Black money.
Also known as criminally concealed assets, this refers to the massive funds earned outside legal procedures, hidden behind the shadows of the law.
Such funds don’t simply multiply as if a printing press were churning out counterfeit bills.
– If you took out a loan, pay it back!
– I-I will! Just give me an account number…
– Are you kidding me?! Who the hell wires money like this? Pay in cash!!
Most of the time, people earning money through labor are either coerced into paying in cash or scammed into surrendering their funds.
There’s no need to go into detail about how black money is made.
What’s more important is understanding how black money is primarily generated in the Hunter Capitalism Era.
Why?
Because modern capital is flowing in this direction.
Tower Coins.
Rewards of unknown origin granted to Hunters as they conquer Towers.
Elaine also received Tower Coins when she first conquered a Tower.
Since system windows and status screens are visible only to Hunters, these coins do not exist as tangible assets and cannot be used as cash in the real world.
– Anyone know what Tower Coins are used for?
– No clue
– Wait, are you saying you can use them at Mol? What kind of shopping mall is Mol? Or are you talking about some kind of ‘Mol’s Tower’ where you can buy stuff?
– …
A virtual currency that does not exist in reality.
With the rise of modern cryptocurrencies, Tower Coins have become a form of digital asset.
– Buying Tower Coins. Direct 1:1 trade.
– You want to buy 1 million won worth of Tower Coins for 1 million won in cash?
– Yes.
– Are you stupid? Why would you pay real money for that? Nothing about it has been confirmed yet!
How, then, did Tower Coins manage to amass capital from both Hunters and ordinary people?
– Isn’t the only thing you can do with Tower Coins just buy weird outfits inside the Tower? And those are ridiculously expensive. Isn’t it just like buying skins in an FPS game?
Tower Coins can’t be used to buy real-world goods. Even within the Tower, the only thing they can purchase are skins that change your appearance—but offer no actual advantage in climbing the Tower.
Are they just a gimmick, meant to make players feel satisfied by dressing up while clearing dungeons?
– Sir, I’m not just buying Tower Coins. I’m investing in them.
No.
– Until the day we can buy real goods with Tower Coins, I will keep conquering Towers, collecting Tower Coins, and purchasing more with real money—accumulating them endlessly!
Tower Coins established a massive crypto-market backed by the belief of Hunters—and even non-Hunters.
– Tower Coins will skyrocket someday!
– One day, the God of the System will create a proper marketplace where Tower Coins can be spent!
– Although humanity isn’t ready yet, the day will come when we can buy magic artifacts with Tower Coins!
Tower Coin is going to go up!
– Cosmetic items don’t even have damage reduction buffs.
– Right now, it’s just cosmetic items, but isn’t the important thing that you can buy anything at all?
– What do you mean?
– What if it’s not just cosmetic items, but a stage where we simply can’t buy everything yet?
What if Tower Coins weren’t just for purchasing cosmetics, but eventually included items that could enhance a Hunter’s abilities?
– What if, in the future, a patch update allows us to buy all kinds of elixirs, buff items, or even ‘Awakener Stimulants’ from the store?
– …
– We’re making an investment in the future.
– And what if nothing happens?
– That future won’t come. Because I’ve bet my entire fortune on Tower Coins!
– Isn’t that just gambling?
– Would you call it value investing, please?
Many scrambled to collect Tower Coins.
Even those who weren’t Hunters were doing everything they could to secure them.
Even if Tower Coins could be traded, exchanged, or gifted within the Tower, the demand remained.
Some climbers would hoard Tower Coins and then meet people in the real world to trade them for tangible goods.
– Why are you selling Tower Coins for cash?
– Why wouldn’t I? I can sell Tower Coins and buy a house or a car.
This was what people called “earning through gaming”.
And when the base earnings from this hit billions of won, those drawn by the scent of money—especially from the underworld—started gathering with black money in hand.
They began hoarding Tower Coins, whether through standard digital currency methods or illicit means.
– Guys, it looks like we’re switching from drugs to magic potions.
– Boss, but we don’t have any Hunters.
– Don’t you have any relatives who’ve Awakened? If not, find someone who’s Awakened but hasn’t climbed the Tower yet. We’ll turn them into our personal Tower Coin ATM.
A new era of Hunter capitalism.
Even the mafia and criminal organizations were mobilizing every resource to profit from Tower Coins.
They were evolving to fit into the Hunter Capitalist Era.
However, there was a fundamental limitation—
Only Hunters could obtain Tower Coins.
And those who hadn’t Awakened yet still held their wealth in cash or digital assets.
That was no different in South Korea.
“Commander~, I’ve dug up some political funds in this country. Wanna take a look?”
Now, I had the power to trace the flow of black money.
“Look at this. This city councilman? He hired his son’s Hunter friend to farm Tower Coins for him.”
“…I really didn’t want to know that.”
The abyss was full of crime.
Things even more horrifying than what I had seen in movies.
* * *
As an expert in electronic warfare, Drei had more information than I had thought.
As expected of a cyberwarfare specialist, Drei had secured more information than I could have imagined.
Personal SNS conversations.
Videos stored in cloud services.
That alone was enough to determine who was committing crimes.
“Commander, while you’re checking that, mind if I take care of something else?”
“Something else?”
“Just a little internet browsing~”
Drei twirled the LAN cable plugged into the wall with a smirk.
