5 – Contract with the Outer God (3)
A five-episode Korean language workbook had been completed.
I had to continue this for at least 20 more days. Only then could I finish my quest with the Outer God.
[— Remaining time: 791 hours 01 min 08 sec]
I sighed.
As I had been concentrating for a long time, it was time to take a rest. While I opened the status box, I received a message from the Outer God.
[— ‘the god of wisdom and curiosity’ senses satisfaction in your dedication and sincerity.]
[— You received 100 pn as a reward!]
Seeing this, what exactly is ‘pn’?
Simply put, it’s a coin given by the gods. It’s a currency that comes in handy when trading with the Outer Gods.
However, ‘pn’ requires caution for possession and usage unlike the coin.
[— Consequences for exceeding a certain amount of pn include mental disorder, hallucination, vomiting, fever, stroke, damage to the frontal lobe, and even death.]
I shouldn’t accumulate too much pn, regardless of how I feel about it. From time to time, I have to spend it, whether I like it or not.
Otherwise, I would literally go mad.
[— Note: The root of pn (pn) comes from Prion.]
For your information, a prion is a type of infective protein. The well-known mad cow disease is caused due to a prion infection.
Considering the fact that the Outer Gods are parasites in our brains, it was an appropriate name.
[— Note: The maximum unit of pn that a human can store is usually up to 1000.]
For an average person, when getting 500 pn, they show signs of madness. At 700 pn, hallucinations occur. At around 900 pn, they become vegetative. Lastly, when the maximum limit is reached, they die immediately.
Of course, the amount of pn you can store can be increased. For example, by practicing ether.
I still don’t know how to handle ether, and I may have an average limit of pn storage.
Without any expectation, I checked the pn count for the first time.
[— PN count: 150 / NULL]
What the hell?
[“What the hell.”]
“……?”
[— ‘the god of wisdom and curiosity’ is puzzled.]
“Literally, ‘nothing’.
What’s this? Does it mean I have no mentality?
Taken aback, I scanned the status window up and down.
[– ‘The god of wisdom and curiosity’ will readjust your P.N. limit.]
[– Adjustments cannot be made!]
[– ‘The god of wisdom and curiosity’ will readjust your P.N. limit.]
[– Adjustments cannot be made!]
[– ‘The god of wisdom and curiosity’ temporarily sponsors 10,000 Prone.]
[– P.N. Measure: 10,150 (Temporary) / NULL]
[– ‘The god of wisdom and curiosity’ is greatly puzzled.]
The status line scrolling down at a crazy speed as if compiling.
The extraterrestrial had tried to put my P.N. measure close to unlimited and even caused fissures in my body.
“Ugh…!”
Thanks to that, my head felt like it was going to explode. Thin threads appeared before my eyes, as if cutting the world into pieces.
I was gasping for breath as if water had filled my lungs and my whole body felt as if it had been beaten up by a group.
What is this?
This sensation, have I felt it somewhere…?
The pain stopped while I was sensing a premonition. The extraterrestrial had exhausted its energy as well.
[– Unable to adjust the P.N. measure.]
[– ‘The god of wisdom and curiosity’ is greatly interested in your mental world.]
[– Received 850 Prone as an inspection reward!]
“Whew….”
I wiped off the cold sweat and laid down.
[– P.N. Measure: 1000 / NULL]
I haven’t done anything yet, but my Prone measure is already at 1,000. That’s more than enough to kill a person and still have some left.
It was as if I swallowed a pufferfish whole and still survived.
Ding!
It was then the status window updated.
[– Notice: The store for contractors has been unlocked.]
A store.
It seems that the extraterrestrial prepared it.
The store is a place where one can buy and sell the civilizations of evolved extraterrestrials.
Although this fact is revealed late in the work, these extraterrestrials are indeed physical entities. They reside in a seven-dimensional space where the cross-product of vectors is defined. In that space, they can rewind time and divide our universe.
Naturally, their level of civilization is far beyond our 4-dimensional understanding. Regardless of what it is, it means that there are an abundance of factors that can be helpful if used properly.
