The Path to Becoming a Landlord through Saju Fortification

The Saju Fortification program felt like a text-based game.

“This isn’t actually a game, is it? Then again, who would make such a boring game… wait.”

I hurriedly pulled Master Myeong-seung’s secret record out of my laptop bag.

Looking through it again, I realized this was also a guide for the program.

In the fortification program, various types of luck were listed like skills and skill levels.

Below my name and Saju, a window was open:

[Water Points: 1,200 – Invest in Bigeob Luck / Invest in Physical Function]

[Wood Points: 1,050 – Invest in Siksang Luck / Invest in Physical Function]

[Fire Points: 40 – Invest in Jaeseong Luck / Invest in Physical Function]

[Earth Points: 341 – Invest in Gwanseong Luck / Invest in Physical Function]

[Metal Points: 541 – Invest in Inseong Luck / Invest in Physical Function]

The windows were arranged in the order of Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. By clicking on ‘Luck’ or ‘Physical Function’ underneath them, I could view the sub-categories of my fortune.

Bigeob, Siksang, Jaeseong, Gwanseong, Inseong.

The tabs for these categories, known as the “Five Blessings of Saju,” were crucial.

Briefly put: Bigeob Luck represents one’s subjectivity, friends, supporters, and colleagues.

Siksang Luck covers longevity, support for wealth, and talent.

Jaeseong Luck literally means money, as well as women, spouses, and fathers.

Gwanseong Luck is ‘Gwan-un’—honor, subordinates, and the debuff known as pain.

Inseong Luck refers to mothers, study, residence, and convictions. It is the luck that speaks to the core of a human being.

“So playing around with the old-timers made this go up?”

I clicked on Bigeob Luck, where I could invest points earned from socializing with colleagues.

Bigeob represents “Me”—the subject of life and the protagonist of the Saju Pal-ja.

Even if a Saju lacks other blessings, there is no Saju without “Me.”

It also refers to assistants or competitors who follow, support, and cheer for “Me.”

This includes rivals, friends, supporters, fans, anti-fans, siblings, and colleagues.

Usually, if this luck is too strong, it just makes one stubborn and harms one’s finances, so people often dislike it, but I don’t think that way.

A life where the subject is not “Me” is ultimately unhappy.

“Ah, but a life without money isn’t happy either…”

In the end, while I am the subject, a destiny with lots of money is best.

Under Bigeob Luck, there was Supporter Luck. For a writer like me, supporters meant readers.

I had 1,200 investment points, and the status was as follows:

[<Supporter Luck LV5> 491/1000 to next level]

[There are many supporters who do not go as far as paying sponsorships. They admire and look favorably upon your talent, but do not wish to sacrifice their own wealth.]

It was exactly my life.

I had already suspected as much.

I also checked my Self Luck; it was level 6, a mid-range level.

[<Self Luck LV6> 90/1200 to next level]

[Great Fortune Fortification +LV2. For fortification effects, refer to LV8 Self Luck.]

[You are skilled at psychological victory, shameless, and confident for no reason. Your mental health is good, and even in the face of frustration, you still maintain strong conviction in yourself and the future.]

“I already knew this, but seeing it written out feels like crap.”

These were the things that strengthened my stubbornness and my supporters.

People who would clap and say, “Hey, you’re good,” at my persistence.

And because I receive applause, that persistence grows even stronger.

The stage one can reach by maxing out Supporter Luck is none other than an elected head of state.

They say that if you max out Self Luck, you become a great historical figure.

I had to choose one to strengthen among Supporter Luck, Sibling Luck, Self Luck, Friend Luck, and Competitive Luck, but there wasn’t much of a benefit at just level 1.

It wouldn’t even be noticeable.

Since my Bigeob Luck is Water, the investment for physical functions related to Water was also active.

I clicked the back button from Bigeob Luck and pressed Physical Investment.

[<Testicular Function LV9> 3952/4800 to next level]

[(Fortification possible; bonus points applied for being under age 34)]

[Fertility increases. Ejaculation volume and libido increase.]

It was at a level just before maxing out for no reason at all.

