Chapter 18: Ulpaululu's Forest
Choi Yuna of the Alchemist Guild.
She was really lucky.
A company that had placed a massive bulk order went bankrupt, but she still found a buyer for the elixirs.
And she was decisive.
After selling out every last lowest-grade elixir with no other orders in sight, she started cranking out the next tier—low-grade elixirs—like mad.
All because of Kim Minwoo, who had left her his contact info.
He had bought a ridiculous amount of the lowest-grade ones.
So surely, he'd buy a ton of low-grade ones someday too.
Blinded by her performance metrics, she charged ahead with that single focus.
‘Worth holding out!’
A bold call betting on the future.
And the payoff came way sooner than expected.
—Kim Minwoo here. I'll take all the low-grade elixirs you have.
One simple text.
The moment she saw it, she yelled out.
Eureka!
—We have eight hundred in total…
—Hand 'em all over.
A flat reply.
The man with insane wealth, as expected.
At this point, Gold Star's bankruptcy almost felt like a blessing.
Thanks to it, she had a huge stockpile of low-grade elixirs and snagged a premium customer!
She headed to a café for the direct trade.
Not long after, Kim Minwoo showed up.
“Oh my, you're here!”
Choi Yuna waved with a sweet, lilting voice.
“The goods?”
“Right here.”
She transferred every low-grade elixir from her inventory.
Elixirs boasting a shiver-inducing average price of three billion each.
“Got 'em. Transferred 240 billion to the guild.”
“Th-thank you.”
Choi Yuna swallowed hard as she replied. Even major corporations wouldn't drop that much cash in one lump sum easily.
Kim Minwoo, through and through.
A moment later, a text came in.
[Dad]
—Good work, sweetie. ^^
She grinned and tapped back.
[Yuna]
—Hehe. This is nothing. Gotta chat with the customer now…
[Dad]
—Right, customer comes first. You got this! (Fighting rabbit emoji)
Her gruff dad sending an emoji? No way.
She had crushed it today.
Coffee arrived in front of the two.
Kim Minwoo took a sip and spoke.
“You've got killer initiative. You made these ahead of time, right?”
“Yes, I had a feeling you'd order some.”
“That kind of attitude? Perfect.”
“Hehe… Um, any plans to use mid-grade elixirs… maybe?”
Choi Yuna asked tentatively.
Just like gear or skillbooks,
elixirs skyrocketed in price with each higher tier.
Mid-grade elixirs went for ten billion a pop.
If he bought eight hundred like last time?
Eight hundred billion.
Stocking up on those ahead of time was a massive gamble—even for her. No order? Total disaster.
Even with her dad as guild master, that kind of money wasn't easy to swing.
“Have to.”
She gulped at his words, staring at Minwoo with pleading eyes.
Please.
That order.
Give it to me.
Please, I beg you…
After a brief silence, Kim Minwoo spoke.
“Planning bulk orders whenever I need 'em from here on out. But there's one hitch.”
“A hitch…?”
“Paying on delivery makes advance payments awkward. No clue exactly when I'll buy. Gotta grind a ton of levels first.”
“Ah… Got it.”
“Yeah.”
Silence stretched on.
Choi Yuna realized it.
The fork in the road.
Bulk contract? Way too many red flags.
Advance payment? Nope.
Buy timing? Who knows.
Trust me enough to stockpile anyway?
That was Kim Minwoo's question.
“… Deal.”
“Deal?”
“Deal!”
Choi Yuna shouted, squeezing her eyes shut. Budget? She'd scrape it together somehow.
This was a contract she had to land.
World record holder, right!?
Leveling up? He'd crush it.
Money? Hustle some ads. She'd make it work. Choi Yuna put her faith in grit.
“Then stock up this much in mid-grade starting now.”
“… Yes.”
“Don't look so glum. Full price, no haggle when I buy.”
“Got it!”
Deal sealed.
* * *
‘Cleared one hurdle.’
Even Kim Minwoo would struggle to find someone willing to produce eight hundred billion in elixirs on spec.
That's exactly why he'd built ties with Choi Yuna.
Otherwise, hitting level 101 in the D-grade bracket, he'd be twiddling thumbs waiting for mid-grades to produce.
True to form, the metrics-obsessed girl called deal on the spot.
Dad's the guild master—she'd make it happen.
‘Upper grades are the real pain.’
This is where it gets brutal.
Units leap into the trillions.
Truth be told, Kim Minwoo was the outlier.
Zero talent.
His freakish physical talent meant chugging way more elixirs than normal.
‘Most need just one or two hundred.’
S-rank feats usually meant solid talent.
Those types often gained two stats per elixir.
‘Even they hit walls at upper grades.’
Typical super rookies elixir-rush to low-grade.
Nation or big org backing? Totally viable.
Two hundred each lowest and low-grade.
Average investment around eight hundred billion.
Doable.
Mid-grade kicks off…
‘The true sorting hat.’