“I know you stored all the sensitive data on that security computer your American friend gave you, but for some casual web surfing, this is enough.”
“Don’t you need a computer or a smartphone for that?”
“Mmm, no need to go that far. Just gotta plug this in here.”
She lightly held the end of the LAN cable and the hem of her skirt together.
“So, wanna see?”
“You’re not actually plugging it in there, are you?”
“Of course not. Just kidding. …And no, I’m not plugging it into my head either. …I just need to hold onto the wire like this, so don’t get the wrong idea.”
Drei lowered the hem of her skirt, tore off the end of the LAN cable, and lightly pinched the exposed wires between her thumb and index finger.
“I’m just doing some searches without getting my IP tracked. That okay?”
“You’re not posting anything weird, right?”
“Of course not. If anything, I might delete something weird. Heh.”
“…”
Something strange flashed through my mind, but I decided not to dwell on it.
“Drei. Can I trust you?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t do anything that causes problems for you—wait. What are you thinking right now?”
Drei stepped closer, a mischievous grin on her face.
“Come on, tell me. What do you think I’m trying to delete?”
“Hmm…”
Why did this feel like getting interrogated by a girlfriend, even though she wasn’t one?
If it were a normal relationship, I might try to smooth things over somehow, but dealing with her required a different approach.
Elaine wasn’t around, so I could afford to be blunt.
“Your lewds?”
“…”
The depths of the internet, the abyss itself.
And at the same time, something neither of us had mentioned, an unspoken topic we both avoided out of mutual discomfort.
“I thought you were planning to delete stuff like that. Was I wrong?”
“I was actually going to erase any data related to you… but I guess I should take care of that too.”
Drei’s response was surprisingly dry—befitting of her name.
Not that that Drei and this Drei were the same, but still.
“Wait. So, were you actually thinking about my lewds? Have you seen them before?”
“Not exactly. What I did think of was your cyber warfare memes.”
“Cyber warfare?”
“Yeah. That’s actually why I thought of you in the first place.”
Modifications to chest components.
That sort of thing could be laughed off as a joke—hardly the real abyss.
The true abyss lay in the eyes.
“Commander. Do you want all of it erased?”
“If I’m being honest… yeah.”
“Hmm… then while I’m searching, I’ll prepare an emergency kill switch. One button, and everything’s wiped.”
She mimicked pressing a button, clicking her tongue playfully.
But if Drei truly wanted to, she could erase anything.
Anywhere connected by a network.
If she could hack into data, that meant she could also delete it.
‘And it’s not just lewds.’
What if she erased something else?
There was that old movie where a legendary hacker wiped out the entire national debt by hacking the central bank.
Sure, banks eventually restored the records using physical documents and ledgers, but that took massive amounts of time and manpower.
Even just deleting one category of data—like illicit content—could throw society into chaos.
Drei had dug up countless files.
Not just questionable images, but unspeakable, horrifying things.
“If all of this got exposed, society would collapse, wouldn’t it?”
“Without a doubt. Humans are the same no matter what world they live in.”
As Drei revealed the abyss of crime she had uncovered, Kiharu, still in her cat form, approached with an obvious look of disgust.
“Humans are truly…”
“Goddess, don’t go dark on me. Remember what that one teacher said.”
“A teacher?”
“‘If five people gather, at least one of them will be trash.’”
“I think it’s the opposite. If five humans gather, four are trash, or maybe all five.”
“That’s not exactly wrong, but let’s not be too cynical.”
I patted Kiharu’s back while going through the files Drei had neatly organized into folders.
“If you’re going to open the trash can, be ready for the stench. But at least… there’s one silver lining.”
“And that is?”
“Our American friend is actually normal by comparison.”
“His biggest flaw is that he dated multiple women before marriage… and that’s the President? Unbelievable.”
“See? There’s still hope.”
Among all the horrors Drei had uncovered, I compiled a set of files containing the abyss of the U.S.—everything related to Eisen A. Luigi.
Documents on U.S. politicians, religious organizations, crime syndicates, and high-ranking American Hunters.
“First, let’s send over the details on where these people hid their embezzled dollars, gold bars, and stolen assets.”
“And if the President can’t do anything about it?”
“Then we release the next set of documents.”
If they refused to pay up, I’d expose the darkness hidden in those files.
“After all, nothing is more damning than a s*x scandal.”
Especially…
“When it’s not just about affairs, but something far worse.”
Sitting on my computer right now was a list of atrocities so vile they couldn’t even be spoken of.
For now, Drei’s security protocols ensured they wouldn’t leak.
But if I wanted to, I could send them straight to Luigi’s SNS—directly into the White House’s servers.
“So the President handles the cleanup, the IRS seizes the hidden assets, and then the recovered funds get transferred to my account as a ‘reward.’ More precisely, to ‘Mr. Summoner’, the black-haired American from West Virginia.”
“Is that even a strong enough justification?”
“Oh, that’s not the actual reward. That’s just the side payment.”
The real justification?
“The bounty for clearing America’s S-Rank Tower. They pay in cash, remember?”
“Ah.”
Kiharu sighed.
“I forgot… this country doesn’t have that system.”
“…”
“Does Korea give any rewards?”
“Well, technically, yeah.”
They did.
“Medals and certificates.”
“…”