[Usually strong when young, but this case is exceptional. Therefore, it will not easily decrease even as you age.]

The additional explanation made me feel truly subtle.

Besides that, levels for organs that are healthy when Water is strong, and aptitudes one has when Water is strong, were activated.

Because there is a lot of Water in my destiny, the levels were generally high.

“Brain Function Level 8, Hair Function, Kidney Function, Skin Beauty, Anti-inflammatory effect, Sleep effect.”

Health-related stats were displayed higher than my actual levels, with a kind explanation saying it was because I was young.

‘Spending one’s innate lifespan to increase the fortunes of life is the path of a human.’

Conversely, it meant there wasn’t much to raise while I was young.

“Will I even be able to tell if Friend Luck or Supporter Luck goes up right now?”

There was something very enticing in Supporter Luck that I wanted to raise, but it required two levels to increase, so I couldn’t confirm the effects immediately.

I liked the final tiers of both Supporter Luck and Self Luck, but they consumed too many points.

And if I thought about it seriously…

Would this actually work?

“Was that guy someone who quit after trying to make a martial arts online game based on Saju? No, not martial arts, maybe a life-sim game like The Sims?”

Since I wrote martial arts with Saju themes, it made sense that someone who wanted to make a game with those themes would show interest.

“Tsk.”

That skill window flashing [Fortification Possible] kept catching my eye.

Still, maybe… just maybe.

I only held onto this vain dream because I was a genre writer; in reality, wasn’t this impossible?

Strengthening my life with points earned as a forest fire monitor?

Bullshit.

…But it’s not like the computer will explode if I click it. Probably?

Feeling tempted, I decided to click.

In the end, I chose physical lucks that I could verify immediately.

The noticeable ones were Skin Beauty or Body Hair Function.

Hair… I have plenty. Plenty for now.

“If I could cure hair loss with this, I’d make a fortune.”

The only thing I could strengthen right now to see a clear effect was the Skin Beauty level.

My face had tanned quite a bit from working as a forest fire monitor anyway.

[Do you really wish to strengthen Skin Beauty to LV7?]

Before pressing ‘Yes,’ I checked the mirror to confirm the ‘before.’

I even took a selfie for evidence.

I was tanned just right for a comparison.

Then, I clicked.

[Skin Beauty has increased to Level 7. Wrinkles, spots, and freckles are removed, and you gain a youthful appearance.]

That message came through the computer speakers and echoed in my ears at the same time.

It was truly a strange thing. I immediately checked the mirror and my selfie.

“It’s actually getting better?”

My skin tone had turned fairer.

My face had been quite parched and tanned from the forest fire work, but not only did that vanish instantly, a few messy blemishes on my face disappeared as well.

I took a selfie for the test, and even though it was the same place and same lighting, the difference was clear.

“Is it… for real?”

My tanned skin became fair, and my acne vanished.

I felt there was definitely a change in my skin, but since it could just be a coincidence or a feeling, I clicked the ‘Wood, Siksang Luck’ tab where fortification points were active.

Lifespan, speech, activity, and work luck were activated.

In my case, activity and work luck were on the lower side, my lifespan was quite long because I was young, and my speech was decent.

“Wood-related physical functions… I guess the liver or bones would be strengthened… Huh!?”

There was an incredibly enticing type of luck.

[<Growth LV2> 0/400 Fortification Possible.]

[Height increases by 5cm per level. From age 20, it is 3cm. From age 30, it is 1cm. From age 40, the effect only prevents the waist from bending; it is best to raise this while young. Maximum Level 10.]

Without a second thought, I clicked Height Growth.

It was something that would be immediately apparent, and since I was on the shorter side, my desire for height was enormous.

At level 3, I’d be over 170cm. If I reached level 6, I’d be 180cm.

If this works, I have to earn points and invest no matter what. I can’t wait any longer.

Then, I heard the message.

[Height Growth level is strengthened. The body grows closer to the heavens.]

I felt the sensation immediately.

My sleeves pulled up, and the hems of my jeans, which always got caught under my heels and tore themselves into distressed denim, rose.

I could feel it in my body.

I had actually grown taller.

