The art of magic is a discipline that requires a great deal of money.
If you do it cheaply, it can be endlessly cheap, but if you do it lavishly, it can be endlessly expensive.
Take, for instance, simple magic rituals for love blessings or easy childbirth, which are related to fortune beliefs. These don’t require much money. In the case of Jeoong, who practices Korean fortune and disaster-prevention magic, all you need is some straw and three coins for the ritual. Even talismans can be made with just paper, a brush, and ink. Moreover, the most beloved magic by people involves simply carrying around a rabbit’s foot, so basic talismans and magic for daily life are truly cheap and easy to use.
However, once you transcend these simple magics and start seeking noticeable effects, things change.
Items such as a lightning-struck jujube tree, an old doll, fresh blood and internal organs from a recently slaughtered beast, winter-blooming spring flowers, or shriveled mummies…
The preparation stage suddenly leaps in complexity.
What was once free or could be acquired for a pittance now requires traveling the nation to barely find the materials. These can range from things costing dozens to hundreds of millions of units of currency. Talismans requiring visibly potent effects must incorporate red sand mirrors and specially prepared talismanic paper, with the mere cost of materials often exceeding several million units.
Magic rituals? There’s no need to even explain.
To minimize risk, an abundance of costly ingredients is used without hesitation.
Even this can still be considered modest.
For Great Rituals of Magic, national budgets must be involved.
Altars are erected, using materials far more expensive than their weight in gold, and requiring the help of countless people. The Fengsien ritual conducted on Mount Tai demands such immense costs that even in massive China, it is only performed with great resolve, and the Dan Gun offering ritual is so expensive that even the economic powerhouse of the Republic of Korea must accumulate a budget over several years to conduct it. Even the Wicker Man ritual in Ireland, considered relatively inexpensive, has the drawback of reduced effectiveness.
Thus, magic always requires money.
And lots of it.
A tremendous amount.
‘That’s why I chose to be a mercenary.’
The job of a shaman has a strong image of being friendly to common people, making it easy to blend into a community. Depending on one’s will, a shaman could find employment almost anywhere and is often sought after by major corporations. Jinseong was especially talented at reading divination, making him someone even the wealthy desired. After the outbreak of World War III, he was even invited multiple times to join someone’s household as a guest.
Nevertheless, Jinseong chose the life of a mercenary out of necessity for money, materials, and information about new spells.
Money.
Materials.
New spells.
These three things share one common factor:
Money.
Materials are, without a doubt, chunks of cash, and new spells often lie buried in ruins or ancient texts. Investigating and excavating ruins costs money, as does preserving and decoding these texts. And acquiring ingredients to learn new spells incurs additional costs. It is an ironic fact that even though he uses spells that are not particularly expensive, Jinseong still requires more money than anyone else due to the demands of new and unfamiliar spells.
Especially during the time of World War III, when the infrastructure was still largely intact but the prices of these materials had skyrocketed, Jinseong had no choice but to become a mercenary.
There were advantages: traveling around the world made it easier to obtain rare materials that would either be unavailable or require a substantial investment if he stayed in one place. He also had frequent opportunities to meet recluses and retired hermits, learning valuable knowledge about magic, which greatly helped improve his skills.
There was also the reason that shamans were particularly favored.
Since mercenaries often traverse dangerous places rife with superstitions, just having a shaman among them was enough to instill courage. To them, the shaman was a living totem, a living talisman, and a lucky mascot that protected their lives. If the shaman had skill? They could earn a fortune.
Thus, Jinseong could make exceptional amounts of money as a mercenary.
Though eventually, this became a double-edged sword.
‘I would not mind regressing as an adult rather than a minor.’
Jinseong engages in such troublesome tasks despite having a job that could earn him substantial money because private military companies (PMC) only hire adults.
A verified status.
An age older than an adult.
While this varies by company, these are common prerequisites. No matter how skilled an individual is, without proof of identity and being an adult, they will be turned away. This stems from the Convention on the Rights of the Child established after World War II. Any violation results in severe penalties – at the least, hefty fines and multi-year bans. In extreme cases, the company itself might collapse, making it impossible for PMCs to accept child soldiers.
‘But lamenting youth is the sound of satiety. There are ways to obtain money other than being a mercenary, and it is right to choose one of them.’
Thus, Jinseong opted for a simpler path.
One far easier than working for a major corporation, the government, begging family, or asking for help from a national defense council or patriotic organization.
A faster, more efficient, and the most familiar method!
“Great Mother Capital”
“Sambon Money”
Jinseong headed towards the building.
Step.
Step.
