Chapter 25
It had already been a week since the Balhut Cult’s coins were distributed as daily wages.
Bahamut, the god of the Balhut Cult, watched over the reconstruction of Gyeongju by the Balhut Cult through the Mirror of Perspective.
“Wow. It’s being rebuilt better than I expected.”
The result exceeded expectations.
Bahamut had judged that rebuilding the city would be extremely difficult even without zombies. However, when the Survivor Camp united around Choi Yuna and pushed forward with the goal of reconstruction, the city was rebuilt faster than expected.
In just a month, intact buildings had reappeared, and Bahamut felt satisfied knowing that the coins he had created were now being used as currency for economic activities.
“It feels like I’m playing a city management simulation. Hmm.”
Yes, it felt like a sort of city management simulation.
Of course, it was a hardcore simulation with no option to restart or save, unlike a computer game, and Bahamut knew that many cult members’ lives were at stake in his hands.
Yes, many lives.
Even a small mistake could lead to all those lives being lost, and he could feel that fear.
“Enough sightseeing. Let’s get to work.”
He tore his gaze away from the installed Mirror of Perspective and began his day as usual.
Upon waking up in the morning, the first task was to melt down the coins brought in by the Balhut Cult and reforge them into new coins.
The method of manufacturing coins had already been automated using magic, so Bahamut merely used telekinesis to bring the coins collected by the Balhut Cult into the shrine, where they would be transformed into coins with a single click.
The coins produced in this way would be sent to the Balhut Cult by evening, escorted securely by cult officials.
“Here is today’s supply of purified water and charged batteries.”
“Thank you, Bahamut.”
And then, after starting the coin production, the next task was to charge the water and electricity used by the Balhut Cult.
He used the Creator Water magic to replenish clean drinking water for the cult with the transport vehicles that arrived in the morning and charged the electricity into the batteries they brought.
Storing the water in tanks was straightforward, but charging the batteries required utmost care, as any mistake could lead to a serious accident.
However, as water and electricity were essential for urban life, Bahamut provided these to the Balhut Cult daily without fail.
“Today was another productive day.”
In the evening, he welcomed the officials who came to collect the coins, drank a refreshing glass of water, and used the Mirror of Perspective to observe the new city of Gyeongju being rebuilt by the cult, concluding his day.
That alone gave him enough strength to live through the day…?
“Wait a moment.”
It was then that Bahamut sensed something strange.
…Yes, it was strange.
Why was he leading such a diligent and fulfilling life, like that of a dedicated office worker?
Reflect on who you truly are.
He was…
‘I’m like a recluse who got pulled into regular life after being obsessed with games, aren’t I?! What a disgrace! I haven’t abandoned my true self!’
Wasn’t he a shut-in who had always immersed himself in games?
Why was he living such a diligent life, working day in and day out?
Where had the shut-in who used to enjoy farming gold in games and acting tough in online communities gone?
Back then, when he was a burden to his parents, living as a shut-in was when he shone the brightest!
‘That’s right! I didn’t notice the oddity because I approached this as a management simulation!’
Once again, Bahamut offered himself a plausible excuse and sought to escape reality.
In truth, seeing a new city emerge from the ruins had made him grow attached to it, which was how he explained his feelings.
‘Well… Yuna is working hard too, and I’ve gotten to know many people…’
In reality, Bahamut himself secretly hoped that this prosperity would last forever, but unfortunately, problems and conflicts were bound to arise in a city where people gathered.
“Recently, the number of raiders has increased significantly.”
During the weekly briefing from the Balhut Cult, Bahamut heard unsettling news from Jung Dong-gun, who was in charge of the military.
“Are they raiders targeting the cult members?”
“Yes.”
Indeed, it was clear that those who envied the prosperity of the Balhut Cult had appeared.
From Jung Dong-gun, Bahamut learned that there had been a recent surge in raiders who were causing trouble.
“Recently, raiders have been trying to avoid the surveillance of the Balhut Cult to rob citizens. When we managed to capture one of them, we found out he was from a Survivor Camp north of Gyeongju Bridge.”
