Ch.578Chapter 22. The Price of Labor (10)

After the Great Cataclysm.

The dollar collapsed.

After a meteorite fell into the East Sea and South Korea became the center of the world, the dollar plummeted to as low as 600 won per dollar in this world.

By this world’s standards, it was still around 800 won in 2024.

It was only in 2025 that it barely recovered to around 1,000 won, and that was because the dollar remained the key currency of the “American Federation,” not the United States.

In other words, North and South America had to form an economic community and receive backup from the Syndicate just to barely recover to 1,000 won per dollar.

But the future will be different.

Soon the world will change.

As the title of “center of the world” gradually shifts from Korea to America, a fierce competition between the won and the dollar will unfold.

And simultaneously, the value of the dollar will rise.

For now, at least.

‘Even the Syndicate doesn’t intend to completely hand over the center of the world to America.’

The meteorite fell next to the Korean Peninsula.

Unless the “Will of Hwan” that has taken root in Korean soil is uprooted, the world will continue to revolve around Korea as its central axis.

Even if they forcibly twisted the axis, the world’s center would eventually return to Korea due to homeostasis—the tendency to revert to its original state.

If America were to rule the world, a great hero would surely be born in Korea to “make Korea great again.”

That’s not what the Syndicate wants.

What the Syndicate wants is a peaceful world without chaos and conflict.

To achieve that, we must remove the cancerous growth parasitizing Korea.

Surgery involves pain.

It makes you bleed, kills cells, and requires cutting away already contaminated parts.

In that process, it’s inevitable that the won crashes, the KOSPI and KOSDAQ indices plummet, real estate bubbles burst, and market collapses follow.

Some might point fingers at the Syndicate as “economic criminals causing an economic crisis,” but I dare to express this process like this:

[If you’ve been drunk on national pride, it’s time to sober up.]

“!!”

The Goblin is startled.

Not because of my suggestion to exchange won for dollars, but because of the mana glowing from my daegeum.

“H-how…?!”

[Goblin’s specialty. Freely giving information to those who will faint, collapse, retire, and not likely spread information to others.]

“!!”

[In other words, the fact that I’m revealing the secret of this daegeum to you means…]

“Are you trying to make me join Zenros—!!”

The Goblin charges at me in a burst of rage.

“You fake bastard!”

[Goblins don’t attack when their opponent is using a technique.]

“Shut up!”

[And if they charge like this…]

I swung the daegeum lightly, very lightly.

[I’ve prepared ways to deal with those who attack during technique activation.]

Pa-ang!

A sound rings out.

The Goblin’s fist collided with the daegeum, but the sound was distinctly different from before.

“W-what…?!”

An unbelievable sound.

He probably can’t believe it.

He hit the daegeum with a fist that could punch holes in concrete buildings, but it made a sound like “punching a bed”?

“W-what did you do?!”

[The era of fighting with just abilities is over, fake.]

“W-what…?!”

[You probably pushed your speed to the extreme to imitate the Goblin, but times have changed.]

I made them change.

[‘Enchant’—have you heard of it?]

“That’s—”

[These days, you don’t just wear equipment with flowing mana wrapped around your arm like that.]

Blue mana—”the Goblin’s mana”—began to sparkle from the daegeum.

[It’s an era where abilities are embedded in equipment too.]

“!!”

[Too bad. You met the wrong opponent.]

Puh-eok!

I pulled the daegeum back and swung it forward.

I swung it lightly as if shooing away a fly, but the Goblin leaped backward dramatically to create distance, as if avoiding an electric shock.

“Huk, heok, huk…!”

He was even sweating on his forehead, genuinely tense.

“W-what…! What did you do?!”

[If I tell you, you’ll end up like those Zenros victims.]

“……!!”

[Goblins don’t spread information. Why?]

“Because even if information leaks, they kill everyone who heard it…!”

[Correct answer, Goblin.]

If you’re confident that information won’t leak, there’s no problem with explaining your ability, as villains typically do.

[Telling you means ensuring my secret doesn’t spread.]

It would be foolish if the opponent survived and returned, but if you eliminate them, it’s just teabagging.

[Still want to know?]

“…….”

[If you want to know, say so. I’ll tell you. But in exchange, you’ll be torn to pieces.]

“……Hmph.”

The Goblin clenched his fist again.

“If I were the Goblin, I would do this.”

Then, gathering mana in his fist, he charged at me again.

“If you won’t tell me, I’ll find out myself!”

[Perfect.]

I know too well.

