Chapter 108
Nordel confirmed that the letters arrived once a week.
The contents of the letters were always the same.
Make a jamming bomb and deliver it to the designated location.
Then one gold ingot would fall from the sky.
It had already been three weeks since the letter arrived.
At present, Nordel possessed one gold ingot in total.
Someone hearing this might well find it puzzling.
After all, the gold ingots he had obtained so far totaled two and a half.
Then where had the remaining gold ingot gone?
Nordel spent 25% on making jamming bombs.
He squandered the remaining 75% on playing, eating, and drinking.
-Today, my treat. Everyone eat, drink, and enjoy yourselves.
Nordel was the sort of person who liked to show off.
The problem wasn't simply that he drank expensive liquor and ate expensive food.
He enjoyed showing that sort of thing to other people,
and he enjoyed holding the upper hand in his relationships by paying the expenses others should have covered themselves.
Over the past three weeks, he had done the sorts of things a nouveau riche man was known for.
He ate with acquaintances at restaurants frequented by the upper classes of the barony, seduced one of the pretty, low-born women working at a shop and made her his lover, then enjoyed her reaction as he bought her expensive and precious jewelry.
So naturally, his money melted away.
But he couldn't stop.
Now, it was as if he had become the successful version of himself he had imagined during all those years shut away in his room.
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A month had already passed since the letter arrived.
Nordel was lying on the bed of an upscale inn.
Beside him was a barmaid. He had grown tired of his previous lover and brought a new woman.
"I really need to start spending more carefully now."
"They say the royalties you receive amount to about one gold ingot a week, so does it really matter?"
"That's true, but… I should save some money for my next research project too. Magic is an academic field that costs an awful lot of money."
"As expected, successful people really are different. You're the best, Oppa."
Nordel presented himself as a successful wizard.
Everyone believed his story.
In truth, the truth wasn't all that important to people.
What mattered was that he really was wealthy,
and that he spent money on them.
Nordel kept quiet about the letters.
It was embarrassing enough, and it would be a disaster if someone stole the letter from him.
"Oppa."
"Why?"
"I heard the Life School made something called a car, a means of transportation that can be used in the city instead of carriages. They say there's going to be a demonstration in the square a week from now. I want to ride one."
Nordel blinked.
'The Life School….'
It was a name he hadn't heard in a long time.
Nordel had a bad history with the Life School.
Back when Nordel had been deeply immersed in magic,
the school he had aspired to enter was the Life School.
'I'm going to become a Life School wizard.'
That was what Nordel had always told the friends who had once walked the path of magic with him, though they had all severed ties with him after becoming disgusted by his rotten behavior.
'I applied several times. And failed spectacularly every time.'
A painful past suddenly came to mind.
"Tsk."
It still existed within the Life School.
A man named Frock, who had once been a good friend and was now the source of his inferiority complex and self-loathing.
Nordel had failed, but Frock had been accepted.
As a wizard of the Life School, he had risen faster than anyone and built a reputation for himself.
In the past, Nordel certainly would have avoided him.
But things were different now.
Nordel had money and letters.
"Haha, a car?"
"Yeah."
"They've gone and made some useless contraption and called it a magic tool."
"Hehe, I suppose that's how it looks to you, Oppa."
"In the end, the reason for making a magic tool like that is money, isn't it? If it were me, I'd have made a magic tool that brought in more money."
Well, maybe I'd go take a look.
If I liked it, there'd be no reason not to buy her one.
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Roberta Barony, Central Square.
People had gathered there.
Nordel had also blended into the crowd and was looking toward the platform.
A dazzling invention had appeared on the platform.
"That must be the car."
"It looks really fascinating."
Nordel blinked.
He liked the way it looked.
He wasn't a merchant and had no reason to travel outside the city, but it gave him the feeling of something he wanted to own, like a diamond necklace or a gold ring.
The square was mostly filled with citizens, but behind them stood Baron Roberto and members of the upper classes from other territories.
They had probably gathered to see this thing called a car.
"Thank you all so much for taking the time out of your busy schedules to come here."
A Life School wizard stepped onto the platform.
He was a familiar face to Nordel.
"I am Frock, a 5th-circle wizard in charge of this car development project."
It was him.
He smiled and greeted the crowd.
"The reason our Life School created this magic tool called a car is simple. Our current means of transportation relies far too heavily on an animal called a horse. Living creatures are troublesome. From breeding them to caring for them, there are more than one or two things that need attention. Although this magic tool called a car cannot travel over rough terrain……"
The man on the platform was shining.
Look at the eyes of that crowd.
Their gazes were fixed on him as if they were explorers who had discovered a gemstone.
"This is incredible."
"If it becomes capable of long-distance travel, stable hands will lose their jobs."
