The 100th Regression of the Max-Level Player TL

12. Collecting the Winnings

Ryuwon, who had returned home, bit his nails nervously.

It was a habit that emerged whenever he felt anxious and uneasy.

"Stop that. I told you not to bite your nails."

"But brother. I can't help feeling anxious."

"I said don't worry."

"How can I not worry? We're about to lose 100,000 won."

Seeing his brother mark only one number on the lottery ticket, Ryuwon thought.

That they had definitely lost.

That they had wasted 100,000 won.

"Marking several numbers would increase the chances of winning, so why..."

"I told you. This is the winning number."

"How do you know that, brother?"

"I saw it in a dream."

"..."

At those words, Ryuwon made an incredulous expression.

It was truly a statement that left him speechless.

Regardless, Ryumin didn't seem to care.

'It doesn't matter if my brother believes it or not. The results will speak for themselves anyway.'

Though he was anxious now, Ryumin knew.

That his brother's attitude would change 180 degrees after the evening draw.

This too was something he had experienced through dozens of regressions.

'There's no better way to make money immediately than the lottery.'

For Ryumin, a regressor, guessing the lottery numbers was easier than killing goblins.

'It's good to secure funds through the lottery before players ruin the world.'

Later, the social system becomes paralyzed because of the players.

Even now, the economy is shaking due to 900 million deaths.

'Before it gets worse, I need to secure funds through the lottery and maximize money through coins and stocks.'

The more money, the better.

Not only can they escape their impoverished life immediately, but it can also be used to recruit players.

Later, players even trade items for money in reality.

'Well, the value of gold held by players is higher than real-world money.'

Ryumin had no worries knowing the future, but Ryuwon, being just an ordinary person, couldn't be so carefree.

In his mind, he had already accepted the lottery loss as a fact.

"We should have just bought something delicious with the 100,000 won..."

Ryuwon muttered regretfully.

For the brothers, 100,000 won was a large sum.

Although Ryumin worked part-time at a meat restaurant every weekend, he only earned 400,000 won a month.

They did receive basic livelihood support, but after excluding various expenses, there was hardly any money left to save.

It was fortunate that school fees and meal expenses were provided for free.

"Sigh."

Seeing his brother sigh again, Ryumin said nothing.

He knew his attitude would change drastically by evening anyway.

Sure enough.

-Welcome. We will now begin today's lottery draw. The numbers are valid regardless of the order they come out. Shall we see the first number?

When the lottery draw time came, the brothers picked up their phones.

They were watching on their phones since they didn't have a TV.

Roll roll-

As the balls rolled and the draw began, Ryuwon clasped his hands tightly.

'Please, even 5th place...'

He couldn't help but be desperate as the brothers' living expenses were at stake.

On the other hand, Ryumin, who knew the result, had an expressionless face.

-The first lucky number is 3!

Ryuwon looked at the lottery ticket spread on the table.

"3? We have it!"

Fortunately, they got one right.

-What's the second number? It's 18!

"18? We have that too!"

They got the second one right too.

Just one more and they'd win 5th place.

Expectation spread in Ryuwon's eyes.

'How much is 5th place?'

They had marked the same number for all 100 games, at 1,000 won per game.

If each game won 5,000 won for 5th place, they would win 500,000 won.

Not only would they recover their investment, but they'd also make a 400,000 won profit.

"Please, please, please..."

Was his brother's desperate waiting for the third number amusing?

Ryumin smiled without realizing it.

"No need to be so tense."

"Huh?"

At that moment, the third number was announced.

"Gasp, brother! Amazing! We, we won 5th place!"

Ryuwon was overjoyed, not knowing what to do.

He must have been quite worried about losing their investment.

"Wow! To multiply it by five! Your dream really was good!"

"I guess so."

But it was too early to rejoice.

-The fourth number is 38! The fifth number is 21!

As the numbers were called, Ryuwon's eyes grew wider.

