The Hundred Million Deposit
……Wow.
A ridiculously cool advance payment. The message arrived just one minute after I shared my account number. A full hundred million won had actually been deposited. Cha Eun-kyung had officially become a client.
-Deposit confirmed. I’ll do my absolute best to serve you.
-When are you logging in?
-Weekdays I can manage early mornings. Weekends I’m free all day.
-Then come in now. I’ve already arrived in Liam.
-Understood. I’ll head in right away. Would you meet me at the eastern forest entrance? I’ve secured a private tanning spot at the Russell Trading Post. Please come here.
No further replies came. Having received a hundred million, sleeping here would be a waste of luxury. From now on, I had to give it everything I had to earn my pay.
I logged back into the game. Two days had passed, so the hides still needed more time, but they should be reasonably dry by now. While checking the condition of the furs, I opened my status window.
Perfectly Drying Golden Fox Fur (Unique)
Cold Immunity
Heat Immunity
‘Despise the Weak’ Effect
Despise the Weak
Physical Attack Immunity against targets with Strength below 10
Magic Attack Immunity against targets with Wisdom below 10
Increases level penalty when level difference exceeds 10
Physical & Magic Attack Immunity against targets whose stats differ by 50 or more
The question marks had been revealed. Not a single option was worth discarding. Even in the previous game, an item with this level of options could rival legendary-grade materials.
“This is way too good.”
Among them, the immunity effects stood out the most. Armor with climate immunity was practically endgame-tier for exploring harsh terrain. Monsters that dropped rare, high-value loot usually lived in extreme environments—volcanoes, glaciers, that sort of place. That was exactly why top-tier armor needed climate immunity.
“Despise the Weak looks useful long-term too.”
Despise the Weak was literally a bullying option—great for farming weaker players. It was useless in level-appropriate hunting grounds, but in PvP it became incredibly powerful. Especially in the beginner villages I’d be heading to next, it would probably see plenty of use.
“This has to be turned into armor.”
As in the previous game, the standard practice was to craft fox fur into shoulder armor. The unique texture of fox fur felt great, and the natural flow of the pelt looked best when draped over the shoulders.
“What about the leftover pieces?”
Selling half of them to raise funds was an option, but after earning over a hundred million already, it didn’t feel appealing.
“Hmm.”
High-quality goods could also build connections. I already had a big-spending client coming here, and the fur would serve as valuable material to strengthen my relationship with Bella.
“Better to use it for networking.”
I’d picked up some useful information while lying in bed and at the company. Trading of in-game currency was active at Liam’s north gate, equipment deals happened at the west gate, and everything else at the south gate.
“I can always top up any shortfall with cash.”
Thanks to Andy’s beginner guide, I’d already learned the basics of living in Liam. I judged that I was now ready to graduate from Liam and move on to the next destination.
Thud-thud-thud.
……!
I turned toward the sound and spotted an unfamiliar woman dumping a pile of rabbit corpses. Even more unsettling was the complete lack of presence she gave off. I’d been so focused on examining the fox fur that I hadn’t even informed the trading post guards about an incoming guest. This woman was probably Cha Eun-kyung.
“……Hello?”
“Skinning knife. Rabbit corpses. Anything else?”
“May I ask your name? An in-game nickname is fine too. I need to confirm for the record.”
“……Cha Eun-kyung.”
“Understood. Confirmed.”
She didn’t seem interested in revealing her in-game nickname. Since she was a cool, no-nonsense client, I decided to keep the conversation strictly business.
“Let me check the rabbits first.”
Unlike me, she hadn’t broken their necks. She’d killed them with a single precise stab to the head. She’d even pulled the weapon out without pushing it all the way through, preserving the hide quality. Smart.
“This looks good enough. You drained the blood properly too. That said, if you want to maximize hide quality, stunning small animals without injuring them and then breaking their necks is ideal. I got my hidden class clue using that method.”
Cha Eun-kyung nodded again. But her eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. She seemed like the prideful type. I made a mental note to be more careful with feedback like that.
“Of course, killing with a single precise strike to a vital point is also an excellent hunting technique. The fact that you aimed for the vital without over-penetrating is very impressive. I couldn’t replicate that level of control.”
The compliment worked. I caught the faintest upward curl at the corner of her lips. It was true—her technique really was beyond what I could match. If I was a charging, smashing type of frontline fighter, she was closer to a cold, efficiency-driven operative.
“Would you like to watch me do it and follow along? You can use your own knife.”
Cha Eun-kyung nodded in agreement. Time to show my skill.
Swish. Shhk.
I skinned the rabbit hide with far more care than before. This should earn a perfect rating.
“How is it?”
“……What was that just now?”
“Sorry? I was demonstrating the skinning process.”
“I missed it. From the moment you put your hand in.”
“Huh?”
I hadn’t thought my movements were that fast, but a hundred-million-won client’s word was law. I decided to go even slower.
Shhhk.
