Chapter 5: Crushing Forefinger of God

"Crushing Forefinger of God!"

Silence ensued. The water bottle had stopped rolling.

"The skill, Crushing Forefinger of God! The divine innate power Crushing Forefinger of God, activate!”

The silence returned.

"

Haaa

..."

I was glad I lived alone. Had someone been around, I might have died of embarrassment.

"Well, as a G-rank, I wasn’t really expecting much anyway."

I had only done it for fun, so I wasn’t all that disappointed.

I sighed and searched for the remote, wanting to watch some TV. I was a typical man living alone, so I had naturally left it under a pile of clutter. However, when I reached out to dig for it, my fingers involuntarily twitched.

Click.

I suddenly heard a strange sound, like a switch being pressed.

Blink!

The TV turned on, displaying a news broadcast about the heroic actions of the B-rank Hunter Thunder Emperor. He was known for wearing a helmet and full-body latex suit, which set him apart from other famous hunters.

「At around 7 AM today, a large fire broke out in a building in Jongro District, Seoul. However, thanks to Hunter Thunder Emperor, not a single casualty was reported...」

Despite his low rank, even I knew of him. After all, his uniqueness had drawn people's attention and earned him the nickname Thunder Emperor.

However, the news wasn't important to me at the moment. The TV had turned on without me touching the remote.

Could it be?

Although skeptical, I decided to test it.

"Crushing Forefinger of God," I murmured as I flicked my finger—more precisely, my index.

Click.

As I heard the same sound as before, the TV turned off.

"Crushing Forefinger of God."

Click.

The TV turned on again.

「Although only a B-rank, the overwhelming public support for Thunder Emperor poses the question of how long he’ll continue his activities while keeping his identity a secret.」

At that moment, I was convinced

"Haha, is this my ability?"

I, Yu Il-shin, no longer needed a remote to turn on the TV. What was this seemingly unimportant yet convenient ability...

***

Twenty years ago, when monsters first appeared and the world was turned upside down, writing was one of the first professions to disappear. Cultural life only resumed once the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter had been met. The fact that I could presently make a living from writing was proof that the world had somewhat stabilized.

There was a thought, though. When did writers write? When struck by a brilliant inspiration? Or when they fell in love as if it was fate? No, it was when our bank balance hit zero!

"

Ugh

."

For the same reason, I groaned like a dog suffering from constipation while staring blankly at my monitor.

"

Ugh

."

Despite having just recently completed my previous work, a freelance writer who didn’t sell well like me had to start a new project quickly to make ends meet. Fortunately, I was confident about this new work. My previous work had failed horribly, but this time, I could finally dream of eating meat daily and treating myself to premium Korean beef once a week... until I received a disheartening text from my editor a week ago!

Mighty Editor-in-Charge:

Ummm

, Mr. Yu. To be honest, it's a bit mediocre. This piece doesn't seem to fit the current trends... Can you write something that follows the modern trends and send it again?

Trend! That damned beloved yet hated word that I just couldn’t seem to grasp!

In my frustration, I had scrapped everything and started over. Unfortunately, words weren't something that just magically appeared. If it were that easy, I wouldn’t be living like this anymore.

I sighed deeply without even realizing it.

Huuhh, I need my next project to get accepted this month. I’ve got overdue rent to pay!

Ding!

[No. 301x xx xx Godx xxx xxx xxxxx!]

[No. 301x xx xx Godx xxx xxx xxxxx!]

Just when I was starting to think that things had gotten quiet, these damned ants raised a ruckus again. I gave a death stare to my phone, which displayed the God-Maker notification.

I was already stressed. Maybe I should just crush them all.

Ding! Ding!

I was suddenly alerted by a text. My heart sank as I checked the sender. It was my editor-in-charge.

Mighty Editor-in-Charge: Mr. Yu, you were supposed to send the new work today, weren’t you? It’s about time I get off work.

The dreaded moment—and the pressure of rushing to meet manuscript submission deadlines—had arrived! This was the one thing in this entire world that all writers feared the most!

To make matters worse, he had no new manuscript.

"W-what should I do?"

Should I admit that I hadn’t done anything because I was testing my Crushing Forefinger of God ability all day? It wasn’t all for naught, though. Through my experiments, I had found out that my ability was not limited to controlling the TV remote. I could turn the microwave, the lights, and even the laptop on and off! Typically, people would need to use their fingers for such tasks, but I could do it all without even touching them!

“The Human Remote, Yu Il-Shin!”