The nobles were no different.
They too had their eyes fixed on his invention.
"You said the prototype can be purchased?"
"They said it would be conducted as an auction this time."
"What was the minimum amount again……?"
Nordel bit his lip.
Something familiar and unpleasant began to crawl up inside him for the first time in a long while.
It was inferiority.
The worst emotion, one that made him feel pathetic and made him jealous of the other person.
It made him turn his eyes away from reality.
And it was a vicious fever that made him give up on life.
'It's okay.'
I have money.
And I have a letter that gives me money.
That's something he doesn't have.
I will never bow to him.
Straighten your shoulders and stand tall.
Nordel desperately tried to suppress his inferiority.
But.
"The minimum bid is that much…? That's dozens of times more expensive than a horse."
"Even so, it has value as a collectible. Once that car becomes practical, its price will rise considerably."
After the demonstration ended, the nobles and Frock talked together.
Nordel listened from a somewhat distant spot, utterly stunned.
The minimum value of that car was 24 gold ingots?
Did that make any sense?
To buy that car, he would have to solve the problem at least 24 times.
Converted into time, that meant waiting a full 24 weeks, half a year, before he could even try to bid.
They discussed it as though that amount was no problem at all.
As if they lived in a different world from Nordel.
A frog in a well.
He felt pathetic in an instant.
Nordel clenched his fist.
His inferiority began to run wild.
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Nordel was lacking.
It was as if he had a second stomach in his heart; his greed could never be satisfied.
Nordel stared at the two gold ingots on the table.
At the time, he had thought they were an enormous sum of money.
But from the moment he heard Frock and the nobleman's conversation,
they began to look infinitely pathetic.
How could he become better than he was now?
How could he become like that man?
Let's think objectively.
It was time to admit it.
Magic was too much for him.
Because he had no talent.
His motivation for magic had burned down into cold ashes.
He had merely pretended to keep holding on because he didn't want all the years he'd spent so far to become meaningless.
Nordel could let go of magic.
Because he had the letter.
Let's use this to make a fresh start somehow.
I receive one gold ingot a week.
But that alone isn't enough to reach the world of that man and the nobles.
I need something more.
Nordel pondered in his shabby hut.
Wasn't there some good way to do it?
'First, let's check the letter….'.
「This time, if you look at this blueprint and make the corresponding item, we'll give you a prize.」
「Please take the item and go to the meeting place at the time written below.」
Ah, right.
Why hadn't I thought of that?
The letter came with a blueprint for a jamming bomb.
The jamming bomb was an item no school had ever released.
Nordel recalled Frock's figure, drawing everyone's attention on the platform.
Couldn't I announce that I had made this item, just like him?
If I used this item to start a business, couldn't I make a fortune too?
Fame and money.
Couldn't I obtain both at the same time?
Nordel made six jamming bombs.
Then, once again, one gold ingot fell at the designated location.
He now had a total of three gold ingots.
Nordel spent a long time thinking in his shabby hut.
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Eventually, Nordel decided to start a business.
'If I suddenly show the blueprint to those people at the mage tower, there's a chance they'll steal it. First, I'll make them myself and supply them to the territory's army, merchants, or monster hunters.'
He was in a hurry.
He needed to secure the materials in advance.
Most of the materials used in jamming bombs were by-products obtained by killing monsters, which made them difficult and expensive to procure.
In any case, the jamming bomb was an excellent magic tool.
It was only a matter of time before they sold.
He invested all his capital in buying materials for the jamming bombs.
Then he immersed himself in production and set off with absolute confidence.
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"We're not buying."
"Pardon?"
"It's too expensive. I'd rather hire a wizard at that price."
"What do you mean……?"
The items didn't sell.
The reason was simple.
"The power of this jamming bomb is incredible. It's much stronger than the jamming of a 5th-circle wizard. Do you really not understand its value? It can erase almost any magic instantly with a single jamming bomb……"
"I understand. You even demonstrated it for me yourself."
But where the hell was he supposed to use it?
Everyone Nordel met asked him that question.
The jamming bomb's power was greater than the jamming of a 5th-circle wizard.
It could erase every spell of the 5th circle or below.
It certainly had excellent performance.
It had a low chance of misfiring and wouldn't explode while being stored, so it really was an incredible item.
But from the 5th circle onward, the number of wizards decreased exponentially.
In other words, situations where this jamming bomb was necessary were extremely limited.
"You don't need a butcher's knife to kill a chicken."
That was only natural.
Ordinary magic could simply be erased with the jamming of an ordinary wizard.
There was no reason to spend a fortune buying a jamming bomb.
In the first place, wizards of the 5th circle or higher were almost always holed up in mage towers.
