The Odin’s Wrath that the Sixth Virtue used contained actual thunder. He was an immature young boy and, in addition to his powers, many things became mighty weapons in his hands. For instance, a mere club could turn into a weapon that was usually only found in platinum or higher-level boxes. A punch as weak as cotton candy turned into the God of Thunder’s smash. After he stormed by, everyone, including humans and monsters, would be dead. The corpses’ arms and legs that seemed to be bitten and spat by the angry beast were burnt black, and they rolled around on the ground where lightning seemed to have struck.

I still couldn’t forget the power he had. Even after he finished his business and left, I still couldn’t recover the dead bodies of the kids. The blue flames he left on the ground and in the air made the place resemble the ruins of Chernobyl. That kind of destructive power was latent in Odin’s Wrath skill.

***

It was early summer, and the hotel room was cool, thanks to the air conditioner. However, whenever I bent my waist forward, drops of sweat would fall off of me like rain. My entire body was drenched in it. 

There were no hints or signs of my stats increasing although I still had some stats I could raise through physical training…. Anyway, I had to prepare until I attacked the dungeon in full-scale.

Whoosh whoosh.

I reviewed the necessary movements, pretending that the F-grade ‘Guard Dogs’ were in front of me. When I reached the point where I was too tired to even move my body, the phone rang. 

<Are you Mr. Na Seon-Hu? Someone is on the line from abroad.>

Thankfully, Jonathan contacted me before I had to return home, and his voice hit my eardrum.

<Jonathan: You were right. They acted like they were waiting for us, so no gunshot for me.>

<Seon-Hu: So, what’s the percentage?> 

<Jonathan: In the early twenties. It’s volatile.>

Jonathan wasn’t using the word ‘volatile’ to describe the current situation of Thailand. He was saying that Thailand still owned more foreign currencies than we had thought and that he was questioning whether this currency war would end with the hedge funds union’s victory. I ended my calculations.

<Seon-Hu: We agreed to all-in, Jonathan. No objection, right?>

<Jonathan: Didn’t we already talk about it when we gave away eighty bloody million dollars just to see how much they had?> 

<Seon-Hu: That’s right.>

<Jonathan: One thing is clear. No matter what the consequence is, we are going to be doing something crazy. Hopefully, it’s for the better. So? When is D-day?>

<Seon-Hu: July 2nd. Use the application of the floating exchange rate system and maximize the decline of the baht. Bet it on the highest leverage and try your best.>

Our stage had moved from the Thailand stock index futures market to the foreign exchange futures market. 

<Jonathan: July 2nd?>

<Seon-Hu: Yes, that’s correct.>

I could hear Jonathan’s breathing.

<Jonathan: It’s insane. I can’t even imagine this. If your calculations work, we…You know it, right? Hedge funds like the Dragon Fund…>

<Seon-Hu: That they are the Pied Piper?>

When a famous hedge fund such as the Dragon Fund attacked one country, smaller companies usually followed after them like hyenas. And the size of those followers would overpower the spearheads. This was why hedge funds were scary. Their power was not from their capital, but from the speculative funds and banks around the world that supported them. Their relationship was similar to the one between the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues and hunters in the world. Even a fight between just a few of them could lead to a country's collapse. 

<Jonathan: Yes, that’s an accurate description. I couldn’t ask for a better one.>

It had to be accurate, as that was the exact term Jonathan used to describe the hedge funds whenever he bragged about his heydays in 1997 during his past life. 

<Jonathan: So, Sun. If your calculations are right, we will harvest all the capital of the worldwide investment funds at once.>

<Seon-Hu: It sounds like you want me to be wrong.>

<Jonathan: I’m saying that it’s a problem even though you are right. My weak heart won’t be able to withstand the result.>

<Seon-Hu: You are much stronger than you think, Jonathan. Don’t be scared by unnecessary thoughts and prepare for the conquest.>

<Jonathan: Conquest? That’s…that’s an apt word.>

In other words, the fall of the baht on July 2, 1997, will be an opportunity to monopolize an S-class dungeon. 

