Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 178

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Chapter 178: Master of Myths (4)

Under-the-table money, bribery, rebates.

Whatever term you used, it seemed like there were similar concepts in the universe.

–Ah… Yes, of course!

Kubu blinked his large eyes, hiding his confusion.

–You’ve bestowed upon me an honor that cannot be bought with money, Jeong Yeongwoo07. So, I shall give you a gift that cannot be bought with money!

Pfwaat!

Suddenly, Kubu, with yellowish pupils, stared blankly at something as if calling out for it.

‘Huh…? Why are you doing this so formally? I was expecting to negotiate the transaction fee or ask for a bigger discount.’

Of course, the larger the amount of under-the-table money, the better it was.

Anyway, Yeongwoo looked around cautiously, slightly bewildered.

Suddenly, amid the commotion, people from the bedroom started walking towards the living room.

“What’s going on this time?”

Seok, appearing with the children, asked with concern.

So Yeongwoo made an effort to smile at her and the children.

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“…Nothing?”

Seok disagreed entirely, looking at the large eyes dominating the living room.

“Ah, are you seeing this for the first time? He’s the one who will take care of my tax affairs from now on.”

As soon as Yeongwoo finished speaking, Kubu, having completed some kind of summoning ritual, opened his eyes again.

–Jeong Yeongwoo07! Please accept the under-the-table money I’ve prepared here!

With that, a portal emitting yellow light opened beneath Kubu’s yellowish pupils.

Pfwaat!

Apparently, something was being brought in through that portal.

“No, Kubu! Under-the-table money should be given discreetly…”

While Yeongwoo was expressing his indignation towards the under-the-table money entering through the main gate, something groped its way out of the yellow portal.

‘Walking…?’

Seeing the ‘under-the-table money’, Yeongwoo sensed that something was terribly wrong.

And then, immediately,

–Keeiiii!

The under-the-table money, walking out of the portal, made a whimpering sound.

The bribe prepared by Kubu was none other than a living creature.

–The finest quality Tenta slave! It’s Pofu Tenta!

Kubu, the guardian of the Tenta people, proudly introduced the bribe slave.

Upon hearing this, Yeongwoo, like the people behind him, was left speechless.

‘Do aliens have no common sense? What are you going to do bringing a slave in front of the kids?’

From the Portal, 3233’s living room was graced by the broad foot of the fully emerged Pofu Tenta from the portal.

Squelch, squelch!

“What…?”

Youngwoo exclaimed with a drained voice as he noticed claws on the creature’s feet.

The being brought by Kubu as part of his elevated status was a bipedal frog with a height of 70 centimeters.

– Brrrup!

Half of its face was a mouth, typical of amphibians.

Pofu Tenta opened its large mouth wide, surveying the room.

It seemed to be mentally preparing itself for the new planet where it would likely end up buried as a slave.

“…Goodness. Yeongwoo, do you even trade slaves now?”

Despite being gagged by her own words, Seok questioned like this.

However, Yeongwoo couldn’t bring himself to answer.

After all, the golden goblin he had seen earlier, as well as the man who was to be her husband, were practically no different from slaves.

And, right on cue.

– Kiiiiii!

The senior slave who had been resting on the living room sofa rushed towards the new slave.

Tatat!

-Kiik!

When the goblin waved its arms, Pofu Tenta responded in kind.

-Babaat!

Then both of them looked at Yeongwoo simultaneously.

Swish.

‘…I don’t know what it is, but it doesn’t feel good.’

As Yeongwoo wore a troubled expression, Kubu blinked again and spoke.

–Pofu Tenta is the highest slave of the unique grade. It will greatly assist you on your journey, Jeong Yeongwoo07.

“Highest grade?”

Yeongwoo, who had been about to send the frog-like creature back to space, stopped short.

‘The golden goblin was an artifact-grade, but…?’

This meant that this Pofu Tenta was of a higher grade than the goblin.

“So, does it have a name? The golden goblin was just called the golden goblin.”

「Golden Goblin」 – Artifact Slave

【Stores items in a pocket dimension.】

【Collects things that turn into money.】

Knowing this, Yeongwoo felt inexplicably sad.

When slaves reached a certain grade, they could have their own names.

–This is the ownership of Pofu Tenta.

Finally, Kubu presented a small yellow bead in front of Yeongwoo.

Probably, touching that bead would officially make Yeongwoo the owner of Pofu Tenta.

“I hope I won’t end up like a slave trader, leading around a group of followers.”

Yeongwoo reached out slowly toward the bead.

And then…

Touch.

Finally, when his fingertips touched the bead, he saw a new item tooltip appear before his eyes.

「Pofu Tenta」 – Unique slave

【Plays the trumpet】

【Iron Chain Band】

| The effect of trumpet performance increases by 10% for each adjacent slave.

“Trumpet performance…?”

Muttered Yeongwoo to himself as he saw the tooltip.

Pofu Tenta reached into the bulging pocket on his side and pulled out a small golden trumpet.

“Wow!”

“Was his stomach a pocket?”

In that case, was Pofu Tenta some kind of bard?

Does this mean he gives buffs to his owner through trumpet performance…?

―Pofu is the best trumpet player of the Tenta tribe.

Kubu’s explanation continued.

But that wasn’t really important.

“No… It’s obvious that he plays well, but isn’t the effect of his performance more important?”

So when Yeongwoo requested a trumpet demonstration from Pofu, Kubu declined on his behalf.

–It’s difficult here.

“Why?”