“I’ll break it down step by step. This is the first part.”
“……Ugh.”
Shhk.
“Grabbing the grain like this is the second step.”
Swish.
“Pull from this position and the hide comes off in one clean motion. That’s the third step.”
“……”
Maybe it was still too difficult. I needed to gauge Cha Eun-kyung’s current skill level and adjust my teaching accordingly.
“Try it yourself. Just do it the way you normally would.”
Thud.
Disaster struck immediately. She’d driven the knife in too deep and made a large cut.
“This might not get a perfect rating. Fewer wounds are always better. Hand me the rabbit.”
“……”
Shhk.
“In cases like this, if you fix it this way, you’ll still get a perfect even with some material loss.”
Cha Eun-kyung began examining the rabbit hide I showed her from every angle. Since her expressions were subtle, I had to watch carefully to read her thoughts. Better to smooth things over before her eyebrows furrowed again.
“You might get even better results if you ease up on the pressure a little. Let’s try again.”
Thud.
Her hands moved without hesitation. It looked like the same mistake was about to repeat.
“Wait a second.”
The number of rabbits was limited. I had no choice but to treat each one with care while teaching. That meant switching to a hands-on lesson format.
“Pardon me.”
I took Cha Eun-kyung’s hand and guided her through the skinning motion.
“Once you get the feel for it, it becomes easy.”
“……”
Shhhk.
“First, like this.”
Shhk.
“Then this way.”
Shhhk.
“Now pull. Grab here.”
Rrrrip.
Having two sets of hands made the motion a bit clumsier, but the rabbit hide came off cleanly. It was close to perfect.
“How does it feel?”
“……My hand first.”
At her request, I quickly let go of her hand.
“Ah, right. So? Think you can do it now?”
“A little.”
She wasn’t lying. She seemed to be the type who learned better through direct experience than by watching.
Shhk. Shhk.
“Nice. As long as you control the force when you first insert the knife, you should be fine.”
“……”
For some reason, Cha Eun-kyung was staring at me instead of the next rabbit. When I gave her a puzzled look, she held out her hand.
“Ah.”
She must have decided to continue with the hands-on learning approach after seeing the results. I was more than happy to welcome a fast learner.
“Alright. Let’s try again.”
How much time had passed? We’d used up every rabbit she brought. It was time to wrap up the lesson.
“Good work. Let’s stop here for today.”
“……Why? I can just go hunt more rabbits.”
“I have to go to work tomorrow, remember?”
“Where do you work?”
“Ah, you didn’t hear. The company Sung-chul hyung works at.”
“Who’s Sung-chul?”
“……”
She couldn’t have come to the wrong person. She’d given her real name and confirmed she was my client. She simply didn’t know who Sung-chul hyung was.
“Ah. The guy who introduced us.”
“I don’t know the details.”
Talking about Sung-chul hyung wasn’t going anywhere. I should just answer her original question.
“Um. I’m just an ordinary office worker.”
“Why?”
“Sorry?”
The conversation kept missing the mark. What exactly did Cha Eun-kyung want to know?
“You don’t have to keep working at a company.”
“……Uh. Yeah.”
Company. Resignation. I still wasn’t ready to make that call. It hadn’t even been a week since I started playing the game.
“I don’t think I’m at the point where I can quit yet.”
Professional gamers had unstable income. Even if I’d made a lot of money in a short time, luck played a huge role. Specializing solely in teaching hide processing didn’t seem like a bright long-term prospect either. My current salary wasn’t low, after all.
“How much would it take?”
“Sorry?”
“Annual salary.”
“……What?”
A scouting offer straight out of a trashy drama had just landed in my lap. The sheer unreality of it made my head cool down instantly.
“Do I look like I don’t have money?”
“……”
Only then did I really take in Cha Eun-kyung’s appearance. I couldn’t tell how much character customization she’d done, but she looked like a classic cool beauty in her mid-to-late twenties.
“No. Not at all.”
“Then?”
The armor she was wearing was anything but ordinary. Sung-chul hyung had told me that armor with that kind of modern styling came from the hands of a master artisan in real life.
“I’ve never doubted your wealth, Eun-kyung. If I were to quit my job, I wouldn’t want to belong to any organization. I’d walk my own path. That’s why I can’t give you an answer.”
“……”
Cha Eun-kyung’s expression sharpened. She was clearly displeased. I decided to change the subject.
“Of course, I’m only grateful to you. In return, I’d like to make something for you. How about this?”
“……A gift?”
Fortunately, it worked. Time to push the sales pitch.
“The material is this. A unique-grade Golden Fox Fur. Would you like to see the options?”
“……”
She silently examined the fox fur’s options. Her eyes widened.
“……What is this? How much?”
She’d probably seen plenty of luxury items before, so she could instantly gauge its value. I pressed harder.
“It’s free for you, Eun-kyung.”
Rather than becoming an employee of a big spender, I judged that being the one who granted favors would bring greater returns.