REAPER SCANS
Monopolizing Skills to the 666th Floor
[Translator – Darkraider 2.0]
[Proofreader – Nine]
Chapter 47 - Introduction to Jajangmyeon
The first thing I did in the morning was write a long message in English, which I then sent to Lawrence.
[Good morning. This is Lee Tae-seong. I hope you had a good stay so far in Korea. After taking the time to think things over, I have decided that it would not be right to break a contract that I have already signed. While I appreciate your generous offer, I will have to decline. Please enjoy the rest of your stay and have a safe trip home.]
This would probably come as a shock to him since he was expecting a positive answer from me, but it couldn’t be helped. I had already signed a deal with KozTech. I would never betray my own people, and I didn’t regret passing up their offer.
‘I’m sure it isn’t pleasant getting rejected after flying 13 hours across the world, but now they know who’s really in the driver seat.’
I wondered how they would take the news. Would they start swearing like a couple of sailors? Curious, I closed my eyes and decided to eavesdrop. I hopped into Oliver’s perspective. He was in the middle of enjoying breakfast at the hotel.
“You don’t look so well, Father,” he said.
“I got a text from Tae-seong.”
“Really? That’s great!”
“He rejected our offer.”
“What? Why?”
“He says that he doesn’t want to partake in a betrayal.”
“That’s his excuse? Even though we’re offering him double what he already has?”
Oliver couldn’t seem to comprehend it. From a purely financial perspective, switching sides would be the logical decision. However, I had seen the future, and I knew that KozTech would earn me more in the long run.
“This man… He’s more principled than I expected,” Lawrence muttered. “He’s not the type to be persuaded by money.”
“If money won’t work, then how do we change his mind…?” Oliver asked.
“We have no choice. We should just be glad he invited us.”
“Well, I suppose he has opened my eyes to the fine cuisine of South Korea.”
Against my expectations, they were complimenting me instead of chewing me out. They were painting me in a better light than I thought.
Having confirmed their true feelings with Parasite, I decided to reevaluate them as well. Oliver didn’t seem like a bad guy. In terms of character, he passed. I needed to observe him longer to say for sure, but for now, there was no reason to remove him from my parasite list. Especially with Cash Swing on the line.
‘I have some spare time. Maybe I should go collect my winnings and raise my skill’s damage.’
I looked up where I needed to go to collect my money online. Since I had never won the lottery before, this was uncharted territory for me.
‘Okay, so... I need to go to the headquarters.’
The headquarters were in Seodaemun Station, which wasn’t very far from my home. I should be able to go as a quick morning errand.
* * *
‘Collecting the jackpot winnings was surprisingly easy.’
I checked my bank balance while stepping out of the NH Bank headquarters.
[Account Balance: 20,152,102,983 won (11,195,612.77 USD)]
There was over 20 billion won in my account.
I thought back to what the shocked employee had said when I handed her 20 winning tickets.
“Th-the total jackpot pool was 35.1 billion won. There were a total of 117 winning picks. Since you were a hundred of those winning picks… your total prize is 30 billion won. After a 33% tax, the amount you will be taking home is 20.1 billion won.”
I forgot to take into account how big the tax was. Even though winning the lottery was easy money for me, paying ten billion won in taxes still hurt.
‘I heard that Japan doesn’t tax lottery winnings…’
Well, whatever the case was, I should try to remember the next winning lottery numbers. For now, there was no better surefire way to amass cash than winning the lottery.
The most ideal option would be to win an American lottery, though.
‘Instead of winning Korea’s Notto Lottery dozens of times, it would be more efficient to win America’s Powerball once.’
The winnings for the Powerball were in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Sometimes, they even hit the billions. Its scale was incomparable to the Notto. Since tourists were eligible to win as well, I wouldn’t have to partake in any complicated immigration procedures.
‘The only problem is that in order for me to remember the winning numbers, I need to have seen them at least once in my previous life.’
Fortunately, I used to daydream about winning the lottery, so I had seen the winning numbers on various occasions. I just couldn’t remember any off the top of my head. Thankfully, that was what Crystal Clear Tranquility was for.