It should be added that the type and quality of the store depends on the capabilities of the extraterrestrial.
[– The store given to you: ‘Cartesia’s Secret Lab :)’]
[– ‘The god of wisdom and curiosity’ wishes for amusement. Look around the store, and strengthen yourself.]
I entered the store. The space of reality disappeared and a dark world appeared. White glowing tentacles wrapped around the boundary of this world. In front of my nose, there were stone tablets with letters written on them.
[The analytical solution of Helium atom wave function: 1,650 Prone.]
[Proof of Goldbach’s Conjecture: 1770frons]
[Answer to Riemann Hypothesis: 2800frons]
Each stone was selling things with their price on it.
These are things that you can’t buy yet.
In fact, ordinary people are not allowed to buy these things in their entire life.
You’ll know when you see the price. For example, to buy the ‘Answer to Riemann Hypothesis,’ you have to die twice and go mad three times.
There were as many stones as there were World War I veterans. Most of them are things people are not interested in. What I really wanted was something else.
[– Time Left : 789 hours 59 minutes 45 seconds]
Time was also passing here. I need to find it and return as fast as possible.
“…I found it.”
Swimming between the stones, I stopped in front of a small one.
[Intellectual Acceleration (+1%) : 10frons/per unit]
An element that is necessary right now. And it will be necessary in the future.
In game terms, it’s an intelligence stat.
I plan to invest in this for a while. Because the goddess of wisdom tends to give a lot of quests that can only be broken if you have good academic abilities.
[– Would you like to buy ‘Intellectual Acceleration (+1%)’ in bulk?]
I’ll buy everything that’s available.
[– You have paid 1000frons.]
[– You have acquired ‘Intellectual Acceleration (+100%).’ ]
[– Since you have run out of frons, you will be forcibly expelled from the shop.]
Shoot!
“…..”
Fast.
Clearly, it’s gotten faster. The speed at which my mind works has doubled.
Whether it’s my own strength or the help of an external force doesn’t matter. Time is running out, it’s not the time to be nitpicking.
I decided to immediately test my newly gained ability. Without hesitation, I opened up the next problem set to solve.
Swoosh.
The sound of the automatic door opening was just heard. I turned around before I held the pen.
“…Young Master?”
The purplish short hair that’s cut off at the shoulders.
From noble mtl dot com
White pupils as pure as the snow piled up in the arctic, untouched by dirt.
Even the wings on her ears.
It was a mini android. She put down the strawberries sherbet she made on my desk and marveled.
“Are you solving another problem set?”
“Yes.”
“It’s already your third one for today.”
“I’ll solve up to the fourth one before I go to sleep.”
Sonya was shocked.
“Pulling an all-nighter is not good for your health.”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not the end of the world if you don’t wash.”
***
A week had passed since then.
During this time, Setti visited Eidel every day. She didn’t want to see his disgusting face all the time, but he kept doing things that made her have to visit him.
“Third young master has enrolled in online tutoring worth 3 million credits.”
“Third young master has purchased college textbooks worth 500,000 credits.”
“Third young master has ordered shrimp chicken…”
“Ah, this is so irritating!”
Setti stomped her feet every day without fail.
‘Just how much money is this lunatic going to spend?!’
She had earned 4 million credits over the past week. And he had spent it all. Setti’s anger flared at wanting to separate the surplus immediately.
“The young master said he couldn’t resist chicken.”
“That’s…! Ah, darn! That’s not the point!”
What’s the big deal with 30,000 credits for food expenses?
What’s important is the fact that her half-siblings are continuously throwing tens of thousands of credits to the wind in ‘useless places’.
Setti spat out sharp words at Eidel while glaring at him.
“Stop studying unnecessarily.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Do you think you can get into the Stellarium just because you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
No matter what Setti said, Eidel’s reaction was cold. While replacing the nib of his tablet pen, he responded nonchalantly. There were more than a dozen worn out nibs at one corner of the desk.
“You can’t do it.”
“If I can’t, I’ll make it happen.”
Setti gritted her teeth with a grinding sound. She had a hot temper. It felt like steam was seeping out of her head.