***

It was July 1st, the first day in history when Hong Kong was returned to China. It was inevitable that the media would continue showing the seashores of Hong Kong where celebratory fireworks would be going off. They kept replaying clips of British troops leaving and the People’s Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison being stationed in the city. 

“Do you know how Hong Kong became a British territory, son?” My father asked.

Father had come home early today. I was about to go back to my room after greeting him quietly when I heard his question behind me. His intention was clear. I came back to sit on the couch, and Mother came with slices of fruits. 

“There’s a Chinese movie that your mom loves,” Father said.

“You mean Once Upon a Time in China, right?” 

Mother smiled. She really loved that film. 

“Honey, you should listen, too. You should know your stuff before you start watching something. It might deepen your interest, who knows? The film’s background is the Opium War, the one in which Western imperialist powers began to invade Asia,” my father’s explanation continued.

Father was more enthusiastic about my education than he was in my past memories. He thought and then carefully explained about how the Opium War started, what happened before the Nanjing Treaty was signed. and how that led Hong Kong to be ceded. In his mind, this was an important lesson. 

However, history always repeated itself. The current version of the Opium War was again happening in Asia. The western investment funds pushed dollars instead of opium into the world’s economy to weaken it, then attacked the weak countries by pouring in their own currencies instead of cannonballs. 

Have I ever mentioned that history is cyclical? The reason why this horrible civil war occurred in Asia in the future was due to the fact that the Eight Evils and the Eight Virtues conflicted over their ideologies, but because of an S-class dungeon that was sealed in Asia. One of the Eight Virtues and his followers were major players, and their guild was already notorious for their pro-western racism. I could never have good memories about them. That was why I may have furrowed my brows and created a bit of a sour note. 

I lowered my gaze as I made eye contact with Father.

“Hey, you should’ve told me that you want to go to the washroom. Wash and take a rest,” Father said.

“Did everything go well at work today?” I asked.

“Is that something a middle school student would say? Haha. Yes, nothing much, kid,” he laughed.

***

I didn’t have a phone or a pager. The only way I could communicate with Jonathan was through email. My inbox was still quiet. We could transact about ten billion dollars in foreign exchange with a capital of two hundred million dollars. Even if we wanted to bet everything on the baht fall on July 2nd, it was only possible when those in the opposite position allowed it. That was why I had been waiting for Jonathan’s email.

The baht market was already narrow, and currency had grades. If the dollar was an S class, then the baht was an F class. This meant the baht was being traded at less than ten billion dollars a day in the foreign exchange futures market. I was concerned that the amount I wanted would not be finalized, not that the baht would depreciate. What we were going to do was to monopolize the position of tomorrow’s baht drop. 

I kept refreshing the page, and the intervals between my clicks became shorter from every hour to thirty minutes, then to ten minutes. My eyes widened when Jonathan’s email finally came into my empty mailbox. You could say that the speed I clicked my mouse was as fast as lightning right then. The email had no subject, and there was only one sentence. However, it was good enough to make me stand up after kicking my chair. 

- Jonathan: Preparations for the conquest are complete. 

It had been a while since I last heard those words. My fist was tight as my nails dug hard into my palm. I felt like I should have carried a bag full of supplies and entered the dungeon. In my past life, we would have thrown ourselves into the dungeon even though no one was certain we would survive. 

However, it was different this time. Although my heart started pounding as if I had gone into a dungeon, the cause was different. This time, I was confident that I would succeed without risking my life. I would not feel the emptiness and guilt when the points someone gained from hard work became useless due to bad luck! No language could describe that emotion in words. 

Now, there was a box in front of me again, and I know what would come out of it. An astronomical amount of dollars! The only thing I had to do was to wait. We were going to monopolize tomorrow!

- Seon-Hu: Great job. I’ll decide when we will liquidate.

I sent a reply to Jonathan. Was it because I had a comfortable childhood? Has peace become a habit? It had been less than a year since I reversed the time, but my intense past life felt like a long time ago. So, I read Jonathan's email over and over to remind myself not to lose my determination to fulfill my goals.

The preparations for the conquest are complete.