Crystal Clear Tranquility enabled you to remember anything as long as you had seen it at least once. Of course, the catch was that it was impossible to recollect something that you literally had no memory of.
‘In that way, Crystal Clear Tranquility has set limitations.’
Since I remembered a handful of the upcoming winning numbers for the Notto Lottery, it was best to start with that first. Winning the Powerball could come after.
After closing the bank app, I headed to the location I had promised to meet Joshua. He had arrived ahead of time.
“Sorry, did you wait long?” I asked.
His face lit up at the sight of me. “Ah, Tae-seong! Not at all! I just got here.”
He was probably excited at the prospect of a lunch that would somehow surpass grilled pork belly.
“Why don’t we do our trade before we eat?” I suggested.
“Works for me. How many magic crystals do you have?”
“I have a total of 120.”
“Wow. You have a lot.”
80 of those were just from the 66th floor, but I didn’t feel the need to share that little detail.
“Since we agreed to purchase each one at $6,000, then 120 would be $720,000, right?” Joshua said. “I’ll deposit the money right away.”
“Thanks.”
I promptly got a text notification.
[Foreign Deposit of 720,000.00 USD]
That was roughly 1.3 billion Korean won.
Even though a large sum had been deposited into my account, I felt indifferent about it. I already had over 20 billion won in there, after all.
‘Even though this should really sting for him, Joshua also looks pretty nonchalant.’
The current market rate for F-rank magic crystals was $1,500 per unit, yet he had purchased this batch at four times the market value. Even if he had only done it because of the contract, he still should have been displeased about making the trade.
‘Yet he looks completely unfazed.’
Was it simply because he was satisfied that our exclusivity deal remained secure? Or did he value our relationship so much that money became irrelevant?
I can’t read his mind, but it didn’t change the fact that no one had profited from this trade more than me.
“Here you go. 120 magic crystals.” I took the crystals out of my inventory and handed them to him.
Joshua promptly stored them inside his own inventory.
“Should we grab lunch?” I asked.
“Where are we headed?”
“Just follow me. You won’t regret it.”
* * *
Reaper Scans
Translator - Darkraider 2.0
Proofreader - Nine
Join our discord for updates on releases!!
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* * *
Joshua followed my lead, excited at the prospect of being introduced to another delicious dish. I took him to a famous Korean-Chinese restaurant in Seoul.
“What is this place…?” he asked.
“It’s a Korean-Chinese restaurant. Their signature dish is jajangmyeon, which are also known as black bean noodles, and it’s my favorite dish. Do you like noodles?”
“I enjoy them on occasion, but they’re not my favorite.”
I knew that since I had become intimately familiar with Joshua’s tastes pre-regression.
‘However, not once did he ever say he dislikes jajangmyeon.’
There were some foreigners who found jajangmyeon unpleasant, but not Joshua. Along with grilled pork belly, jajangmyeon became one of his favorite foods.
I ordered us two bowls of jajangmyeon, along with some tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), and kkanpunggi (spicy garlic chicken). When the food came out, Joshua furrowed his brow at the unfamiliar black sauce on the noodles.
“What is this sauce made out of? Is it actually made from black beans?”
“That’s actually a common misconception. A paste called chunjang is the base for the sauce, which is made from fermented soybeans, not black beans. Here, mix the sauce thoroughly like this before trying it.”
After mixing the noodles properly, I took a bite and slurped it up. While chewing my noodles, I signaled for Joshua to try it with my eyes.
“Well. I guess I should try it before judging…” Joshua carefully took a bite.
Slurp!
“Hmm?!” His eyes widened as he chewed. “This is delicious!”
“Right?”
He couldn’t hold back his praise. “The black sauce caught me off guard at first, but I never could’ve imagined such a flavor. It’s a little sweet, but it’s also salty and savory. It has a weird draw to it.”
Wanting to taste it again, he took a bigger mouthful this time.
Slurp! Sluuurp!
Hook, line, and sinker. He started chowing down on the noodles like a hungry animal.
“Seems like you’ve gotten better at using chopsticks,” I noted.