[There’s a saying for times like this. If you don’t know—]

“You’ll have to learn the hard way!”

Pa-aang!

When I swung the daegeum at his fist again, it made a sound like a cushion bursting.

“Kughk!”

The sound was like that, but the person who got hit by the daegeum was not feeling cushiony at all.

The Goblin’s jaw twisted in pain, and red liquid spurted from beneath his leather gloves.

“Haaap!”

With a battle cry, the Goblin planted his foot on the ground and charged at me again.

He swung his leg as if trying to trip me, but I lightly jumped up and struck down with the daegeum vertically.

Pook!

As it stabbed into his knee, the sound became increasingly soft and mushy.

If I had to describe it, it was like stabbing pudding with chopsticks.

“Kwaak!!”

But the Goblin, whose knee was precisely struck by the daegeum, screamed and rolled on the floor.

“Kuh, eughk, keuughk…!”

He rolled away to create distance.

I landed lightly on the floor, corrected my posture, and reached toward the tip of the daegeum.

[Want a hint?]

“……!!”

Blue mana sparkled at the tip of the daegeum.

The Goblin’s mask was distorted, but he raised his fist again, glaring at my daegeum with sharp eyes.

“…Penetration damage?”

[Wrong.]

It’s similar, but clearly different.

[It’s not such a simple principle. One hit for the wrong answer.]

Bba-aak!!

I swung the daegeum forward and threw it.

Watching the daegeum spin through the air, the Goblin lowered his body.

To avoid it?

Or.

[You’re not the Goblin, but you’re manly.]

“Haaap!!”

Infusing both fists with magical power, he prepared to directly counter the flying projectile.

“Ghost Strike—!”

He extended both fists forward simultaneously.

The moment the daegeum I threw made contact with the Goblin’s fists.

Pa-aang!

With a sound like striking an air layer, the daegeum bounced up into the air and spun.

And the Goblin who fought against the daegeum—

Kwa-aang!!

Was sent flying backward and crashed into the boardroom table.

The distance he flew was nearly 5 meters.

If he had been thrown toward a window instead of a wall, he would surely have broken through the glass and fallen.

[It seems you’re still not perceptive enough to figure it out.]

I grabbed the daegeum as it spun through the air and returned to my hand.

[Your comprehension is good, but your creativity is lacking. You excel at studying others’ techniques and making them your own, but you lack the ability to develop something original.]

“Huh, heok, heok…!”

[That lack of creativity results in failure to understand your opponent’s technique, leading to this outcome.]

I walked leisurely toward the Goblin and pointed the daegeum at his mask.

[Final hint. Why do I use a ‘daegeum’ as my weapon?]

“…….”

[If you don’t know, you’ll have to learn the hard way. I’m not someone who teaches answers freely to those who don’t know.]

“……Did you steal my magical power…?”

Crack.

The mask broke.

The mask that had been imitating the Goblin came off, revealing the Goblin’s actual face.

“That weapon absorbs magical power…? Kuhek, right…? It worked at first, but gradually stole more of my power….”

[Absorption is correct, but not theft. I’m not taking your magical power.]

Tok tok.

I lightly tapped the Goblin’s head with the tip of the daegeum.

“Kuhek!!”

Though it appeared I barely touched him, the Goblin coughed up blood and trembled.

Like someone who had been beaten to a pulp, his body shook violently in agony.

[If you earned such a high salary at Haeguneul, you should pay this much. Did you not expect this would happen when you stole someone else’s identity and earned 200 billion won?]

“Kuh, kughk…!”

[Choose. Will you die as an ability user, or as a security guard employed by Haeguneul?]

“…….”

The Goblin continued to glare at the daegeum I was pointing.

[Fine. Then I’ll treat you as an ability user.]

I aimed the daegeum at the Goblin’s temple.

[This is a daegeum, but it’s a very special weapon made of mana gold.]

“!!”

[Unlike the mana copper-plated armor you’re wearing, this can realize a special ability.]

Actually, it’s not that special an ability.

Anyone could use this ability if they could conceive and implement it.

[I matched the wavelength of your magical power. With this daegeum.]

“…….”

[Synchronized, you could say. Since you’re already dizzy from getting hit repeatedly, I’ll summarize it in one line.]

I raised the daegeum high.

[Your magical power wavelength has been scanned.]

Bba-aak!!

[What I’m wielding isn’t pure magical power. It’s magical power with the exact same wavelength as yours. Thanks to that, I can create one effect.]

The most fatal attack against an ability user.

[Barrier bypass.]