Chapter 20. The First Investment
"The child chosen by Pride."
The old man left only those words behind before disappearing into the crowd.
Do-yoon remained frozen for a long time.
The noisy Mercenary Guild no longer entered his ears.
Only the old man's quiet voice repeated endlessly inside his mind.
Pride.
The name of his fruit.
Do-yoon had never told anyone.
Not even Liana knew exactly what the fruit was.
Yet a complete stranger had recognized it instantly.
Almost as though he had known about the fruits for a very long time.
"Hey."
Liana waved a hand in front of Do-yoon's face.
"What's wrong?"
Do-yoon did not respond.
"Do-yoon?"
Only then did he come back to himself.
He looked toward the direction the old man had disappeared.
"Who was that?"
Liana looked behind her.
But the old man was already gone.
His worn clothing.
Bent back.
None of it could be seen.
"I don't know."
"You've never seen him?"
"No."
"That's the first time I've seen that old man."
Do-yoon frowned.
One thing was certain.
The old man knew about the fruits.
If he knew the power of Pride...
There was a good chance he knew about the Dimensional Gates too.
Perhaps...
He even knew what the Seven Fruits truly were and what being a Chosen One meant.
Do-yoon felt the urge to chase him immediately.
But he did not even know where the old man had gone.
The guild's inner corridors split in multiple directions.
Mercenaries and merchants moved constantly through them.
Blindly chasing him would probably accomplish nothing.
Liana crossed her arms and studied Do-yoon's face.
"Judging by that expression, I guess it wasn't good news."
"No."
"Did you lose money?"
Do-yoon stared at her in disbelief.
Then laughed.
"No."
"Then it's fine."
"That's your standard?"
"There aren't many things worse than losing money."
Do-yoon eventually laughed.
Exactly like Liana.
But once the laughter faded...
The old man's words returned.
Do-yoon looked at the back of his hand.
The mark of Pride had already returned to its usual faint state.
But the heat from earlier had not been imaginary.
The fruit had definitely reacted to the old man.
Or perhaps...
Recognized him.
The next day was Saturday.
No school.
Even so...
Do-yoon woke earlier than usual and prepared to go out.
He changed his shirt.
Fixed his hair.
Took his wallet and phone.
His mother looked out from the kitchen.
"Going somewhere?"
"I have plans."
"Meeting a friend?"
Do-yoon's hands paused.
Friend.
The word still felt unfamiliar.
Liana was his companion in the other world.
Han Seo-yeon was the person he was most comfortable talking to at school.
Han Myeong-jae was an adult helping him and doing business with him.
Do-yoon still did not know who should truly be called a friend.
But at least...
He was no longer completely alone.
"Something like that."
His mother did not ask more.
She smiled.
"All right. Have a good time."
Before leaving...
Do-yoon looked at her for a moment.
In the past...
He had never told her he had weekend plans.
Her face seemed slightly brighter hearing it now.
For some reason...
That made him happy.
Do-yoon arrived at the large securities firm where he had previously met Han Myeong-jae.
Even on a weekend, some employees were working.
Screens displayed overseas markets.
Exchange rates.
Commodity prices.
Everything updated in real time.
Inside the consultation room...
Han Myeong-jae was already waiting.
"You're here."
"Yes."
Do-yoon sat opposite him.
Han Myeong-jae slid a tablet across the table.
Stock charts.
Corporate financial information.
Economic news.
Do-yoon scrolled several times.
He could barely understand half of it.
Red and blue lines rose and fell.
Numbers and ratios he did not understand kept appearing.
"This is difficult."
Han Myeong-jae laughed.
"Of course."
He lifted his coffee and took a slow sip.
"If making money were easy..."
"Everyone in the world would be rich."
Do-yoon nodded.
Obvious...
But true.
Making huge profits by selling instant noodles and potions in another world did not mean he automatically understood the financial markets of reality.
Han Myeong-jae asked,
"How much money do you currently have?"
Do-yoon calculated.
One hundred million from the potions.
The money already in his account.
Even after recent living expenses...
A little over one hundred million remained.
"Around one hundred million won."
Han Myeong-jae drank more coffee.
"Good seed money."
"Is it?"
"More than enough for your first capital."
He paused.
"But it isn't enough to completely change your life."
Do-yoon did not disagree.
One hundred million was an enormous amount of money.
It could get him out of the semi-basement.
Give him financial breathing room.
But it was not enough to buy a good house in Seoul...
Start a business...
And secure his mother's entire future.
A car.
House.
Business capital.
Retirement.
It was not enough to solve everything.
Han Myeong-jae displayed information about a large corporation.
The stock chart was not dramatic.
But the company had steadily paid dividends for a long time.
"This kind of company won't multiply your money several times over in a short period."
"Then why buy it?"
"Because the chances of it collapsing easily are relatively low."
Han Myeong-jae switched screens.
Information about ETFs and dividend stocks diversified across multiple companies appeared.
"Greed destroys investors."
Do-yoon listened carefully.
"Slowly."
Han Myeong-jae tapped the table.
"For a long time."
Do-yoon opened the notes application on his phone.
Then wrote the words exactly.
[Slowly. For a long time.]
Obtaining the Fruit of Pride did not mean Do-yoon knew everything.
The fruit gave him power.
It did not fill his head with knowledge.
If anything...
The moment he began believing he was special could become the most dangerous moment.
He needed to learn.
How to earn money.
How to protect it.
How to grow it.
After thinking carefully...
Do-yoon decided to invest only twenty million won.
Only a portion of everything he owned.
It was not an investment aimed at making huge profits immediately.
It was money meant to give him experience and teach him.
Even if he suffered a loss...
His living expenses and moving plans would remain safe.
With Han Myeong-jae's guidance...
Do-yoon divided the money between a large company and diversified ETFs.
The moment he pressed the purchase button...
His heart accelerated slightly.
A few taps on a screen had transformed twenty million won into stocks.
The money had not disappeared.
Yet it felt completely different from having cash inside his bank account.
Han Myeong-jae nodded with satisfaction.
"Good."
"What was good?"
"I expected you to invest everything."
Do-yoon looked surprised.
"Is that how you see me?"
"Most young people who suddenly make large amounts of money do exactly that."
Han Myeong-jae smiled.
"If the price rises a little, they want to add more."
"If it falls, they keep putting in more money because they want to recover their losses."
Do-yoon could not deny that part of him had wanted to invest everything.
The fantasy of becoming rich all at once.
Turning one hundred million into two hundred million.
Two hundred million into one billion.
But Do-yoon had the Dimensional Gate.
Potions.
Mana Stones.
He had more than one way to make money.
There was no reason to rush and gamble everything here.
"I only want to invest an amount I can survive losing."
Han Myeong-jae's expression softened slightly.
"Remember that principle for a long time."
