READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 3 - Money Ghost (2)
I Raise With In-app Purchases – 3
EP.3 Money Ghost (2)
Academy City.
The location where game characters gathered and lived together was the academy.
Even though they will eventually join the military and become active, the main setting was always the academy, where they initially gathered to nurture their first characters.
That’s why when I retired and settled down, I chose the academy.
‘There’s nowhere else.’
Every time I looked at the shop window, I pondered.
Why on earth!!
‘Is the character selection, the most crucial part of the game, locked?’
I’ve tried everything imaginable, yet I couldn’t access the window to summon characters.
It was securely locked with a lock-shaped icon, and no matter how much money I had, it showed no signs of opening.
At some point, I began to think that blindly accumulating wealth might not be the answer.
“Even if I came here and can’t find an answer, let’s just give up.”
I worried whether this world could function properly without drawing characters, but what could I do?
It’s impossible to even get close to it.
My last resort and hope.
The Academy City built around the Trigger Academy.
Finally, after being reborn and 30 years had passed, I could arrive.
“Please, show some response.”
In my mind, this was the only place where I could unlock the summoning lock.
The problem was, even if I had known this earlier, I couldn’t have reached the Trigger Academy City.
Did I not want to come here until I turned thirty?
‘Academy City. A place where not just anyone can enter.’
To enter as a commoner, numerous procedures were required.
Of course, there are differences even here due to birth.
If one’s parents live within the Academy City as commoners, their children can enter without procedures.
But being born into an ordinary commoner household, I couldn’t enjoy such privileges.
Hence, I needed preparation to enter the Academy City.
What a commoner needs to enter the Academy City.
Firstly, a clear status.
Here, there are grades based on status.
Commoners with criminal records have lower status grades.
And the economic capability also influences the status grade.
‘To put it roughly, it’s like a credit score.’
Additionally, there was one more requirement to enter the city.
‘Absurdly, appearance must be tidy.’
Tidiness of appearance.
A person who had lived a rough mercenary life needed a tidy appearance.
Fortunately, tidiness of appearance didn’t refer to physical appearance.
Think about it.
In a situation where contamination has taken away 60% of the land, how do commoners live?
The nobles place their mansions as far away as possible from the contaminated zones.
Depending on the household’s circumstances, commoners live closer to the contaminated areas, especially if life is tough.
“In the commoner villages near the contaminated zones, starved bodies are left unattended, and the surroundings reek of filth.”
The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
The disparity in this world was stark.
Honestly, living as a commoner was much harder than being born as a dirt-poor person on Earth.
Losing 60% of the land to contamination, and with over billions of people struggling to survive on only 40% of the land, isn’t it so?
There were many criminals, many slums.
The center of the world was firmly grasped by a minority of nobles, monopolizing wealth and honor.
“But honestly, I don’t have the right to say anything about commoners.”
Commoners can breathe because nobles sacrifice themselves to fight in the contaminated zones.
Most nobles have a high probability of being ‘awakened’ by bloodline.
It’s a high probability that all nobles become awakeners.
And once they graduate from the academy?
They have an obligation to enlist for a whopping 10 years to protect against contamination in the contaminated zones.
In the past, it was a conscription of 20 years, but as the contamination ratio stabilized at 60:40, it gradually reduced to 10 years.
“It’s natural for wealth and honor to follow since it’s risking life for 10 years of war.”
Thanks to them, we can survive.
Because of them, commoners both feared nobles to the extent of trembling yet also held respect for them.
From that perspective, it was truly unfortunate that I was reborn as a boy from a commoner background.
‘It would have been good if I were a noble. Still, I have an ability.’
I have the ability to use the ‘store’.
Initially, I thought I might have awakened, but unfortunately, I’m not an awakener.
I have to obey and live.
Even though I can’t summon, as long as there’s a way to draw items, I don’t need to struggle like an ordinary commoner.
Isn’t there a way to raise specs in the game as much as paying?
‘The problem was the seed money. Making money was insanely difficult.’
I actually died twice because of it.
So, with the money I collected, I was undergoing an assessment to enter the Academy City.