“…Hoo.”
It’s okay.
‘I have to be patient.’
There’s not even four months left anyway.
‘I just have to hold on until the end of the academy entrance exam.’
When this year is over, so is this infuriating kinship. She had endured the last 10 years. Not being able to wait another four months now is ridiculous. Setti twisted her mouth and took a deep breath.
“Sonia, keep monitoring him.”
“I’m doing that.”
“This time, seriously, really. Absolutely prevent this jerk from spending any money.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Though it felt like déjà vu, she let it go.
Setti is also taking the Stellarium entrance exam this year. Not only should she take care of her business, but she should also be dedicated to her studies. There wasn’t enough time to scold Eidel, who lacked study ethics as well as good character.
“Report anything unusual immediately. Okay? I’ll check on him instead of Dad.”
“I und… Ah, there is something unusual.”
“Really?”
Setti, who was about to head to her tutoring center, paused her steps for a moment. She flipped back her hair, white as cotton snow, and asked.
“What is it?”
“Young master has become great at studying.”
“…”
Seti’s expression darkened. She glanced at my brother who was fumbling with his pen. Aidel, paying no attention, continued solving his workbook.
“He’s, become good at studying…?”
“Let me correct that. He’s become bloody good at studying.”
“…Just because we’re using it, now you’re using profanity too?”
“Please forgive my impudence, miss. I couldn’t find a more suitable word.”
“Forget it, I said forget it.”
Seti’s gaze once again was fixed on Aidel.
‘Nonsense.’
…But it was too vague to dismiss completely.
‘It seems something has changed…’
But she didn’t exactly know what.
‘Certainly, the use of profanity decreased.’
Seti quietly approached Aidel from behind. As Sonia was about to say something, Seti put her index finger over her lips and shushed. Sonia then closed her mouth.
What Seti saw from behind Aidel…
‘…?’
It was Aidel solving a physics workbook.
No, could that even be considered ‘solving’?
Swoosh, swoosh.
Flip!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Flip!
He was literally reading and answering, then immediately flipping to the next page in an endless loop.
No solution process, no moment of pondering.
‘Is he freaking kidding…?’
She just about managed to suppress her laughter.
Is he memorizing all the answers?
Or is he pretending and actually can’t solve anything?
Either way, it didn’t matter. Such behavior will reveal his inadequacy. Tricks like this won’t work for Stellarium entrance exams. She was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
‘Stupid, really.’
Seti clicked her tongue as she turned away.
Still, it’s certain there has been a mental change in my stepbrother. Fortunately, Seti knew a friend who was good at sensing such changes. A friend from her tutoring class, who was older than her, but the same age as Aidel.
‘I should talk to sister Rustila.’
About the possibility of someone in this world who can mentally solve physics problems.
***
[— ‘I’m amazed at your zeal to order more workbooks by the ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’!]
[— You’ve accepted an additional sponsorship of 1500 Prone!]
There had been a lot of changes over the week.
[Skill Applied: Thought Acceleration (+320%)]
First off, all the Prone he had accumulated thus far was invested in thought acceleration. Consequently, his computational speed far surpassed that of the average person. It felt as though he had become John von Neumann.
Seoti’s attitude gradually seemed to soften, as well.
Everyday, he was cussed out for spending money like water, but there was nothing he could do about that. What could be done when it was all spent on studying?
In return, he wasn’t mean to her. He no longer made biting remarks, or cussed at her. He did not taunt her. No matter what his younger sister said, he listened obediently and let it pass.
The stress was no laughing matter, but it was okay.
These conditions would only last a short while.
Before long, he would win Seoti over to his side.
Once he did, he intended to establish himself as his family’s successor, rather than continue as the failure he currently was.
This was because, with her business acumen, she could manage to secure sufficient budgets for the Gravity-Titan development.
He planned to have a better life.
“Heh, hehehehe, hehehehe.”
“My Lord, you have finally gone mad.”
With a sigh from Sonia, I completed my physics workbook.
Just one more….
No, I need to complete one more before I go to bed.