Light and narrow footsteps echoed, akin to someone riding a rocking horse.
“Wealth, whether gripped in the hand or not, stems from the guidance of the stars.”
The stars twinkled in the sky, and the streetlamps twinkled on the ground.
Since gold also shines, there are three sources of light.
“It is an auspicious day.”
The number three appears frequently in mythology, symbolizing a mystery and balance. It represents the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the minimum number required to form a group, and the elements of heaven, earth, and humanity. In Greek and Roman mythology, Zeus of the sky, Poseidon of the sea, and Hades of the underworld maintain the balance of the world – all three.
“Behold, hasn’t fortune already arrived?”
Jinseong smiled as he spotted a man exiting the building.
“The scattered ova have multiplied and flourished into a multitude. How can this not be magnificent?”
The man possessed bulging muscles, his face bursting with smiles, and small moles around his jawline.
Truly distinct in appearance, he held a cat that looked rather insignificant as if it were a treasure and shouted as he approached Jinseong.
“Master Shaman has come! Allow me to guide you!”
It was time to reap the rewards.
Jinseong entered the building, following the overjoyed man who was thrilled to have hosted a shaman.
The interior was more neatly and elegantly decorated than the exterior suggested, seemingly designed to build trust with customers coming to borrow money. However, the elevator, with its outdated, windowed form, remained unchanged.
“Here is where I work. How do you find it?”
Jinseong chuckled at the proud display of the man as they reached the second floor, Great Mother Capital.
“Very good, truly excellent.”
A pristine white wallpaper adorned the walls, while marble covered the floor. The purpose of the European-style paintings hung around was unclear.
Moreover, upon the man’s guidance to the manager’s office, things became even more peculiar.
The office with wooden wall coverings and marble floors was filled with antique-style furniture. However, these weren’t true antiques but imitations. A closer look revealed them to be poorly crafted by someone who barely understood European design.
Lacking uniformity, the office had ostentatious items and European-style paintings that matched the outside.
nouveau riche.
It was like dealing with a cartoonishly stereotypical nouveau riche.
Jinseong didn’t care for such appearances, but this time was different.
“Ah, but a truly magnificent display of a wealthy Japanese man!”
Despite similar vulgarity to genuine tycoons, there are distinctions among nouveau riche based on nationality.
South Korean nouveaux riches like Lee Yang-hoon express a detachment from worldly concerns and a tendency towards power. They prefer expensive items that exude sophistication and simultaneously advertise their grandeur. This leads to a fondness for ostentatious Eastern art pieces and sculptures that inspire awe or reverence.
American nouveau riche emphasize tradition and history yet celebrate new-generation tendencies. They may seem to be flaunting yachts, cruises, sports cars, mansions, and skyscrapers, but American tycoons have a deep-seated complex about history, and they go to considerable lengths to compensate for it.
Chinese nouveaux riches demonstrate a pronounced gold-mongering attitude despite possessing a strong pride in their long history. Historically, the people of Central Plains were some of the world’s most suited merchants, enjoying luxury and flaunting wealth. Regrettably, this refined mindset and taste for luxury were lost during the Cultural Revolution, leaving modern Chinese nouveaux riches with only a fixation on gold, making them emblematic of the phrase “smearing everything with gold.”
As for Japanese nouveau riche, you see their longing and desire for Europe in Jinseong’s current view.
The yearning for European refinement but lacking the depth of understanding, thus resulting in awkward imitations.
“Indeed, this place looks well-decorated as if Japanese.”
There isn’t a better place to pillage.
Jinseong said this as he looked around the room.
“Ah, if only His Excellency were here, I could have introduced you. It’s quite a pity.”
Jinseong’s gaze reached the spot where the man scratched his head in apparent disappointment.
A middle-aged man was collapsed into a bloodied heap in the chair.
“Nevertheless, no one’s here, so you’ll have a peaceful time enjoying the view. Hehe, please, enjoy yourself.”
The bloodied middle-aged man oddly displayed muscle contractions as if in agony, breathing shallowly and painfully as he stared into space. His pupils continuously contracted and dilated, changing shape constantly.
“And, about that… This is confidential, but how could a master shaman leave empty-handed?”
The man then went to a corner and picked up a sizable bundle.
“I’m not quite sure if you will like it… But I’ve prepared chocolates. They’re hidden in a corner, nearing their expiration date…”
Kwoong.
The bulky bundle was placed on the ground with a heavy thud.
The bundle was filled with sparkling items.
They couldn’t be eaten, yet they were sweeter than chocolate and had no expiration dates.
Truly dazzling treasures.