His hands and feet trembled, and his eyes were busy comparing with the lottery ticket.

This was because not a single number had been wrong so far.

-The draw is now complete. I'll summarize today's winning lottery numbers. They are 3, 18, 9, 38, 21, 1. And the bonus number for 2nd place is 5. We'll see you again next week. Thank you!

The broadcast ended with the final number.

But Ryuwon's eyes showed no sign of leaving the phone.

"B-brother..."

"Yes."

"Can you pinch my cheek?"

"Pinch it yourself."

"Th-this isn't a dream, right?"

"Would you prefer it to be a dream?"

Ryuwon shook his head vigorously.

"No, absolutely not!"

"Don't worry. It's not a dream."

Ryumin smiled as if to reassure him, but Ryuwon couldn't hide his dazed feelings for a while.

After all, there were numerous first-place winning tickets right before his eyes.

"First place... First place..."

Even after rubbing his eyes and looking again, it was undoubtedly first place.

"Brother! Brother! This really isn't a dream?"

"I told you it's not."

"Hahahahaha!"

Ryuwon excitedly jumped around the already cramped house.

"Are you that happy?"

"Of course! Aren't you happy, brother?"

"I am."

When Ryumin first won the lottery, he too would shout with excitement.

But after repeating it dozens of times, it became like an obligatory annual event.

"All 100 games are first place... Haha!"

"Lower your voice. The neighbors will hear."

"Oops! O-okay."

Ryuwon, who had become quiet, still looked at the winning lottery ticket as if he couldn't believe it.

"First place... To actually win first place..."

Muttering in a voice as quiet as an ant crawling, Ryuwon looked at his brother.

"Brother, you really marked all of them with the same number, right?"

"Yes."

"Then how much is this?"

"Well, since it's divided by n, I guess it depends on the number of winners?"

But Ryumin already knew the result.

How many winners there were.

How much the prize money was.

'The world will probably be turned upside down by this record-breaking prize.'

Though the world had already started to turn upside down.

* * *

"Brother, have a good trip!"

"Alright. Stay quietly at home while I'm gone."

"Where would I go? And I'm not a kid."

'You are a kid. You're much younger than me.'

On the surface, they were only four years apart, but including the years experienced through regression, Ryumin's age was over 110.

To Ryumin's eyes, his brother could only be seen as a young child.

"I'm saying this because I'm worried, especially after what happened with that Bang Taegyu guy. If anyone comes, don't open the door."

"If you're that worried, just take me with you."

"No. It's an unwritten rule to collect the prize money alone."

"But I want to go too..."

"I'm going."

Ryumin waved his hand and started walking.

He took the bus and headed to the Nonghyup main branch.

To collect the lottery winnings.

'It was hard to wait until Monday.'

After learning about the win on Saturday, the brothers had a small party.

They ate grilled pork belly outside, having their first dining out experience.

'We couldn't even think about Korean beef because we didn't have enough money.'

Though it was only once, the impact of dining out was significant.

Their living expenses became just enough to barely cover bus fare.

'Still, we managed to get by on ramen until Monday somehow.'

The prize money can only be collected on weekdays when banks are open.

So having just enough for bus fare is no problem for their finances.

Once they reach the bank, billions of won will be deposited into their account.

-The next stop is Seodaemun Station Intersection, Nonghyup Central Association.

Ryumin got off the bus and walked.

After a while, a tall building came into view.

It was the Nonghyup Bank main branch where first-place lottery winnings are paid out.

Normally, one would be nervous before entering, but...

'Maybe because I've collected first-place winnings dozens of times, I'm not nervous at all.'

Ryumin entered the bank calmly without any such feelings.

Being Monday, many people were coming and going in the bank.

Of course, they were regular customers, not winners.

Ryumin approached the employee at the lobby desk in the new building, as he had done before.

"I'm here to collect the first-place lottery winnings."

