Problems piled up in the world,
Abnormal weather, food crises, energy crises, security crises, waste, low birthrates, and countless other problems with no visible clue to their solution were accumulating. The towers that rose amid all that did, in truth, offer new opportunities, but in the end, they were by no means good news.
Because the damage and terror caused by the monsters that poured out when a tower raid failed were far greater than the supernatural byproducts and rewards that could be obtained from the towers.
People had grown much more numb to it now, but in the early days of the towers’ appearance, massive social chaos had broken out.
People avoided going to work, production activity declined, the stock market crashed, and capital flowed into safe assets. As a result, not only did economic growth slow, but financial markets became unstable and currency values fell.
Tourism and service industries were also dealt a heavy blow by the towers that took root in major cities, and industrial collapse occurred across many sectors.
To make matters worse, as each country restricted trade under the banner of national priority, global supply chains also grew precarious.
Amid this multitude of adverse factors, mass unemployment, job insecurity, and poverty rates naturally rose, while government finances faced crisis after crisis.
All of these factors became a massive current, bringing about a worldwide recession and global economic stagnation from which no one could escape, and this phenomenon dragged on.
As each country prioritized its own interests, international cooperation weakened, and as citizens’ anxiety increased, crime rates also rose.
All the events caused by the creation of the towers intertwined with the many difficult problems already piled up in the world before their appearance, making it seem almost certain that Earth’s destruction was drawing near.
There was only discussion over when it would happen, and how long it could be delayed. How to avoid or prevent destruction did not seem to be among the available options.
This great ship called Earth was slowly sinking, riddled here and there with small holes.
People were busily patching them, but more new holes were opening, and the holes already there were widening even faster.
Of course, the apocalypse could be described in different stages—the end of civilization, the extinction of humanity itself, or the extinction of all living things—but for now, the day when the brilliant civilization built by humans would come to an end did not seem very far away.
Naturally, Suho felt a sense of responsibility for this.
His lifespan had already been extended indefinitely, which made him dizzy just thinking about it... and if he did not intend to live for thousands upon thousands of years alone with Lavi inside his subspace,
then in order to live alongside his family, his friends, his descendants for generations, and his own kind, he had to solve the problems Earth was currently facing somehow.
* * *
Beep— beep—
“All right, all right! Stop!”
As trailers loaded with containers entered the loading dock behind Elysium Heights, forklifts quickly moved in and unloaded the goods.
The items were ordinary daily necessities, nothing special.
Clothing, all kinds of foodstuffs, household goods of every sort, health supplements, office stationery, luxury foods, and so on... If it could be purchased online, he bought supplies without discriminating by category.
Suho had been buying up all kinds of supplies indiscriminately for the past several months, but in truth, the process had been inconvenient and had its limits.
No matter how spacious his subspace warehouse was, he had no suitable space to receive and stack the goods he purchased in bulk, making large-scale purchases difficult.
In anticipation of such tasks, when Elysium Heights was constructed, he had made the loading dock behind the building extremely large, creating a loading and unloading area no less impressive than that of a massive logistics center.
Now that the loading dock was spacious, receiving goods had become convenient, and since Elysium Heights was such an enormous building, people’s doubts about the bulk purchases also decreased, assuming they must be used somewhere inside.
In any case, with favorable conditions now in place for full-scale storage of supplies, Suho spent every spare moment browsing shopping sites and purchasing dozens of pallets, or even entire containers, of each item. Then he repeatedly moved the goods that began piling up in the loading dock into his subspace warehouse and organized them.
If he bought too much of only certain items, that would cause prices to rise, so he had to rotate through various products and purchase them from various places. This, too, required quite a bit of attention.
There were no people at the loading and unloading area of Elysium Heights’ loading dock. Androids and other drones handled all the work.
Robots that never tired and made no mistakes loaded, unloaded, and sorted every item.
Dreaming that the goods produced on Earth would become as close to infinite as the gold and silver filling his subspace warehouse, Suho gathered supplies.
But as he bought so recklessly, even though daily necessities were low-cost items, Suho’s wealth rapidly dwindled.
In truth, recently, the expenses for constructing the new city and collecting supplies were on the verge of exceeding the income he earned from TDM and the OnTower Auction House.
He was short on money. He had to earn more.