Unless they were in a situation where magic couldn't be used.
They could simply hire a wizard, so there was no advantage.
"But, but this really is an incredible item. No wizard who came along could design something like this."
"Exactly. With design abilities like that, bring us an item that's a little more useful next time. Then we'll consider it positively."
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He became a penniless beggar in an instant.
The jamming bombs stored in the hut had become nothing more than unsellable trash.
It was devastating.
His ambitious business venture had gone under.
Nordel sipped his liquor.
Even so, his expression wasn't dark.
'It's okay. I still have the letter.'
That's right.
People can fail.
It was only three gold ingots, anyway.
He could earn that much by waiting a month.
Don't despair too much.
He could look for another way.
Nordel started walking.
"Huh?"
Nordel rummaged through the mailbox.
Why was it empty?
There should definitely have been a letter.
Could he have gotten the date wrong?
That was impossible.
Nordel's expression hardened.
Even after he waited for a long time in the hut,
no letter came for him.
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Nordel's life returned to the way it had been in an instant.
A life built with money was bound to disappear like an illusion when the money was lost.
People no longer called Nordel amazing.
He broke up with the barmaid.
And the people he'd dragged around as friends were no longer by his side.
The rent fell behind.
His tabs piled up.
All that remained was cheap liquor.
And memories that had been as short and futile as a dream.
"Fuck."
Perhaps it was because he had glimpsed hope for a brief time.
The life he'd kept living until now suddenly felt so cold and shabby.
"Fuck."
His hands trembled.
He deeply regretted his choices.
"Fuck."
If only he had blown through the three gold ingots.
He wouldn't have felt this wronged.
-I need to live like a person.
-How long are you going to keep renting and living here?
-You should buy your own house, get married, and start a family.
-From now on, hand over the money you earn to me.
Now, forget inferiority or anything else.
He had to worry about how he would feed himself starting tomorrow.
"Fuck……"
If only he had done nothing.
He could have lived without working for the rest of his life.
"My gold ingots……"
He had thrown away his last chance to live like a human being.
With his own hands.
Just as Nordel was despairing,
Crash!
Something heavy smashed through the window and entered the house.
He turned his head, wondering what bastard was making such a damn mess.
A gold ingot lay among the shards of broken glass.
Had the heavens taken pity on him?
This was a miracle.
At someone's final act of mercy, Nordel immediately threw himself face-first onto the floor and shouted like a madman.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Nordel made a vow at that moment.
He swore he wouldn't squander this final chance.
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A week passed.
As if one gold ingot hadn't been free, the jamming bombs vanished somewhere while Nordel was sleeping deeply.
Nordel stared at the gold ingot sitting on the table.
He did a rough calculation in his head.
'Even so, one isn't enough. To live comfortably for the rest of my life, I need at least two…….'
At some point, Nordel's gaze turned toward the gambling house.
I know.
I know it's a dangerous choice.
But.
Let's use this to earn exactly one more gold ingot, no more and no less.
Then I think I can be satisfied.
He started walking.
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A month passed.
Someone was howling miserably on a snow-covered plain.
"Please give me just one more chance! Please! I'm begging you! Please give me one more chance! This time, I won't be greedy and I'll live diligently! I won't spend recklessly, and I'll try to live an ordinary life while being grateful for what I've been given! Please, I'm begging you!"
It was Nordel.
He was in a pitiful state.
His body was covered in bruises like a beaten slave.
His filthy appearance made him look like a homeless man who had caused trouble.
Late at night, Nordel clung to a wooden post and shouted at the sky.
The X had disappeared, but he still remembered the place where he had received the gold ingot.
His voice was both a plea and a scream.
He didn't stop shouting until his throat was hoarse.
Then.
A letter fell from the sky.
It looked like an angel's feather.
"Ahh, ahh! Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Nordel read the letter with a face full of delight.
And.
「Find the formula for an apocalyptic spell that instantly annihilates every living creature in the world except the caster.」
Realizing that he had no chance left at all,
he wore a hollow expression.
***
TV Head : Is this the famous life at rock bottom?
TV Head : This is genuinely shocking in so many ways, lol.
ㄴCowhead : I can't believe this bastard blew all the money Newbie gave him at the gambling house
ㄴCowhead : and even ended up borrowing from a loan shark...
ㄴCowhead : This bastard was simply impossible to predict, yeah.
ㄴCowhead : Here's your 0.8 live commentary.
ㄴThe World Is Cold : Newbie, can you keep broadcasting through Malangie?
ㄴThe World Is Cold : I'm curious how that bastard's story ends.
ㄴNewbie : Is there really anything to be curious about?
The answer was already clear.
Opportunities ultimately come to those who are prepared.
It was meaningless to him.
It was meaningless to him.