“North Gyeongju. That’s the area where the Survivor Camp that doesn’t follow us has gathered.”
The Balhut Cult controlled the southern part of Gyeongju, while the Survivor Camp that did not follow the cult resided to the north, with Gyeongju Bridge serving as the boundary.
Especially near North Gyeongju, there was a reservist training centre, which meant that if they could recover the firearms stored there, they would have considerable firepower.
Of course, the downside was that if the emergency food supplies stored in the city ran out, they would have to go far to resupply.
On the other hand, although South Gyeongju had no weapons, it was surrounded by farmlands, so if they could liberate the fields from zombies, they could achieve self-sufficiency in food.
“Did we receive any response from that side?”
“Do Josoon, who calls himself the King of North Gyeongju, completely denied any connection to the raiders.”
Jung Dong-gun shook his head with a regretful expression.
Was that expression directed at the raiders abandoned by their comrades, or at the Survivor Camp driven to such extreme measures?
“They said that, so let’s deal with the raiders in our own way. And although I feel sorry for Hwang Seung-man, who is currently drafting laws and regulations, ask him to create a temporary law that allows us to punish the raiders. With so many raiders, we have no other choice.”
“As you command.”
Bahamut ordered Jung Dong-gun to ask Hwang Seung-man to draft a temporary law that would provide grounds for punishing the captured raiders, and Jung Dong-gun complied without hesitation.
They had captured the raiders, but there was no clear standard for punishing them.
The three laws used by the Balhut Cult were only applicable to ordinary crimes.
There were no established measures for dealing with external raiders causing trouble like this.
“Well, I expected this.”
Bahamut knew that someday the Survivor Camp would turn into a Raider Camp, but it happened faster than he thought.
He sighed and moved on to the next agenda item.
“How is the monetary economy progressing?”
“Of course, it’s progressing well! But…”
The next topic was the economic situation presented by Lee Hyuna.
It seemed that the policy implemented by Lee Hyuna was going well, as her expression was very bright.
“If there is one problem, it’s that the general public doesn’t understand this anti-counterfeiting.”
“As expected, huh.”
However, there were still some issues.
The anti-counterfeiting measures Bahamut had devised for the coins were excellent, but they had a critical flaw.
Mr. Choi had quickly identified a drawback when appraising the coins.
“Awakened individuals can easily distinguish between counterfeit coins and real coins as soon as they awaken. But ordinary people, who can’t sense magical energy, can’t detect this subtle difference.”
The problem was that ordinary people could not understand the anti-counterfeiting magic Bahamut had prepared.
Awakened individuals could detect the magic energy emitted by the coins, allowing them to instantly recognize if a coin was counterfeit or genuine.
From the moment the coins were introduced, they were so attuned to Awakened individuals that they could easily spot a counterfeit coin made using a 3D printer that only replicated the surface.
“If we don’t address this issue, counterfeit coins targeting the general public will continue to appear. Even now, there are people using abandoned 3D printers from industrial factories to replicate the appearance of the coins.”
“This is just the beginning. We can’t afford to celebrate too soon.”
However, ordinary people who hadn’t awakened could not sense magical energy or detect the unique magic scent.
Without magic, they couldn’t determine whether the coins in front of them were counterfeit, and they accepted the counterfeit coins given to them without suspicion and sold their goods.
As this accumulated, the value of the coins would gradually decrease, and inflation would occur as prices rose sharply.
“So, the problem lies in the counterfeit coins that ordinary people can’t detect?”
“Yes, ordinary people lack the ability to sense magic. For now, we’re dealing with it by assigning counterfeit inspectors, but it’s not practical for ordinary people to call an Awakened person every time.”
“That’s true. Awakened individuals are precious resources.”
Lee Hyuna had not been sitting idly by.
Counterfeit inspectors had been assigned to each market area to identify counterfeit coins as much as possible.