* * *
The blackout phenomenon that began erupting in Seoul did not occur only in the metropolitan area. Blackouts continued to occur here and there, centered on large cities, and in response, the government convened a meeting.
Since the matter was so serious, the president, the head of state, and the ministers of all major departments gathered.
It was a large-scale conference that brought together not only ministers from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, but also department heads from the National Disaster Management Agency, the prime minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, delegations from Korea Electric Power Corporation, and technical experts.
There were active discussions on analyzing the cause of the blackouts, restoring electricity supply, and allocating emergency energy resources.
However, there was no clear solution, and in the end, desperate measures such as suppressing power demand, energy conservation campaigns, strengthening progressive taxation, and rolling blackouts became the main topics.
As increasingly suffocating conclusions began to dominate the discussion, the president briefly halted the meeting and drew everyone’s attention.
“Everyone, may I have your attention for a moment?”
The air in the conference room instantly grew taut.
“The problem before us today can be called a historic crisis. Power demand has exceeded supply, causing serious damage to the lives of our people and to the national economy as a whole. As you can see, we currently have no clue to a long-term solution.”
Everyone held their breath and listened, wondering what on earth the president was suddenly building up to say.
“However, there is someone attending today who says he may be able to present us with a new possibility and hope in an unprecedented form. Please show him in. Would you come inside...?”
As everyone’s gazes followed the president’s toward the entrance, the president continued speaking.
“This is Jeong Suho, an S-rank Admittee and the pride of our Republic of Korea, whom you all know well. He may not possess qualifications that formally correspond to an official conference of this nature, but the reason we have exceptionally invited him here is because there were recommendations and requests from the ministers of several departments.”
At this bewildering situation, the conference room grew noisy for a moment. An Admittee? Was there any way an Admittee could affect power generation? Did he even know anything about this subject? Amid the murmuring atmosphere, Suho sat down at the seat prepared for him.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Jeong Suho.”
As Suho bowed his head, people applauded, though their reactions were divided in several directions.
Suho cleared his throat and took the microphone.
Then, using the materials he had prepared, he brought up his presentation and began explaining calmly.
Giving a briefing before all the key figures of the nation— for Suho, who found everything boring, it was an immensely pleasant tension.
“Nuclear fusion was nothing but a dream, and renewable, eco-friendly energy lacks efficiency, unable to keep up with the rapidly increasing demand for electricity. I believe this is something all of you know well. By agreement of the UN General Assembly, thermal power generation worldwide has come to a complete stop, and in the end, both our country and the world at large are relying solely on nuclear power.”
When the screen changed, various materials related to constructing nuclear power plants played rapidly in animation.
“However, we are also in no position to increase the number of nuclear power plants without limit. The initial construction costs of nuclear power plants, the time required from plant design to construction and the start of operation, the issues of uranium mining and processing, the problems of selecting sites while avoiding risks from natural disasters and coordinating local opposition, the costs of managing and disposing of nuclear waste, and so on... None of these are simple matters.”
After briefly mentioning things everyone already knew, Suho got to the point.
“That is why I have specially taken this opportunity to propose an alternative to the new energy problem, through an unprecedented method.”
What appeared on the screen were complex-looking mechanical devices, along with a 3D animation showing their operating principles.
“This is a large-scale aether generator.”
There was no one who did not know what an aether generator was, but for most of them, this was the first time seeing an enlarged version. Even so, it was not particularly special technology.
The conference room grew noisy again, as many had already guessed what Suho was trying to say and even what his conclusion would be.
He continued his explanation without paying any mind to the atmosphere.
━━━━━━━━
The basic principle of a portable aether generator is simple.
When aetherium ore receives a specific high-frequency vibrational stimulus, it releases aether energy. Thus, a small ultrasonic generator applies high-frequency vibrations to aetherium, causing it to release a certain energy.
This energy generated through ultrasound has many similarities to Earth’s electrical energy, and through an [Aether Converter], it is converted into electrical energy. This converts aether energy into electricity with extremely high efficiency.
A single mineral releases different amounts of aether depending on its aether density, that is, its grade. This difference is merely a difference in output, not in duration.
Most aetherium can steadily emit its inherent energy for an immense length of time.
Such aetherium generators have a simple structure, and because they are simple, their construction and operating costs are also low. Naturally, the initial investment cost is low as well.
By my estimation, compared to the construction, maintenance, and repair of nuclear power facilities, the cost of aether power facilities would be less than one-thousandth.