Saying it out loud made it seem even more pathetic.

Ding! Ding!

My nagging editor had sent me another text.

Mighty Editor-in-Charge: Mr. Yu, are you ghosting me? I truly hope this isn’t the case, but is the manuscript not ready?

"Oh no..."

I needed a good excuse, one that could work on an editor who was stressed all the time because they had to work overtime until 10 p.m. Should I say I suddenly caught a cold? That a close friend had been hospitalized? While frantically brainstorming for a creative excuse... I was finally struck with inspiration.

"Ah-ha!"

It wasn't a muse’s descent, but it seemed good enough to get out of the situation and show that I had been writing diligently, not just idling around.

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: I'm sorry. I just need one more hour—no, just 30 more minutes, please. I will sort out the draft and send it to you then. Mighty Editor-in-Charge: Are you sure, Mr. Yu? Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: Yes!

Had my editor been deceived all his life? Why couldn't he trust people... Oh, he had indeed been deceived quite often. This time, though, I was serious.

After sending the text, I typed furiously on my keyboard as if I had every intention to break it. Exactly thirty minutes later... I clicked on the send button.

Click.

Okay. Successfully sent.

I had sent about three chapters’ worth of manuscript to my editor about my peculiar experiences over the past few days. Since writing about playing God-Maker was just like writing a diary, I found it as easy as stealing candy from a baby.

After sending the draft to my editor, I leisurely made myself instant coffee and slurped on it.

Mmm! Delicious.

I knew it probably wouldn’t pass, but at least it showed that I hadn’t just been playing around. Today, that was enough. Even I thought it was the perfect excuse.

Five minutes after I had sent it, my editor responded.

Ding! Ding!

Mighty Editor-in-Charge: Wow, this is really interesting. I have a good feeling about this!

Huh? Really?

I felt bittersweet. This reaction was not what I had in mind.

They found this interesting?

I had spent three sleepless nights on my last work, which they had outright rejected. Now, they complimented a piece I had written in less than thirty minutes! How could this be possible?

Yu Il-Shin the Almighty: Mr. Editor, are you serious? You’re not just saying this to make me feel better, are you? Mighty Editor-in-Charge: Yes. The theme is unique and quite amusing! Could you perhaps write about five more chapters? :) This new work seems promising!

Uncharacteristically, my editor had even sent a smile emoji. He wasn’t just being nice. He had no reason to.

"

Ugh

, five chapters...”

Unfortunately, I had no more stories left to tell.

Ding! Ding!

I glanced at the God-Maker notifications successively popping out at the top of my phone.

[No. 301x xx xx Godx xxx xxx xxxxx!]

[No. 301x xx xx Godx xxx xxx xxxxx!]

"

Hmmm

..."

***

Pop, pop!

I vigorously squished the ants with my finger.

Clink!

For every ant I killed, a cap coin would clink and drop. I wasn’t just playing. This was the grueling effort of a writer striving for his next piece.

Still, there was something oddly addictive about this. Midway, I discovered something intriguing. Every time I accumulated a hundred cap coins, something extraordinary occurred.

Whirr! Whoosh!

The hundred coins, wrapped in a black light, merged into one. Shortly after, a coin marked with the number “100” appeared. Seeing a hundred coins condense into one felt like a loss, but it was indeed fascinating.

"Now I have just one hundred coins... Still far from being able to afford anything."

Despite having spent a long time scrutinizing the shop window, I failed to find any other abilities that I could afford. The shop also had divine items, but even the cheapest was at least a thousand coins.

-----

[Blessing of the Growth God (Low-tier God)]

[Category: Common Consumable Item]

[Price: 1,000 Gcoins]

-----

Although it was of the lowest rank, the word "growth" still made my heart race. Could this item, unlike my insignificant ability that I used as a makeshift remote, prove to be incredibly useful? Perhaps even just a bottle of this potion could turn a frail writer's muscle robust.

Realistically, though, I didn’t really have much hope.

Pop! Pop!

Regardless, I now had a new purpose in mind. I resumed crushing the ants, working hard to save up a thousand coins!

Ding!

Amid my efforts, a strange message appeared.

[No. 404x xx xx Godxx Resistancexxx!]

I scratched my head, then raised my index finger to try to crush the ant again. However, instead of the usual crunch, the same message appeared.

Ding!

[No. 404x xx xx Godxx Resistancexxx!]

"Huh? Why won't it die?"

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The ant not only didn’t die when I pressed on it. It also had a new word in its name: Resistance.