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The Rothschild Chain couldn’t receive a bailout despite having the Rothschild family as a backup, and it was as expected. Everyone knew the importance of saving them, but no one could afford the scale of their bankruptcy which exceeded the U.S. annual budget.
Following that, the major banks that had even survived the Great Depression in the 1930s and the two World Wars began to collapse. The Mobius strip always returned to its original position after repeating the cycle twice, therefore the situation was called the Mobius strip instead of the domino effect. When the U.S. stock market fell, the Australian market crumbled, followed by Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indian, Middle Eastern, and European markets. Then, the U.S. stock market collapsed again due to the shock of the European market falling apart, and the never-ending cycle was repeating itself. Korea had plunged around the time of the IMF crisis, and the disastrous impact was much worse this time. The global economy was floundering in a swamp of despair.
Regardless of such a situation, the casinos were still crowded with people. Their business wasn’t influenced by economic fluctuations. The money that tourists poured into Las Vegas went through dozens of pockets and eventually came into mine.
After conquering the third B-class dungeon, I went to Las Vegas with Woo Yeon-Hee.
***
It was hard to do a true comparison, but my abilities had surpassed an average S-class Awakened’s a while ago. My power was still weaker compared to the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues after they had rebuilt themselves in the past. However, I possessed and had upgraded the First Evil’s and First Virtue’s amazing skills to a high class, and I also had Odin’s Wrath. In addition, I had received high-class traits as rewards for being the first person to complete quests and had also collected items named after the gods.
Although we had attacked the dungeon after upgrading my Strength to S-class, it was still difficult enough that we barely managed to survive. The only difference was that the duration of time we spent in the dungeon had been shortened from forty to twenty-five days.
How are we going to defeat Doom Caso then?
Since I had eliminated the First Evil, Seventh and Eighth Virtues, I was now responsible for their duties. Doom Caso was the weakest among the Seven Demon Kings, but all of the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues needed to work together to fight him. In addition, the First Evil was the only one who had survived until the end, and he had barely defeated it. Well, to be exact, Doom Caso didn’t die, but instead ran away.
If I had remained in the past without turning back time, I would have witnessed the end of humanity with my own eyes. It would have happened on the day when a monster stronger than Doom Caso appeared!
Maybe, the future would need a few heroes more than the harmony of all mankind. The Second Round of Privileges might have been assigned based on that.
“What do you think?” Woo Yeon-Hee’s voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts. Since this wasn’t her first time staying in Las Vegas, she had customized her evening dress. She no longer hid a weapon under her dress as she used to as she had long realized that none of mankind could threaten her. Other than me, of course.
When she turned around, the hem of her dress fluttered like Ra’s Sun Cape.
“Isn’t it too loose?” I asked.
“I thought so, too, but it’s the trend these days. Does it look weird?” she replied.
“It doesn’t matter as long as it doesn’t get caught in your feet.”
“Are you sure there’s no item or insignia that makes me taller?”
I shook my head. “No. Don’t complain. There’s no privilege such as staying young forever.”
“Ah, fine. Anyway, I’m ready.”
Woo Yeon-Hee looked at me with a twinkle in her eyes.
Las Vegas was never boring. New shows and food waited for us every time we came here. It was too bad that I couldn’t bring a call girl over when I visited with Woo Yeon-Hee, but I didn’t really want them since I was busy debating whether to proceed with the Second Round of Privileges or not.
I was planning to relieve my stress by gambling. I had been careful, but still ended up on the blacklist of the Las Vegas casino industry as I had steadily earned a huge amount of money from them. However, the world’s largest casino here had removed me from the list earlier this year as the general manager of the hotel had witnessed that I was close to Jonathan.
“Where should we start?” Woo Yeon-Hee asked.
“We should go get the room charge first.”
It was a competition between the casino and me. Casinos in Las Vegas had set the games such that players could win by a slim chance. When I overcame the odds of less than one percent and continued my winning streak, the number of onlookers increased. My surroundings became crowded, but not all of them were just watching. Most of them were betting on the winner between the casino and me, and it was called ‘site betting.’ Ironically, this was a microcosm of the subprime crisis. Just because I was doing well, people were spending so much money betting on my victory without seeing my cards.
However, it was difficult for the casino to count the betted amount as it had continually accumulated. This was similar to the reason why the U.S. government and elites couldn’t easily grasp the risk of subprime derivatives.
Then, the dealer revealed his cards. I lost this round.
“Ah!”
The moment the dealer took the chips from my table, a sigh burst out from behind me, but it was not from Woo Yeon-Hee. Someone even murmured ‘no’ as they had spent a huge amount of money on site betting. If this was the real subprime market, they would have gone bankrupt first. It was just a metaphor, and there was no reason to burden me with more stress here.