"Oh, is that so? Congratulations, lucky customer."

The bank employee wasn't particularly surprised.

It was a common first-place win that occurred every week.

The employee just glanced at Ryumin.

'He looks quite young to have won first place?'

There were winners in their 20s, but the young man before him looked young enough to be a high school student.

It could be a lie or a misunderstanding, so the employee had to check.

"If you don't mind, could you tell me where you purchased the ticket?"

"GS24 Yeonhui Branch."

"Pardon? Ah...!"

The employee inadvertently exclaimed.

He remembered the conversation with his superior before taking his position at the desk.

-There are 107 first-place winning games this time.

-What? 107 games? That many?

-Yes, it's a record-breaking number compared to the usual 10 or so games. But you know what's amazing? 100 of those games came from one location.

-What? One location? Surely not all purchased by one person...

-That's right. Someone marked 100 games with the same number, and they all won first place.

-Wow... That's incredible. It's enviable to win just one, but 100 games...

-I checked, and the prize money is enormous. Anyway, they might come to collect the winnings this week, so be well prepared. If anyone says they bought from GS24 Yeonhui Branch, call the bank president immediately. They're an ultra-special VVIP customer.

Recalling his superior's words, the employee snapped to attention.

"Excuse me, but could you wait a moment?"

"Sure."

After asking for understanding, the employee left and soon returned with someone.

"Thank you for waiting. I'm Kwon Joon-ho, the president of Nonghyup Bank."

"Hello, I'm Ryumin."

Ryumin calmly shook hands with the bank president.

"I hear you've won first place. Congratulations, lucky customer."

"Thank you."

"Let's not stand here. I'll personally escort you."

Ryumin took the elevator with the bank president to the third floor.

During the ride, the bank president glanced at Ryumin.

'Look at that? This young man shows no signs of nervousness?'

Not only did he win first place, but the bank president himself came down to meet him.

Naturally, one would be nervous, but there was no change in the young man's expression.

The bank president found it curious that he looked relaxed to the point of boredom.

"This way, please."

The bank president guided Ryumin to a place called the Lottery Business Team.

As they walked, they saw other waiting winners who had come to collect their prizes, but they passed by.

They couldn't make Ryumin, who won 100 games, wait with them.

"Ah, Mr. President, you're here?"

An employee bowed while glancing at Ryumin.

'Who is this? The bank president's son?'

As he was wondering, the bank president introduced first.

"This is a VVIP lucky customer who came to collect the prize money. Help him as much as possible to ensure he's not inconvenienced."

'VVIP?'

Only then did the employee realize who the person the bank president had brought was.

'The 100-game winner from GS24 Yeonhui Branch?'

While he was surprised, the bank president exchanged greetings with Ryumin.

"The employee here will help you collect your winnings. Please make yourself comfortable."

"Yes, thank you."

As the bank president withdrew with a friendly smile, the employee stepped forward.

"Nice to meet you, lucky customer. Please sit here."

The employee smiled and asked Ryumin, who sat on a plush sofa.

"You must be thirsty? Would you like something to drink? Coffee, juice, green tea..."

"It's fine. I'd like to collect the prize money quickly and go home."

"Ah, is that so? I understand. Then, could I see the winning lottery tickets first?"

Ryumin handed over the 20 lottery tickets from his pocket.

The employee couldn't hide his surprised expression as he checked the tickets.

All 100 games had the same number, and they were undoubtedly first place.

'To mark all of these with the same number. Does he know the future or something?'

The employee tried to hide his envy and explained with a smile.

"The check is complete. All 100 games are indeed first place. Congratulations."

"Thank you. How much is the prize money?"

"The first-place prize for this draw is about 24 billion won, and there are 107 winning games in total. Since you won 100 of those games..."

The employee swallowed hard before speaking.

"Your prize money amounts to about 22.4 billion won."

After taxes, about 15 billion won would be deposited into the account.