There is no possibility of large-scale environmental pollution or loss of life from explosions or radioactive leaks like with nuclear power, so safety is high. Above all, it produces neither radioactive waste like nuclear power nor carbon emissions like thermal power, so its impact on the environment is almost nonexistent. It is, quite literally, clean energy.
Eco-friendliness, high efficiency, safety, small volume, no waste, economical operation... Its advantages are endless.
Taken together, it is the very definition of a dream energy source.
━━━━━━━━
As he listened to Suho’s explanation, one Korea Electric Power Corporation official could not hold back and raised his hand.
“Yes, we have listened well to the materials you prepared regarding the principles and advantages of aether power generation. However, I believe most of the people here already know those principles, and I assume they are also well aware of its advantages, so I interrupted you. My apologies. I understand what you are trying to say, Admittee Suho. Aether power generation is good. Efficiency, eco-friendliness, stability—in every respect, it is a dream resource, and we know that too. It’s good, but the problem is supply.”
At those words, most of the people present nodded. There was no way energy experts and officials from related departments would not know this. He continued.
“Aetherium, an extraterrestrial resource obtainable only from towers, is a mineral far more precious than gold. Even D-grade aetherium costs several times more than gold. The only thing that can even compare to gold in price is E-grade aetherium. Even now, aetherium is steadily being mined and traded through the tower climbs and raids of countless Admittees around the world, but it goes without saying that the quantity is extremely limited, does it not? Supply is absolutely restricted, and because it is such an expensive mineral, even though aether generators exist, there are only miniaturized versions. There are merely a few of them made for special use in restricted environments.”
The man sighed with a face that seemed to say he did not understand why he had to explain something so obvious and pathetic at such length here, then drove the point home.
“Large-scale aether generators? What would be so difficult about that? The principle behind an aether generator is simple to begin with. You only need to attach an aether converter. But what use is any of this talk? The amount of aetherium is that limited. We still have much to discuss regarding the blackout problem, so please understand that I spoke up because I felt we were wasting far too much time on a meaningless proposal.”
As he pulled away from the microphone and leaned back against his chair, Suho took hold of the microphone again as if he had been waiting for the chance.
“Oh, yes. You’ve even explained everything I was about to say for me. Thank you. That’s right. Exactly. If there were a power plant that could only operate by pouring gold into it, would it really be feasible to run? Of course not. Likewise, it’s only natural that we couldn’t possibly secure enough etherium to pour into power generation for Korea, let alone the entire world.”
Suho added his explanation, lending weight to the KEPCO official’s words.
It was true. Etherium was far more precious than gold.
High-grade etherium of C-rank or above was so expensive, and available in such absurdly small quantities, that consuming it for energy production was practically unthinkable. Such etherium was generally used to enhance the equipment or items of Admittees climbing the Tower.
At most, E-rank etherium—the lowest grade, cheap enough to be comparable in price to pure gold of the same weight—was sometimes used as an energy source for small-scale ether generators, but even that could not realistically be supplied in bulk, continuously, and reliably.
In short, it was possible only in theory. In terms of commercial viability, it was no different from nuclear fusion run with cryogenic superconductors instead of room-temperature superconductors.
No, ether power generation was far worse than that in terms of economic efficiency for producing energy.
After pausing for a moment and letting silence settle over the conference room, Suho began speaking again.
This time, it was a question.
“Since all the relevant experts are here, I’d like to ask a few questions about this. It would be helpful if you could give me approximate figures. At present, in Korea, how much does it cost in total to operate, manage, and maintain all nuclear power plants and other power plants? Could someone calculate that?”
When the president nodded, several teams gathered and began typing on their laptops. Before long, the result came out.
“At present... as of last year, the total cost of producing, transmitting, distributing, operating, and maintaining electricity at the Republic of Korea’s nuclear power plants and other renewable and eco-friendly power plants comes to approximately 112.415 trillion won.”
Suho nodded at the figure.
“Then that money is spent, and recovered through electricity bills, correct?”
“That is correct. This cost is primarily borne by corporations and citizens through electricity rates, and recovered as electricity charges.”
Suho tapped his fingers lightly on the table.
“Let’s drop the smaller figures and call it roughly 110 trillion. Out of that, how much would labor costs be?”
“Labor costs amount to roughly 17.9122 trillion won per year.”
