The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 192

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The Investor I

1

I feel sorry for not mentioning ordinary people much. It's all because of a world where awakening abilities form a pyramid-like class society.

Previously, wealth could be inherited, but awakening abilities refuse even DNA-based inheritance. It's like a luck-based gacha game where you never know when or how it will hit.

So, what profession do most ordinary kids dream of these days, when they can't win the lottery?

[Top 3 Job Preferences for Children Under 10]

3rd: General Worker in a Major Guild – 10.2%

2nd: Caravan Member in the National Road Maintenance Corps – 14.4%

1st: Writer – 26.8%

Surprisingly, the most desired job among kids these days is none other than being a writer.

"Mom! I want to be a writer when I grow up!"

"Writers are gods!"

It's the era of humanities... no, it's the golden age of literature.

2

Why did a literary boom suddenly emerge? There is a deep and intricate causal relationship hidden here. It wasn't like this from the beginning.

In Korea, the humanities were originally considered embarrassing, with literature and creative writing being at the pinnacle of this embarrassment.

This treatment and perception were overturned exactly at the 205th turn.

Do you remember what happened during the 205th turn?

――――――――――

♪♫*♪~It feels like walking in a dream~♪♫*♪

Welcome to 『DREAM』 Casino! ٩(♡ε♡ )۶ We sincerely welcome you! ◕‿◕)丿

――――――――――

That's right.

Dream Casino. It was the 206th turn when dream dealers (succubi) officially got jobs at the Inunaki Tunnel.

People couldn't help but go wild over this miracle casino.

"McDonald's! Just give me McDonald's! Let me eat Quarter Pounder Cheese and those soggy, salty fries until I'm sick of them!"

"Wow! 160 coins!"

"I, I just want a cute girl who only looks at me to appear in my dreams..."

"Wow! Specifying a specific person costs 1,000 coins, setting a relationship with them is 2,000 coins, and the basic fee starts at 3,000 coins!"

In the early days, most people's wishes focused on basic pleasures like food and sex.

There was no distinction between awakened and ordinary people here. If they had money, they splurged, and if they didn't, they enjoyed luxury in other ways.

"Wow! In reality, I can only drink lousy alcohol, but in my dreams, I can drink as much delicious whiskey as I want!"

"There's someone in this dream!"

"These days, work is really fun. Before, I thought, 'What's the point of working hard if I'm just going to die from monsters anyway?' But now it's different. I'm so motivated to work because I can't wait to rush to the casino after I clock out."

Even if someone had an immoral or unethical wish, it didn't matter. After all, it's just a dream, right?

The tutorial fairies who introduced people to the dreams didn't have much morality either.

People indulged in their dreams without worrying about others, and the economy of Korea, which had been plummeting due to low productivity, miraculously revived.

So, people should have been happy forever now... but of course, reality wasn't that simple.

"Whiskey's good and all, but I'm getting tired of it..."

"My dream lover is perfect, but she feels a bit passive. I mean, I set everything up before the dream, so while it's nice and I love her, it kinda feels like dating an AI..."

"Now that I think about it, work is still exhausting. Why do people have to work to survive?"

Humans are creatures that never know satisfaction!

More precisely, even when they do feel satisfied, they quickly get used to it and start craving more, and more, and more—such is the sad nature of our species.

Especially with the Dream Casino's services, there was one fatal flaw.

"Once I enter the dream, it feels realistic and all, but before that, I have to set everything up myself. It kind of kills the immersion..."

The absence of coincidence.

For example, suppose someone wants to have a dream where they are late for school, rush down the street, bump into a cute girl (who has a strawberry jam toast in her mouth), and end up fighting with her. Then, the teacher says, "Hey, we have a new student today!" and it turns out to be the same girl—what a classic scenario!

(Over 310 people in Busan alone requested this popular plot.)

At first, they might have enjoyed such a dream.

It must have been refreshing to experience a scenario they'd only fantasized about.

But that scenario needed a crucial element—coincidence.

Coincidentally being late, coincidentally bumping into someone, and coincidentally finding out she’s the new student—that's how the love story begins, and that's what makes the heart race.

"But giving the tutorial fairies freedom..."

"Those fairies create tutorial dungeons where people kill each other no matter what the dream is about! Damn, why do I have to run another survival scenario when I should be flirting with my dream lover?"

