Chapter 112

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 112: More Investors Join

"Huh? You're investing too?"

"Yeah, after hearing about it, it sounds pretty good. Plus, if I join, those guys won’t be able to mess around, right?"

If Hercules joins, things will definitely be more secure.

"But doesn't the SP Exchange overlap with the Chaos SP Shop? Shouldn’t you be avoiding helping it?"

"Not really. It’s not like I need to worry about a small shop. Besides, the SP Exchange and the SP Shop don’t necessarily have to overlap."

Hercules continued with an intrigued expression.

"We don’t know how the SP Exchange will evolve. It could develop into something entirely different instead of just a shop."

"So, you're saying it’s not necessarily a store?"

"Exactly. When you hear 'exchange,' doesn’t it sound more like a bank than a store?"

"But Hades also provides SP loans, so wouldn’t that mean the shop can do the same thing?"

"That’s just because Uncle Hades is twisting the system in a weird way as the SP Shop manager. He won’t be able to scale it up significantly. Anyway, since we don’t know how things will change, I’d like to invest too."

"Alright, how much equity do you want, and what are you offering in return?"

"The more, the better, but at least 5%. As for my offer… Hmm… As long as it’s not the SP Shop, I’ll open trade routes for Chaos."

The SP Exchange hasn’t even been established yet, and he’s already talking about trade routes.

Feels like counting chickens before they hatch…

Also, wait a minute.

"Trade routes should be a given if you’re taking a stake, but don’t you think you're offering too little SP?"

"Hmm, fine. I’ll put in 100 million. They’re getting 10% for 200 million, so how about 5% for 100 million?"

"Hmm, alright. The contract renewal will follow the same terms?"

"Yeah, and make sure to let Asgard know I’m involved. That way, those guys won’t act recklessly."

If Hercules joins, those guys will definitely think twice before making any moves.

Hmm, will this serve as a safety net?

"Got it. Let’s sign the contract."

[You have entered a contract with the Lone Titan of Chaos.]

[If the contract is not fulfilled, it will be forcibly executed.]

As soon as I agreed, Hercules spoke.

"Alright, open the soul trade. I’ll pay in one go."

Oh, bold move.

Just swiping the entire amount in one shot.

"But isn’t 100 million SP not that much for deities? Everyone seems to be throwing it around so easily."

"Absolutely not. I earn SP through soul reaping, and since I don’t have a world to manage, I don’t have many expenses. But for a regular deity, this would be a tough sum to hand over. Didn’t Asgard pay in installments?"

"Yeah."

"That just shows how hard it is to give out 100 million SP at once."

I see.

So Hercules earns a lot from soul reaping, which is why he can afford to be this generous.

"Oh, but I can’t process a 100 million transaction in one go yet."

"Then take it in two payments of 50 million each."

"Okay. Thanks."

With two SP transactions, I received 100 million.

100 million SP stacking up all at once.

Wait, was it always this easy to make SP?

I immediately upgraded my Soul Mediation skill.

[Soul Mediation skill has reached level 10. Its efficiency has greatly increased.]

[You can now perform duplicate mediation. The maximum duplication count is two digits.]

[At the current grade, you can no longer increase the skill level.]

Unlike Soul Reaping, which kept leveling up, Soul Mediation had now reached its limit.

[Soul Mediation LV.10]

[You facilitate the absorption of souls by gods. Generates 200% efficiency, and you can take up to 50% as commission. You can mediate up to 30 guardian deities. Soul smuggling is enabled. Duplicate mediation is enabled.]

Four slots were still available.

Now that I think about it, I promised to offer duplicate mediation to Hercules, Elprian, and Drakia.

After adding all three, only one slot remained.

Should I leave one slot open?

Wait, can I duplicate mediation with a planet like Earth?

When I selected Earth, it successfully added as a duplicate mediation.

Whoa, in that case, adding planets first would be better.

Would canceling a smuggling transaction remove it from the system?

I tested it, and cancellation was possible.

I removed Elprian’s smuggling transaction and instead added the planets Kevrian and Eshtar to the mediation.

Now my SP mediation window was completely filled.