“Ah, then let’s round those labor costs to 18 trillion. Since we can’t have all these workers suddenly become unemployed, let’s say we keep that 18 trillion in expenses and retain the workforce as is. Ether power generation is simple, so they can be trained in the relevant matters.”
Those who could not understand what on earth he was talking about began whispering among themselves.
“Now then, how about this? From now on, don’t burden the people with this 110 trillion won through electricity bills. Instead, let’s recover only about half of it—55 trillion won—through electricity charges.”
“W-wait, what on earth are you—”
People who looked as though they were about to explode tried to speak, but Suho gave them no opening and pressed on.
“Now then, out of the 55 trillion to be recovered through electricity bills, 18 trillion, as I said, will be set aside for the labor costs of all power plant-related personnel nationwide. Of the remaining 37 trillion, let’s say you use it for transmission, distribution, operation and maintenance, regular inspections, equipment replacement, and the like. Well, those sorts of costs should go down now, so keep them within 17 trillion. In fact, if we’re basing this on ether power generation, there won’t be much in the way of fuel processing and enrichment costs, waste disposal costs, or safety regulation costs, so shouldn’t that be enough? Use about 17 trillion as you see fit, and I’ll take just the remaining 20 trillion every year. In exchange...”
Suho swept his gaze over the room.
Expressions of disbelief, absurdity, shock, anger, irritation... all manner of emotions appeared on the faces of everyone seated there.
The ministers who had recommended Suho, and the president who had introduced him, looked no less bewildered.
Everyone swallowed, waiting to hear what words would come from Suho’s mouth.
“In exchange, I will supply an indefinite and unlimited amount of E-rank etherium to be used as fuel for every ether power plant in the Republic of Korea. No matter how many more ether power plants you build, no matter how much you increase the nation’s total electricity production, I will supply it without limit. How does that sound?”
“Un... unlimited!!”
“N-no, are you seriously saying that right now...!”
“See here!”
The conference room was turned upside down.
Ministers from various departments sprang to their feet, some pointed fingers, and others flew into a rage, asking what the point of all this nonsense was.
Amid the chaos, one person snatched up the microphone, fuming.
“Listen, Mr. Jeong Suho. We all know that you’re an incredible S-rank Admittee. We also know that you have the ability known as the world’s only Item Collector. But making such absurd boasts in a place as important as this is extremely problematic. Unlimited? Do you not know what the word unlimited means? It sounds like you need to study Korean.”
Several people laughed as if the remark had hit the nail on the head.
“Hoo......”
Letting out a deep sigh, Suho rose from his seat.
“That’s right. People really do have to see things with their own eyes before they believe them...”
The conference room was arranged with a large table forming a ring around an empty central space, leaving the middle completely open.
Suho extended his hand toward the center of the room.
In truth, the gesture was entirely unnecessary, but it was meant as a kind of performance.
“Watch closely.”
Sharararararak─────
“Huuuuup...!!”
“Gasp!”
“M-my god...”
In the blink of an eye, the central space of the conference room was filled with 100-gram pieces of E-rank etherium. As if that were not enough, they piled higher and higher like a mountain, until at last they began overflowing onto the surrounding tables.
Etherium spilled over the laptops, tablets, and microphones of the ministers and officials seated there, cascading down in a shower.
Chararararararak────
Even then, it did not stop. After roughly three seconds had passed, the entire conference room was filled with E-rank etherium, burying the lower bodies of the seated people within it.
Eyes stretched wide enough to split, mouths hanging open so far that drool might spill out. Not a single person wore a different expression.
Suho looked around at them all and spoke slowly.
“High-grade etherium of S-rank and above isn’t easy to mine even with my collecting ability, but little E-rank things like these come out as much as I want. I simply haven’t sold any until now because I wasn’t interested in selling E-rank etherium. There’s truly a mountain of it in my inventory. Do you understand now?”
The minister who had pointed a finger at Suho nodded blankly, and the KEPCO officials who had argued point by point lowered their heads. Then, here and there, people began clearing their throats and making excuses, saying they had never opposed it and so on.
Snap.
Paaat───
With a single snap of Suho’s fingers,
the E-rank etherium that had filled the conference room vanished just as it had appeared. As though everything had been a mirage.
“Ahhh...”
Everyone who, for a brief moment, had experienced being buried in what was no different from gold let out faint sighs.