"Wow! I don't get it..."

Frankly, I didn't care.

"People are too greedy."

They're saying that inputting all the settings themselves kills the fun?

What difference does it make? At least they can experience desires they can't fulfill in reality.

I once had a conversation about this with Noh Doha.

"There is no such thing as a perfect state in this world. Even if you address one complaint, another will arise. Today's young folks only complain about the present without thinking of the past. Tsk tsk."

Noh Doha lowered his monocle and gazed at me intently.

"Do you have some disease where you have to act like an old-timer regularly, or you'll die...?"

In any case, I ignored the complaints of the casino patrons. I dismissed them as mere grumbling from those who were too well off.

But not everyone thought the same as I did.

Where I saw "grumbling from the well-off," someone else saw "potential customers crying out in hunger"—in other words, an untapped market.

Writers began to move.

3

For example, let's assume you're an awakened individual in Busan who loves whiskey.

Even as an awakened person, your status isn't anything special. You're just a low-ranking member of a small guild.

You work hard every day, saving every penny, and visit Dream Casino three or four times a week.

But lately, you've had a concern.

"The whiskey still tastes good, but drinking it endlessly at a whiskey bar isn't as enjoyable as it was at first..."

In short, you're in a rut.

You think about trying out a dream lover like others do, but honestly, you don't have the enthusiasm for it. You just love whiskey.

"Should I cut back on drinking...? Hm?"

On your way to the casino, you notice a sign you hadn't seen before.

――――――――――

[Cocktail Bar Mori OPEN]

Location: Apgujeong Rodeo Station, Seoul

Hours: 7 PM ~ 2 AM

Bartender's Credentials:

1st Place at World-Class Japan

Runner-up at the World Bartender Championship

――――――――――

Your eyes light up.

"A cocktail bar? In Apgujeong Rodeo? Wait, why are they advertising in Busan?"

You love whiskey, but you don't hate cocktails either. In fact, you got into whiskey by drinking cocktails.

Naturally, you're interested, so you approach the timid promoter standing behind the sign.

"Excuse me."

"Yes?"

"This cocktail bar... is it really open in Seoul right now?"

"Ah, well..."

The promoter behind the sign looked unusually shy, not like a typical marketer. Their clothes were shabby, and it seemed they hadn't eaten well or washed in days.

The promoter, with greasy hair spilling over their forehead, spoke in a small voice like a tardigrade crawling.

"This is... a setting..."

"Excuse me?"

"This cocktail bar opened, but it's, well, it's a setting I came up with. A dream setting. If you buy my dream, I take a small commission, and you get to visit the cocktail bar I've set up..."

Their voice was quiet, and they rambled, but you managed to grasp their point.

"Oh. So it's not a real cocktail bar, but a bar you've created in a dream? And I have to pay to get in?"

"Yes. I used to be a writer, you see. So I'm good at this. It'll be really great..."

A writer, huh?

I wasn’t particularly impressed. Now that civilization had collapsed, it was a job with no productivity.

(Not that it was all that productive when civilization was intact either.)

"Specifically, what's so great about it? Honestly, I don't see why I should pay. The whiskey bar I have set up is already super fancy."

"S-spoilers..."

"Excuse me?"

"I can't tell you because it's a spoiler... I'm sorry..."

At this point, most people would have thought, "Are they trying to scam me?" and walked away.

But you were different. More precisely, you were the first to react differently, so you're the example in this episode.

You were intrigued.

"How much?"

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]

"What?"

"The cocktail bar. How much to get in?"

"Just 500 coins! We're having a grand opening event! I'll invite you in for 500 coins..."

It wasn't exactly a cheap price, but it wasn't burdensome for someone awakened like you.

"Here you go."

"Ah! Th-thank you! You will be blessed! I promise you won't regret it..."

Although the person before you looked more like a beggar than a writer, you still handed over the 500 coins.

Then the writer ran hurriedly over to the fairy standing guard at the casino entrance.

"A customer! We have a customer! Please let them in as promised!"

"Huh? Are you saying someone actually fell for that ridiculous trick?"

"You promised! Hurry up!"

"Oh wow. The world is full of surprises."

Listening to the conversation between the fairy and the writer made you feel even more uneasy, but it was too late to turn back now.

"Well, if anything seems too weird, I'll just consider it a 500-coin donation to a beggar."