However, ordinary people could not always call for Awakened individuals, and, above all, Awakened individuals were the most valuable human resources in Gyeongju.
For the Balhut Cult, which had a high proportion of ordinary people, each Awakened person was incredibly valuable.
“I understand for now. I’ll come up with a solution.”
“Thank you, Bahamut.”
Bahamut promised Lee Hyuna that he would devise a solution, and then moved on to the next agenda item.
The next topic was brought up by Yoo Soo-sung, who was in charge of the Gyeongju Reconstruction Project.
He had both good news and bad news for Bahamut.
“The reconstruction of Gyeongju is almost complete.”
Gyeongju Reconstruction!
It meant that the reconstruction Yuna Choi had dreamed of was nearly finished.
Although it wasn’t a complete restoration, it was a partial reconstruction that involved repairing or building practical buildings that people could live in, but it meant that the city had returned to a liveable state.
“That’s good news.”
“The issue is, once the reconstruction of Gyeongju is complete, a large number of construction workers will become unemployed. Awakened individuals can join the military, or take up roles in the security forces or exploration teams, so they have options, but there are very few job opportunities for ordinary people.”
However, as soon as the reconstruction was completed, another problem arose.
Bahamut’s head ached at the mention of a large number of workers suddenly becoming unemployed.
Just a moment ago, he had been troubled by the counterfeit coin issue, and now the unemployment problem had emerged.
“In addition, constructing new buildings… is not an option. If we initiate new construction projects when resources are already limited, the cult could collapse.”
It was impossible to undertake large-scale construction projects for the sake of the unemployed workers.
After all, the resources the cult could use were limited, and any further projects would be practically meaningless.
“Every cult member has been assigned housing, so building more homes would be an unnecessary luxury. Of course, there are plans for expansion work on the main hall used by the Balhut Cult and for developing the busy Gyeongju market, but these projects don’t require as many workers as the reconstruction effort…”
Of course, construction workers were not entirely unnecessary.
Projects like expanding the main hall used by the Balhut Cult, developing the Gyeongju market, and maintaining the road leading to the shrine were still underway.
However, these projects did not require as many workers as the Gyeongju Reconstruction Project.
In fact, to carry out the work efficiently, it was better to focus on skilled workers.
“Have you discussed this matter with Lee Hyuna?”
“She seemed troubled by this issue as well. It’s not realistic to push all these ordinary people into self-employment. Plus, she has been complaining about the counterfeit coin issue lately.”
“Any other ideas?”
Even the economic official Lee Hyuna appeared to find this issue challenging.
Moreover, she was preoccupied with the counterfeit coin problem, making it difficult for her to take action.
Bahamut asked if there were any other ideas, and Yoo Soo-sung, after a moment of thought, offered a suggestion.
“There is some abandoned farmland near Gyeongju. We could allocate labour there to produce food, but this is not a fundamental solution.”
“And why is that?”
“Well, farming is hard work, and ordinary people, like the Awakened, prefer easier and more comfortable jobs.”
‘I can’t argue with that!’
It was a reasonable point.
While no job is inherently better than another, each person has their own aptitudes and skills.
So, workers naturally want to do work that is easy, comfortable, and suited to their skills, while they are reluctant to take on hard labour or jobs that don’t match their strengths.
For now, people have been forced into work under the pretext of reconstruction, but there was a good chance that they harboured some dissatisfaction with their jobs.
“Unlike ordinary people, Awakened individuals have many job options. An ordinary person might have one job to choose from, while an Awakened person can choose from three or four different jobs. Naturally, ordinary people feel discriminated against.”
There was a huge disparity in the jobs available to ordinary people and those available to Awakened individuals.
Awakened individuals could choose to do jobs that ordinary people could also perform, but ordinary people could not do the jobs exclusive to Awakened individuals.
This perceived inequality could potentially lead to conflicts and tensions.
“Again, it’s about the differences between ordinary people and the Awakened.”
The difference between ordinary people and the Awakened.
If this disparity was not addressed, the Balhut Cult could not move forward.
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