I got up when I had gained a reasonable amount. As I turned around, I saw some people’s pale faces.
***
I knew the Second Round of Privileges was likely a bad idea, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about it. If I could control my mind and thoughts as I wanted, I could have been more patient than Buddha. Neither the joy of gambling nor the delicious food and alcohol helped me shake the idea off.
“What is bothering you? You are here to relieve stress. Is it because of the corps commander?” Woo Yeon-Hee asked, taking her lips off the wine glass.
“That’s only a tiny fraction of what I’m mulling over, but we are getting better. It will get easier next time as I have just upgraded one of my stats by a class.”
Sooner or later, Woo Yeon-Hee would learn about the Second Round of Privileges as an Explorer reward. She needed only one master box to upgrade one of her stats to S-class, assuming that she was lucky enough to get the right target figure.
I suddenly remarked, “We are halfway through.”
“Halfway?” she asked curiously.
I replied bluntly, “Until the Day of Advent.”
Woo Yeon-Hee’s eyes widened, and she carefully placed her wine glass down on the table. The customers at the nearby dining tables were either talking about their trip to Las Vegas or the subprime crisis. They all talked as if it was the most significant issue at the moment, but none of them knew that a much more disastrous economic crisis than the subprime would come in a decade.
“In 2018, ten years from now,” I said.
“When did you find out about that?” Woo Yeon-Hee asked.
“Not long ago, but the important thing is not when I found out.”
“There’s something more significant than that day?”
“There is a stage that people like us must go through. The System named it the Stage of Advent.”
I had never told Woo Yeon-Hee about it. Her ability was Empathy, not mind reading. She still believed that I had gained all this information through my precognitive dreams.
“You are talking about the people in Revolucion and Tomorrow, right?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Then?”
I explained, “As soon as the stage unfolds, many people around the world are supposed to awaken at the same time.”
“Please tell me the details.”
“The Stage of Advent is a completely different world. Time flows independently and it is not connected to Earth. When we enter the stage, time passes by there, but not here.”
Woo Yeon-Hee closed her lips with a serious look and nodded several times.
I continued, “It’s called ‘the Stage of Advent,’ but it’s more like the Trial Tests and Stage of Survivals. Weapons that encourage us to fight will be prepared for every round and scene. For example, one of the rounds stipulated that only a fixed number of survivors could proceed. Do you get it?”
“...So we have to kill each other to survive?” Woo Yeon-Hee’s eyes trembled.
“Do you remember? You’ve asked me before if you would ever see the spirit again.”
I was referring to the moment when she had completed her first Accomplishment Reward quest. She had loved the spirits without knowing their true identity, and anyone would have had. They were tiny and flapped their beautiful wings, which could be only seen in a fairy tale.
However, their true selves were cruel as they were like a devil with dual personalities like the System.
Woo Yeon-Hee replied, “You hated them very much.”
“I didn’t have a good feeling about them back then, and my gut was right.” I continued, pretending that I had no clue back then.
“They are present as guides and executioners at the Stage of Advent.”
She frowned slightly. “Guide? Executioner?”
“They are guides when they kindly explain the devices in the stage while proceeding the Stage of Advent, but when more people survive than the preset quota, they choose who gets to live and kills the ones who don’t make the cut. That is when they become executioners.”
“Wh…Why?”
I shrugged. “That’s what I have been saying all along. The System doesn’t make sense. You shouldn’t think about the reason why. Basically, we have no choice but to struggle as hard as we can to fit the situation.”
Woo Yeon-Hee became speechless. She was imagining the stage based on my description.
“Oh, and it’s not necessary for people to only fight against people. There are also monsters there too. If you look at the big picture, you could say this: it’s a stage that forces training on people who aren’t ready. Well, it was first designed to do so.”
“Have you seen it...?” she asked.
“See what?”
“Was my family there?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know, but I think the chances of them being in there are remarkably low. It’s not like all humanity awakens and enters the Trial Tests together.”
“Then?”
“Only a few chosen by the System do.”
“Ah… the System surely is…”
I nodded. “Yes, it’s malicious. They even turn the training ground into a survival battlefield. However, you will do well there. There will be a series of horrifying choices, but you will have no choice. I think you are prepared enough to become a group’s leader.”
“Seon-Hu? Does that mean… Aren’t we supposed to go through all of this together?”
I shrugged. “Maybe in the Stage of Advent. We might be able to encounter each other one day when going through stages, but I don’t think we will start off at the same point. That’s all I have seen for now. I’ll let you know if there is anything else I see in my dreams.”
“Yes, please.”
Both Woo Yeon-Hee's eyes and fingertips were quivering.
“Anyway, you should keep the Stage of Advent in mind. There is one last thing I need to tell you about the Second Round of Privileges.”