“I practiced diligently because I heard you need to use chopsticks to really enjoy grilled pork belly. It was surprisingly difficult to get the hang of, haha.”
Despite his humble claim, he probably didn’t really struggle with it. After all, Joshua was an multi-talented guy that easily succeeded in anything he picked up.
“But this flavor is really addicting,” he added. “It’s so good that I can’t stop!”
“Try the other dishes as well,” I suggested.
After seeing me dip a piece of tangsuyuk in the sauce, Joshua mimicked my actions. “Oh! This is good, too.”
Next, he tried his hand at the red-sauced kkanpunggi. After trying a bite, he smiled. “Mmm. That’s wonderful. What type of meat is that?”
“Chicken.”
“The spiciness is just right. It’s a very different flavor from the fried chicken in the US.”
“I’m glad you like kkanpunggi. This is actually a Koreanized Chinese dish. You’ll have to try Korean fried chicken some time.”
“Korean fried chicken? How is it different from American fried chicken?”
“Korean fried chicken uses a lighter batter and is deep fried twice, which makes it crispier. There are a lot of different types of sauces. There’s a sweet and spicy sauce, a soy sauce-based sauce, garlic sauce, and more.”
“Really? I’ll have to try it next time. Korea seems to be full of interesting dishes.”
Joshua resumed scarfing down the food.
Suddenly, however, he stopped and asked in a hushed voice, “So Tae-seong, why haven’t you uploaded a guide to the 30th floor yet?”
“A guide?”
“Yes. You stopped at the 29th floor on Transcendent Net.”
That was right. After that, I stopped writing posts and switched to recording action cam footage instead.
“Have you decided not to upload any more guides?” Joshua asked.
“That’s not it,” I said. “Why are you asking, though?”
“I’m a bit embarrassed to admit it, but the closer I get to the 30th floor, the more nervous I get. A guide would be immensely helpful…”
Wait. Joshua was already approaching the 30th floor?
“What floor are you on right now?” I asked.
“I’ve cleared the 24th.”
So, he had the 25th floor up next… If he did well, he could earn an Orb of Darkness. It wouldn’t be an easy task, though. On top of having to defeat 100 Dark Rollers, he would also have to beat the boss.
In the past, Joshua had been the one to obtain the Orb of Darkness on the 25th floor, but that was because he had Skill Duplication. He would be hard pressed to achieve the same results in this life.
‘But who knows. Maybe he’ll manage it somehow, anyway.’
With the Time Reversal skill, hunting the Giant Dark Roller wasn’t just a pipe dream for him. And he had skills from the other gods as well.
‘Pre-regression, Joshua cleared the 25th floor without any assistance. I know he can do it again.’
I put my faith in him and decided not to share any extra information about the 25th floor.
“I plan on posting more guides soon,” I assured him.
“Oh, thank goodness. I was worried that you were going to stop. Haha!”
“Don’t worry. I’ll continue to share what I can.”
However, I didn’t tell him that the guides weren’t going to be in text form.
It was finally time to release my videos.
* * *
As soon as I parted ways with Joshua and returned home, I fired up my laptop. I planned to edit the footage I had recorded so far.
‘There’s not a lot I need to edit.’
After making a thumbnail and adding some captions here and there, the video guide for the 30th floor was ready. Then, I made a separate video for each floor up to floor 39.
Just like that, I finished ten videos.
‘All that’s left is to upload them.’
I queued up the videos for release on my Viewtube channel, Amon's Labyrinth Guide. Rather than dumping all the videos at once, releasing them one at a time was better for gaining more subscribers.
Once I finished uploading all the videos, I logged onto Transcendent Net. I needed to promote them, after all.
[Author: Amon]
<Title: My Strategies For Floors 30–39. This time around, they’re videos.>
— Post: From the 30th floor onward, it’s difficult to describe the strategies in written form, so I prepared videos instead. Look up “Amon's Labyrinth Guide” on Viewtube and you’ll find my channel.
That’s where I posted the first video, so check it out. I’ll also post the link down below for ease of access.
____
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