Just by standing, my field of vision had risen.

Since I grew 3cm all at once, I could just tell.

I grew at this age.

This was real.

“Oh, Master Myeong-seung, ahhh. Thank you. Ahhhh, I… I will dedicate the remaining volumes 4 to 8 of The Diviner’s Sword to you, even if I have to self-publish them!”

I immediately fell to my knees, clasped my hands, and praised the absent Master Myeong-seung.

Truly, tears were coming to my eyes.

I planned to retire the eldest of my three-layered height-increasing insoles as of today.

I could finally see a clue to regaining the health of my plantar fascia.

I prevented a forest fire, and I got height and skin as a reward.

Perhaps because I protected the trees, it was a crystallization of rising energy—growing upward to receive more sunlight toward the sky.

There were still points left to invest in Wood-related luck.

“Forget everything else, first is Height Growth LV4. Let’s go 174cm, the standard height for Ministry of Defense resources. Fortify. Fortify now.”

Excited, I clicked with the momentum to turn all my pants into shorts.

I pressed the fortification button, but the level remained at 3.

At the same time, a message echoed in my ears.

[Your level of Saju Myeongli is too low to continuously strengthen the same luck at once.]

“Huh?”

A warning sound rang in my ears, and a warning window popped up.

In short, because my Saju studies were lacking, I couldn’t strengthen it all at once.

Searching through the program, I found a mysterious number.

2,483.

Wondering if it was a password, I clicked it.

[The above user has appraised the Saju of 2,483 people to date. Copying of the Saju Fortification program is permitted, and use of Saju Fortification and broadcast guidance is possible.]

Searching further, a detailed explanation was heard through the computer speakers and seen as a voice and visual.

[When you have seen the Saju of 3,600 people, the Intermediate Level restriction will be lifted, and continuous fortification will be possible.]

It was experience points.

Since it was a Saju Fortification Technique, the criteria was how many people’s Saju I had read.

Having seen over a thousand people in the military was quite helpful.

About 500 soldiers and officers.

And combined with the Saju of their acquaintances, family, and the girls they were crushing on, it totaled about 1,000.

And the Saju I had read online for free when I was bored after my discharge.

Master Myeong-seung probably understood those criteria when he gave me the secret record.

2,400 people was the minimum requirement to use the fortification technique.

Now that I’d had a taste of it, I couldn’t stop without raising something else.

Especially the Residential Luck located in Inseong Luck.

This was something I had coveted and imagined having ever since I first read the Saju Fortification book.

Currently, my Residential Luck level was 5.

[<Residential Luck LV 5> 291/1000]

[Even without leaving the house, you earn a moderate income through research/scholarship/creation/invention/rent/interest, etc. This is only enough to maintain a living at a side-job level. It is better than staying cooped up at home and gaining nothing, though.]

“But it’s not maintaining my living…”

If I strengthened this Residential Luck to Level 7, the following would be activated:

[<Residential Luck LV 7>]

[Even without leaving the house, you obtain income through royalties/appearance fees/advertising revenue/invention guarantees/rental income/stock gains, etc., earning an income even while playing. Since you gain wealth at the level of others’ main occupations, you won’t be nagged even if you become one with the house.]

At the level of others’ main occupations…

That was my current goal.

I wanted to earn as much money writing as people who go out to work.

And the long-awaited Level 11.

[<Residential Luck LV 11>]

[You become the owner of a Count-level castle, land, tower, or road/sea route, collecting taxes and tolls so you have no worries about making a living. Modern towers and castles are comparable to buildings and skyscrapers or the right to own them; being Level 11 from birth can be seen as having a destiny like a Count-level lord.]

This was it. This.

“Status is determined by how wide and large a space you possess. It’s the same now as it was then.”

I was talking to myself quite a bit because I was excited. I did it before, but more so now.

There was also wealth fortification in the money tab of Jaeseong Luck, but I felt incredibly attracted to Residential Luck.

If Residential Luck is strong, you become a high-class person where money rolls in even if you don’t leave the house and don’t engage in work or activities.