Two trillion minimum to elixir properly.
Gets burdensome.
Only the explosive super rookies get funded this far.
‘And uppers…’
Nation or big org funds this?
Mega-tier rookie.
Uppers run thirty billion-ish each.
Two hundred alone? Six to seven trillion dumped.
Pure elixir investment nears the trillion mark.
Isabella was the poster child.
‘Beat her ass though.’
Still, impressive for a human.
Anyway.
Uppers could wait.
Plenty of time till then.
Lost in thought, he arrived at the auction house.
[Accessed Skillbook Marketplace.]
[Search: Levels 51~60. Job: Necromancer.]
[Searching with those parameters.]
[Skeleton Mage Summon (E)]
[Restrictions: Necromancer, Level 51+]
[Price: 6 million won.]
‘Nice.’
Exactly triple the skeleton summon price.
‘Fair enough.’
Gear jumped about that much per tier too.
For a fringe job, tripling was practically generous.
Good thing auctions were no-resale by design.
If they allowed it?
Necro skillbooks would've ballooned way harder.
Hoarders would've swarmed.
How could anyone resist sweeping 'em with cash?
‘Then I'd just raid other countries.’
Listings were country-specific, not global.
Hoarders would've been wrecked.
Win-win all around.
He snatched every fresh listing.
[53 skillbooks purchased in full…]
[Duplicate skillbooks added to inventory…]
Cleared the popup.
Pathetic volume—rat turds, basically.
Useless for shit.
Finish shopping, then bulk-synth.
Checked skillbook markets.
‘Average prices holding steady.’
Even sans hoarding, averages could've crept up.
Everyone knew a mega-buyer named Kim Minwoo was lurking now.
He'd drop in someday and vacuum everything.
That mindset nudges prices higher naturally.
‘Five percent?’
Slight bubble.
Tolerable.
Ten-plus? Even he'd probably overseas-shop.
Not the cost—pure spite.
Petty as fuck.
Traces of a little price poker.
‘Cute.’
He smirked.
“Two thousand or less, level fifty or below E-grades. One more filter: recent price swings under five percent. Vacuum 'em all.”
Time to draw a line for the suppliers.
Five percent premium max.
‘Push higher? Eat dirt.’
No-sale listings still stung ten percent fees.
Fuck up the game? Pay up.
Signal needed to cap inflation. Otherwise D-grades meant world tours.
[Purchase 8,424 target listings.]
[Purchase complete!]
[1,263.6 billion withdrawn…]
[10% fees withdrawn…]
“Whew. Walking the righteous path is no joke.”
No joke at all.
E-grade already billions-scale.
C-grade? Trillions.
Grueling road.
But brick by brick—that's how real awakeners forged ahead.
‘At least stock exists.’
Hit A-grade? Listings evaporate.
Awakeners thinned exponentially at the top.
Global tour might not even nail nine-strengths.
Mid-burst with no stock? GG.
That vibe.
Synthesizing skillbooks, he grabbed gear for the mages.
Mages spawned as level one baby mages.
Lowbie gear—cheap.
Black Heart Set tier, two billion per set-ish.
Splurged on 250.
No more listings.
Finally, luxury sets for Cedric and himself next bracket.
Total 150 billion.
Shopping done, Kim Minwoo kicked off skillbook farming.
* * *
Ulpaululu's Forest.
Clear difficulty: 90.
Hellish rep, but unlike Osiris's Tomb, the entrance crawled with eager awakeners. No worthless drops like tomb wheels—main foes here were gorillas top to bottom.
Tough hides for armor crafting, bones for weapon processing.
Boss Ulparu's drop, the Thunder Staff? Thirty-billion luxury.
Thirty bil split five ways? Six bil per head.
Jackpot city.
Low drop rate, sure—but the shot itself hooked 'em.
Soldiers hustled permits at the mouth today too.
“Yes. ID verified. Here's your entry permit. Long life. Next?”
The soldier glanced up at the awakener before him. Weathered face, patchy stubble.
Veteran aura oozed from the mug alone.
“Solo?”
Nod.
Soldier nodded back. Not weird.
Jackpot gates drew high-level solos now and then. Pure loot runs beat peer gates for paydays.
“ID, please. Yes, D-rank awakener Park Cheolwoong. Verified. Permit here. Long life.”
“You too, soldier man.”
Voice rang a bell…
Soldier cocked his head faintly, waved in the next party.
And so Park Cheolwoong—no, Kim Minwoo—neared the gate.
[Ulpaululu's Forest]
[Grade: E]
Right at the gate.
A soldier and one awakener stood watch.
“Five now. Head in.”
One party dove through. Gate flared briefly, then dimmed.
“You next, sir.”
Kim Minwoo nodded and leaped toward the gate.
That's when.
Sssrk.
A translucent humanoid silhouette got sucked into the glowing gate.
D-rank guard awakener on duty? Missed the stealth entirely.
The gate went dark.