“Hmm.”
The government official in charge of the assessment looks at me squarely after checking the documents I submitted.
“The purpose of your city visit?”
“I’ve retired to start a business.”
“A business… obtaining a merchant’s license wouldn’t be easy, yet you’ve managed to gather quite a sum. Ah, a mercenary slaying monsters. A patriot, I see.”
Among mercenaries, those who slay monsters are often considered lunatics, but among nobles, it wasn’t viewed that unfavorably.
Dealing with weakened monsters that escaped the contaminated zones.
For us, it’s a nerve-wracking job that risks our lives, but for nobles, it’s tedious and bothersome.
It’s a waste of time for nobles to deal with those weakened creatures.
Hence, they don’t need to bother with tedious tasks.
So, that’s why the government official called me a patriot.
Those who deal with weakened creatures for the sake of the nation, it’s considered an admirable deed.
‘The atmosphere isn’t entirely hostile, but it’s more standoffish than I thought.’
I had some hope being a mercenary who hunted monsters, but the official’s expression wasn’t particularly welcoming.
‘Tidiness of appearance, my foot. That’s just nonsense.’
If the official in charge of the assessment didn’t like it, citing untidy appearance could be an excuse to reject me.
The surest way was offering a bribe.
‘I hoped it would just pass.’
Feeling helpless, I presented a pouch of bribe money to the official.
The official checks the pouch and raises an eyebrow.
And then…
– thud! –
A red stamp is imprinted on the documents containing my information.
“Pass. Welcome to Trigger Academy City.”
The official, pocketing the bribe money, declares my passage.
And simultaneously.
[Hero Summon Lock has been released.]
After 14 years of anticipation, the lock on summoning characters was finally unlocked.
“!!!!”
The moment I felt the money taken by the official wasn’t wasted at all.
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Ecstatic that the character lock was lifted, the shop window updated as if to make me even happier.
[Recommended Products] [Package Store]
[Regular Store] [Limited Edition]
[VIP Mileage]
A special package appeared.
To be honest, it’s called a special package, but sometimes the contents were so mediocre that not purchasing was the better choice.
However, this time, the package was composed of items that I absolutely had to buy.
‘This is a must-buy.’
How great would it have been if I could buy more packages?
But this special package could only be purchased once per account, understandable given how unbelievable its contents were.
‘Finally, back in my hands, Resurrection stones!! Three of them, no less. Isn’t this a balance breaker?’
Other package items weren’t bad either, but compared to the Resurrection stones, they paled in comparison.
Even after retirement, having Resurrection stones is an absolute advantage.
Extra lives, isn’t it?
‘Now, let’s walk on a truly smooth path.’
After the arduous life as a mercenary, it’s time to enjoy a smooth retirement.
However, as the character summon lock I had longed for was unlocked, I had many thoughts.
‘I guess I have to do this?’
Summoning characters is essential for this world to not collapse.
Why had I been so fixated and desperate to enter the Academy City?
‘There might not be a more stable place than here once the main scenario begins. And I should sell the consumables I’ve gathered through item draws and live comfortably with the money earned. Not envying the nobles.’
To enjoy the peaceful life I had planned after retirement, stabilizing the contaminated zones was necessary.
The 60:40 ratio would collapse the moment the main scenario starts.
Can nobles without SSR characters navigate through the main scenario?
‘Even if I’ve finally started enjoying a comfortable life, what’s the use if the world ends?’
Yes, it’s probably best to do hero summoning.
Even though it means consuming the hard-earned Red Crystals, it’s inevitable.
By the way, Red Crystals here are the currency used for hero and item summons.
They’re obtained by exchanging monster products for money and then purchasing Red Crystals.
A newly opened character draw.
Before even adapting to life in the Academy City, it kept poking at my nerves.
‘Shall I taste it once?’
Aren’t you curious about what happens when you summon a hero?
‘And on top of that, the SSR-exclusive equipment that I couldn’t figure out how to deal with. If I draw an SSR, I’ll be able to sell it to them.’
Exclusive equipment is gear that only SSR characters can use, essential items required to boost their stats to SSS level.