–Pofu’s trumpet performance is for attack purposes.

* * *

An attack-oriented trumpet performance… What kind of performance is that?

Yeongwoo was left with only questions, so he decided to accept Kubu’s “fee” for now.

“Shall we start some business now?”

As Yeongwoo looked at Kubu, his first tax accountant, Kubu blinked once again.

–Yes. First, let’s calculate the business income of Mr. Jeong Yeongwoo07.

–Let’s calculate the total business income of Mr. Jeong Yeongwoo07, which amounted to 34 million karma over the past two days, with 28 million karma being paid in cash.

At this, the people gathered in the living room, ranging from Jeonggu, the Strongest Sword of Dobong, Jongsu, Kwon Taeyoung and Kim Taejoon’s family, who could only be considered low-income in terms of imports, couldn’t close their mouths.

“What? How much…?”

“34 million?”

Even in this place where various classes gathered, a daily income in the tens of millions was something unimaginable.

However, Yeongwoo noticed something strange about Kubu’s income calculation and mentioned it.

–Why is the total amount 34 million when the cash is only 28 million?”

Then Kubu rolled his eyes and quickly replied.

“Some of the income from advertising activities was paid in physical goods.

“Ah.”

As soon as Yeongwoo heard this, he realized that it was the cost of modifying Dogo’s equipment.

◇ Dogo: secret arrow

◇ Dogo: Special ability damage

This is Dogo’s special function attached to the epic bow ‘White Fire’.

‘Then is this option valued at 6 million karma? Even though it looks like a retail price, not a wholesale price.’

After all, Dogo was not a non-profit organization.

They wouldn’t engage in unprofitable business.

‘Still, the items received through special agreements are not counted as business income. Thank goodness.’

If the weapon encyclopaedia and mythical-grade weapon were converted into actual income, how much would it be?

There was a high probability that Yeongwoo would not be able to even afford the taxes.

“So… How much tax do I have to pay tonight?”

Yeongwoo’s voice became smaller for some reason.

But of course, wasn’t that what Dogo’s chairman said?

In this universe, the only way to avoid taxes is to transcend death.

In other words, if you didn’t want to die, you had to pay.

–The current basic calculated tax for Mr. Jeong Yeongwoo07, a general taxpayer, is 3.4 million karma.

Calculated tax.

It refers to the tax before applying deductions.

“What…?”

Yeongwoo shouted without realizing it.

“Wait, does it make sense to pay 3.4 million in taxes in just one day?”

In an instant, Yeongwoo lost his composure and became a real taxpayer.

But the amount of money was also a fact.

“Businesses have a tax rate of 10%. In fact, it’s not that high compared to Earth.”

Jeonggu from the corner of the living room chimed in.

But Yeongwoo couldn’t easily agree.

“No, if you were a real businessman on Earth, you could deduct expenses from your income. Isn’t this just taking 10% of the total income?”

Yeongwoo hesitated, then suddenly remembered something and asked Kubu.

“What about the single-person household deduction? Until yesterday, it was supposed to halve the tax.”

Then Kubu replied with regret.

–The single-person household deduction is a special deduction applied only to simple taxpayers during the protection period after the gate opening. It does not apply to Mr. Jeong Yeongwoo07, who has converted to a general taxpayer.

“Ah, damn it…!”

Yeongwoo almost blurted out the F word, but managed to hold it back as he looked at the kids.

“So, am I supposed to pay the full 3.4 million? Who the hell is taking all that money?”

As Yeongwoo spoke with the intention of finding the tax collector and killing him, Kubu trembled with his eyes.

Because…

–Jeong Yeongwoo07, sir.

“Yes.”

–In addition to the basic calculated tax, there’s also an acquisition tax for each item.

“What? For real, just say it straightforwardly!”

The rage of Joseon’s Greatest Sword, who had received a tax bomb, pierced through the cabin ceiling.

“It’s for illegitimate children, right? That acquisition tax.”

–That’s correct.

‘Fuck, I’m tired.’

How much would the acquisition tax be for myth-grade equipment?

Yeongwoo now felt dizzy.

‘Could it be that I was set up by the chairman? When he gave me myth weapons, he never mentioned anything about an acquisition tax.’

Luckily, he had a considerable amount of cash just in case.

* Available Karma: 8,954,500

8.95 million Karma.

But wasn’t the tax for advertising already 3.4 million Karma?

Could he really bear the acquisition tax for myth-grade equipment with that money?

‘Even the weapon encyclopaedia might have an acquisition tax…?’

Bankruptcy.

This would lead to bankruptcy.

And the consequences of that…

‘Death…?’

Being threatened not by mutants but by taxes, he had never imagined such a life even in his dreams.

“Then did the chairman pay the transfer tax? Actually, if you think about it, that sword he gave was one-sided!”

Upon hearing this, Kubu responded without even blinking this time.

–Since it was recorded in the books as a business transaction, the chairman paid the transfer tax as usual.

“Hah.”

At this point, there was nothing more to say.

So Yeongwoo asked again in a voice devoid of spirit.

“Is there no other way? This is really bankruptcy.”

To this, Kubu rolled his large pupils.

–According to the education I received in Dogo for Jeong Yeongwoo07’s tax representation work…

“Oh, is there something?”

With a feeling of grasping at straws, Yeongwoo perked up his ears, and Kubu looked at him with rolling eyeballs.

–Currently, the tax-saving strategies that I can recommend to Jeong Yeongwoo07 are dependent family deduction and single-parent household special deduction.

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