"Oh, I should’ve just filled all the slots from the start."

I had assumed I needed to leave an empty slot, but I could’ve just canceled whenever needed.

"Whoa, so you can do duplicate mediation? I see the system window popping up."

"Yeah, I upgraded the skill with the SP I just received. But it looks like level 10 is the cap for Soul Mediation at A-rank."

"Well, you’re a special case. A regular soul mediator would struggle to reach level 10. It costs a ridiculous amount of SP."

That’s true.

Without the Skill Stone, going from level 9 to 10 would’ve cost me 100 million SP.

"Alright, time to clear some A-rank dungeons."

"By the way, your dragon friend seems to have gone to another world. Should I get rid of that dungeon portal?"

Hercules pointed at an A-rank dungeon portal.

Hmm, would it be useful if Diana clears it?

"Diana, summon."

I summoned Diana and asked.

"Diana, do you get stronger if you clear dungeons?"

"Yes, even if my level no longer increases, my SP does."

"Then do you want to clear A-rank dungeons with me?"

Diana’s face lit up.

"Yes! I also want to challenge S-rank dungeons."

"Speaking of which, you're A-rank too. What are your promotion requirements?"

Diana glanced at Hercules before answering.

Hmm, is she hesitant to talk in front of an outsider?

Noticing this, Hercules chuckled and waved me off.

"I’ll summon two portals for you. Finish your talk quickly and head into the dungeon. I’ll be destroying Eshtar soon."

"Got it."

With that, Hercules disappeared.

Man, he’s really reliable…

Out of everyone, he’s the one I trust the most.

Once he was gone, Diana finally spoke.

"I need to max out all my stats to 1,000 and gain divine authority."

"Same as me, then."

"And I need the recognition of the Soul God."

"The Soul God?"

"Yes, but I don’t know how to obtain it, so I’m focusing on strengthening my abilities for now. If I meet Elprian, I’ll ask."

Makes sense. Powering up should be the priority.

Oh, right, Diana’s SP collection rate was set to medium.

I lowered it to the minimum, and her recoverable SP dropped from 30,000 to 2,000.

Diana looked shocked.

"Jiho, you adjusted my SP collection? I’m really fine with it…"

"No, it’s better for someone trustworthy to grow quickly. I make plenty of SP anyway."

Now that Soul Mediation was level 10, Diana’s 30,000 SP was practically nothing to me.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"Ah… Thank you so much. I’ll definitely repay you."

Diana smiled at my generosity.

She really is stunning.

I was about to continue our conversation when a deafening roar shook the mountains.

[Get inside. Now.]

Before I knew it, Hercules had returned to the giant’s body and was about to split Erundal.

“Shall we go in then?”

“Hmm, no. Diana, this time, reverse summon yourself and enter the next dungeon. If you're in the dungeon when this world is destroyed, you'll stand out too much when you return to Earth.”

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

She had barely been summoned before being reverse summoned again.

After reverse summoning Diana, I entered an A-rank dungeon.

A world covered in ice.

I wanted to clear it quickly and leave, so I immediately took out Yeoui, but suddenly, a message window appeared.

[The broken world, ‘Eshtar,’ has perished.]

[You will be reverse summoned to your original world.]

A flash of light, and the dungeon world collapsed.

Before I knew it, I was standing in the Association.

“Ah… I could’ve cleared it.”

“That’s a shame.”

“I didn’t expect it to be destroyed so soon.”

The place was packed with people.

Good thing I reverse-summoned Diana.

If she had appeared in this chaotic crowd, all eyes would have been on her instantly.

I should head home quickly.

As I pushed my way through the crowd, I noticed a small commotion in the middle of the gathered people.

Huh?

Those people…?

They looked familiar.

Oh, right.

They were from the Daehyun Guild.

The five I saw before, plus several more.

Two people who had been expelled for trying to transfer to another guild were now, ironically, arguing with Kang Shia, acting as if they were the victims.

“What do you mean we’re transferring? Where did that come from?”

“Yeah! This is ridiculous! We’ve dedicated ourselves to Daehyun Guild for so long…!”

“Oh, come on, hyung. Stop whining and just transfer already.”