On a small scale, you receive allowances, royalties, guarantees, stock dividends, bank interest, rental income, and land usage fees; on a large scale, you can outright collect taxes.

“Landlords, castle lords, and building owners are all the same.”

People whose destiny is to live off what they collect have existed both in the past and present.

In the past, they were lords or landowners; now, they are building owners.

That’s why for people with strong Residential Luck, Saju interpretations come out recommending hotels, lodging, or the rental business.

“Becoming a building owner sounds materialistic, but becoming a lord or castle lord sounds cool.”

Territory-management was a flourishing genre when medieval fantasy was popular, but the trend shifted from the desire to be a lord of a territory to becoming a building owner.

Looking at it through Saju, the desire felt the same, only the era was different.

I’m definitely going for this—Residential Luck LV11.

In modern times, intellectual property rights can produce a similar effect.

They say it becomes possible to become a building owner through the intellectual property income I so desired.

If I can just hit that damn Level 11.

I wanted to become a building owner through Residential Luck and write stories exactly as I pleased without worrying about food.

“And height.”

First, height to Level 6, Residential Luck to Level 11.

Residential Luck Level 11 is activated only when you have seen the Saju of 8,400 people.

And only when Supporter Luck and Wealth Luck are above a certain level.

6,000 people left.

If I post ‘Free Saju readings’ on the internet, it’s possible to see over a dozen people a day.

However, in the case of non-face-to-face readings, the head count accumulates, but Saju Fortification points aren’t earned as much as face-to-face readings. About one-tenth the level.

I planned to use that only when I urgently needed the Saju count.

“I’ll achieve it within a year at around fifteen people a day.”

It wasn’t that points would be gathered to hit Level 11 just by seeing 8,400 people; rather, seeing 8,400 people would unlock the fortification for Level 11, the highest level.

There were additional rewards at the midpoints of 4,800, 6,000, and 7,200 people.

Fortification points generally increase a little bit just by giving face-to-face Saju readings to others.

But the explanation clearly stated that they mainly increase through life experiences.

It said that the Saju Fortification program would announce which life experiences would increase points each time.

“It’s turning life into a variety show challenge…”

Residential Luck is included in the broad categories of ‘Inseong Luck’ and ‘Metal Luck.’

Inseong refers to a person’s innate foundational fortune, meaning rights specified by scholarship, mothers, religion, housing, and arts.

In other words, if I find efforts related to scholarship, mothers, religion, or housing, or aptitudes related to metal, firmness, hardness, or steel, my Inseong Luck will rise, and based on that Inseong Luck, I can invest in Residential Luck.

This is called the Gae-un method—the way to open one’s luck.

I knew that method. It’s not like I hadn’t learned Saju at all.

And it was kindly written in the Inseong Luck tab.

“Study, research, creation, invention, cooking, travel, recording, religious life, edification, side jobs, double majors, protecting tradition, wall-facing meditation, seclusion, divination, prophecy, filial piety to one’s mother, sponsorship from a godmother, real estate, stocks, bonds, conquest… what is ‘conquest’? Carrying weapons, wearing armor, gold teeth, implants, riding and operating cars, trains, planes, and ships.”

There was so much.

What I could do and wanted to do was:

Creation, recording. Writer work.

Protecting tradition, side jobs, prophecy, Saju, Gunghap, physiognomy, etc.

And maybe some travel.

It said it would raise my life level just for continuing what I was already doing—there was no reason I couldn’t do it.

Didn’t it feel like a cheer, saying, “You can do whatever you want”?

Ting—.

Just then, the door to the philosophy hall opened.

A middle-aged woman wearing a brightly colored hiking jacket looked around and asked.

“Hello? Are you open for business?”

“Ah, yes. Well…”

Master Myeong-seung had told me to give readings, but I hadn’t really intended to go that far.

It didn’t make money, and I wasn’t very confident.

But now, there was nothing to deliberate.

I’ll just give her a reading. Even if she doesn’t pay a consultation fee.

If I’m wrong, I’ll return the fee.

Being right or wrong doesn’t matter.

Because if I give someone a Saju reading and consult them, my points will go up.

“Yes, I do Saju readings.”