You followed the succubus into the casino's sleeping room and lay down on the bed.

Normally, this would be the moment you'd tell the succubus what kind of dream you want to have, describe the atmosphere of the whiskey bar, and how the drinks should taste in detail.

But this time, the writer cut you off.

"You can just dream as you are..."

"Excuse me?"

"You’re visiting the bar I’m promoting! There's no need for you to specify anything. Unless, of course, you'd like to change your appearance or status..."

"No, I usually dream as myself."

"Th-then, just go ahead and sleep..."

And instead of the usual setup conversation between "you and the fairy," it was now "the writer and the fairy" whispering to each other in hushed tones.

"I really feel uneasy about this."

But what could you do? You were already lying down in bed.

You tried to suppress your anxiety and listened to the lullaby of the succubus—

The next moment, you opened your eyes and found yourself standing near Apgujeong Rodeo Station.

"Oh?"

A slightly secluded alleyway.

Cars were waiting at the traffic lights on the avenue over there. It was the scenery of Seoul before the fall of civilization.

When you turned your head, you saw a small sign attached to a building.

[MORI]

This must be the cocktail bar the writer had mentioned.

"The atmosphere of the dream is pretty convincing."

Feeling a slight sense of anticipation, you opened the door.

Inside was a tiny bar that could barely fit ten people. The kind of small, local cocktail bar you’d find more in Japan than Korea.

The bartender, who was organizing bottles, turned to look at you and greeted you with an "Ah" and a smile.

"Irasshaimase!"

"Huh?"

Could it be a Japanese person?

Your foreign language anxiety, embedded in every Korean's DNA, flared up.

As you hesitated in slight panic, the bartender put down the bottle and smiled slightly.

"Welcome- Please, come in."

There was a subtle awkwardness in their Korean pronunciation.

You tried your best to control your expression and gestures to avoid appearing rude as you entered the bar.

"I'm sorry. I don't speak Japanese... Are you Japanese?"

"Yes, I am. I'm working hard to learn Korean! Kim Yuna! Son Heungmin! I love them!"

"Ah... Your Korean is really good."

"Thank you!"

Fortunately, you were the only customer in the bar. If there had been others, it might have been a bit embarrassing.

The good thing about alcohol, like music, is that it’s a universal language. Just as Mozart's music sounds the same in Austria or China, the names of the drinks also cross borders.

"Can I get a Godfather?"

"Godfather. Yes, I understand!"

Soon after, the bartender handed you a cocktail.

And as you took a sip...

"...This is good."

The drink tasted great.

When you left the dream entirely to the fairy, the Godfather would end up tasting like Midori Sour, with the flavors all mixed up and chaotic. So you'd had to specify each drink in detail before falling asleep.

But not this time.

The cocktail tasted exactly as it should. And although it wasn’t your favorite style, it was still a drink you could enjoy.

It was as if—

"It feels just like I’m visiting a real cocktail bar I’ve never been to before."

You looked around.

It was your first time visiting such a tiny cocktail bar. The places that made good cocktails in Korea were usually bigger.

The interior, the lighting, the bartender's nationality.

Everything felt new.

"The drink is really good."

"Ah, is it? Thank you."

"Could you make me a Manhattan too?"

"Manhattan! You seem to like these kinds of drinks."

"Yeah, I've always liked whiskey..."

Under the dim lights, you naturally fell into conversation with the bartender.

Both the drink and the snacks were quickly emptied. Even though you were drinking faster than usual, it didn’t feel overwhelming at all.

"So, why did you come to Korea? Isn’t it easier to do business in Japan?"

"Actually, my wife is Korean..."

"Ah!"

"My mother-in-law opposed the marriage, but she set two conditions: to learn Korean and to live in Korea if we wanted to get married."

"Wow. So you learned Korean and opened a bar here? You must really love your wife."

"Yes! I love her! A lot!"

Stories you didn't know.

A bar you didn't know.

People you didn't know.

"That's right."

As you emptied your glass, laughed with the bartender, you became so intoxicated that you forgot you were dreaming.

"This is it. This is what a bar should be."

The next day, you visited the cocktail bar Mori again. That day, you had the bartender all to yourself.

When you visited the day after, there were two other customers. They were your guildmates.

A month later,

'Mori' was full of customers.

[Translator - Jjescus]

[Proofreader - Gun]