Checking Welfare Points for target 'Lee Eunho.']

[Current balance: 100,150 points.]

A hundred thousand points.

I was sure I had just under 70,000 saved up.

So if I got 30,000 from taking him down, then—

"30,000 points?"

"You too?"

"Me too."

"That crazy bastard, he was carrying 90,000 points?!"

"H-Hey! Don’t you need money? I can share if you want!"

He said he was rich.

He really was rich.

[Congratulations!]

[Target 'Lee Eunho' has met the upgrade conditions for the shop.]

[Would you like to upgrade the intermediate shop, The Golden Cart That’s Everywhere and Nowhere?]

So rich, it was almost touching.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]