“What do you mean, transfer?! We never said that! And what about this text? The message about getting stronger!”

“This is so unfair. We’ve been loyal to Daehyun Guild since the last world…”

The woman in the couple began to tear up.

Wow, impressive acting.

But… even if you erase memories, text messages remain.

Seriously, these people.

You shouldn’t leave that kind of data behind.

The guild members who hadn’t been involved before were now glancing back and forth between the expelled duo and Kang Shia, looking unsure of whom to believe.

Hmm.

If they keep talking about getting stronger, this might become a hassle.

Should I interfere with Dragon Words?

Since there were too many people around…

“Invisibility.”

My body became transparent.

People were startled at first but soon dismissed it—some mages could use invisibility spells, after all.

“Speak only the truth.”

As I uttered the Dragon Words, the two trembled and began speaking in an entirely different tone.

“Hey, just spill it. What exactly is this ‘getting stronger’ thing? We need to pull off one last job before transferring!”

“Hurry up and hand it over! We need to take it before we switch!”

The two looked at each other in shock as the words left their mouths.

The surrounding guild members also stared at them, dumbfounded.

“Ah, shit, what the hell! Why can’t I lie?!”

“This… is this magic? Who used magic?! Kang Shia, is this your dirty trick?!”

Hmm, now that they realized they were only telling the truth, their approach shifted to accusing someone of using magic.

Their panic was also truthful in its own way.

Should I tweak the conditions a bit?

“Speak what’s in your heart, but do not realize you are doing so.”

As I spoke the new command, their trembling eyes steadied, and they started talking again.

“The American guild said they’d give us a bonus if we brought this information! Hurry up and say it! Say it already!”

“Oh, come on. Acting is getting tiring. Hojung oppa, why are you so obsessed with that measly bonus? At best, Daehyun Guild will just lend you a weapon. This info won’t even make that much money. We need to get to America quickly and meet Jace!”

“Jace? You—you said you weren’t involved with that bastard! Wait, are you cheating on me?!”

“What?! You cheated first! You started it!”

…What the hell is with this crazy couple?

The whole conversation about getting stronger had been completely sidelined, replaced by a full-blown lovers’ quarrel, complete with hair-pulling.

Well, that solves itself.

Next time, I should erase at least a month’s worth of memories.

As I quietly slipped away and returned home, I saw a message from Lee Jinseong.

[Hey, was that you?]

[Yeah. Why did the messages stay? Be more careful next time.]

[Got it. Kang Shia says she’s really sorry and grateful.]

[Alright. Let me know if you need to add anyone else.]

[Okay, thanks. This incident made me realize I need to be more careful when recruiting people.]

[Yeah, yeah.]

Thinking about it, Asgard probably wouldn’t make a big deal out of it because of the SP Exchange.

Still, it’s better to be cautious.

As I was resting at home, a communication request came from Loki.

As always, he was smiling as he looked at me.

[Here’s your daily SP.]

I opened the transaction window and received my SP.

Once again, my SP exceeded 100 million.

I used all the SP I had gathered to upgrade Soul Trade, bringing it to level 9.

I spent 87.5 million, leaving me with about 20 million SP.

In just eight more days, Soul Trade would reach level 10.

[So, nothing unusual happened?]

“Hmm, Hercules decided to invest in the SP Exchange too.”

[What? Hercules? I heard you’ve been hanging around him a lot, but still, getting investment from a Lord of Chaos… isn’t that a bit much? They’re destined to destroy Earth.]

As if they were any different.

Their reaction made me even more certain that taking Hercules’s investment was the right choice.

[Are you sure you won’t reconsider?]

“I owe him a lot. I have no choice.”

[…Hmph. Fine. You’re the owner of the Exchange, after all. That aside, the target for godslaying has been decided.]

“What? Already?”

[Yeah. Ideally, we’d bring you a deity-class opponent, but even a sealed deity is too tough for an A-rank to eliminate.]

Loki grumbled about how it had been harder to find an adequately weakened S-rank target.

Then, he got serious and looked at me.

[Come to the Association. The Valkyries will guide you.]

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]