Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Monster Corpses Turn into Money
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Monster corpses could be turned into money.
Mana stones, hides, muscles, bones, blood. Even hair roots or entrails were traded sometimes.
Even the corpses of hobgoblins, which had relatively few uses, fetched a trading price of two million won each.
Of course, that was only when they were in 'intact condition.'
The hobgoblins that Jae-hyeok had hunted all had parts of their bodies severed or their muscles and bones melted by poison. The ones drenched heavily in poison even had their mana stones damaged, rendering them completely unsellable.
More importantly, this was an emergency situation.
The hobgoblins' owner might already be rushing here.
It wasn't the time to waste time trying to sell these ragged corpses.
"Got it. I'll buy them all."
But Manager Gu readily agreed to the deal.
It was thanks to Jae-hyeok's efforts that everyone in the group had survived unscathed.
Manager Gu himself had taken a single enchanted arrow to the shoulder, but the other employees had escaped the ambush without even a scratch.
Jae-hyeok's attitude of strong-arming them into buying trash as a show of 'gratitude' was within acceptable bounds.
'He's being so direct about it that it's actually refreshing.'
He had planned to reward him anyway.
During the live-broadcasted entrance re-examination, Jae-hyeok's level had been exactly 10.
Yet in less than half a month, he had grown enough to single-handedly slaughter 23 C-rank monsters.
Even accounting for major artifact assistance, it was genius-level growth.
He was highly likely to become a National Treasure Candidate.
When the opportunity arose, he wanted to gain favor and build a connection.
"I'll give you two hundred each."
Jae-hyeok quoted the market price. He had already stuffed the mangled corpses, like rotten meat lumps, into the employees' backpacks.
"Two hundred for this crap...?"
While the team leaders' faces paled, Manager Gu raised the price instead.
"I'll buy them all for a total of one hundred million. Consider it repayment for protecting our employees."
"His job was to escort us from the start—what repayment?"
As the exasperated Baek Team Leader grumbled, Jo Seong-hyeon stepped forward.
"Are you alright?"
He pulled two potion bottles from his pocket and politely handed them to Jae-hyeok.
"I'm worried our benefactor might have internal injuries. Please tend to yourself first."
Jae-hyeok's eyes widened.
The two potions Jo Seong-hyeon offered were a deep crimson, like blood.
They were top-grade potions that couldn't be bought for all the money in the world.
The same ones Jae-hyeok had used to save Butler Hwang.
"You're really giving these to me?"
"Thanks to Student Kang Jae-hyeok, Jaekyung's family members survived. This is barely enough to call repayment—I'm embarrassed to even say it. I'd be grateful if you give me a chance later to show proper gratitude."
"If you're insisting, I'll gladly accept."
As Baek Team Leader said, Jae-hyeok had only done his duty.
As an escort, and as a noble, he had an obligation to protect them.
Still, he was thrilled to receive more than expected.
'As expected, nobles should live like nobles.'
Just then, the employees finished recovering all the hobgoblin corpses.
Jae-hyeok clapped his hands.
"Let's get going. I'll take it slow on the way back."
"A sorcerer who can summon 23 C-rank monsters is at least an A-rank player. We'd be wiped out the moment we encounter them without a chance to resist—shouldn't we escape Lion's Castle as quickly as possible?"
"If you all leave Lion's Castle like this, it tells the enemy you've finished the schedule faster than usual. That would be as good as admitting we killed the hobgoblins, which we absolutely can't do. We need to emphasize that someone else killed them."
"Indeed... With the corpses cleaned up so neatly, it'll take quite some time to investigate whose doing it was. The more normally we act, the more the hobgoblin's owner will hesitate to move rashly, wary of an unknown enemy."
"That's exactly it."
The reason Jae-hyeok had strong-armed the hobgoblin corpses wasn't greed.
He had to dispose of them anyway, so he took the chance to claim his due.
Pricing them at two hundred each was just following market rates.
"So, we go back along the original route, then return here around 9 PM?"
"Yes, we didn't even finish gathering the sky ferns anyway. Let's head out."
"Hmm."
Manager Gu watched the leading Jae-hyeok with an admiring expression.
If he had been given enough time to think.
Manager Gu would have made the exact same decision as Jae-hyeok.
But Jae-hyeok had judged and acted the instant the situation arose.
'This kid, barely 16, already has a mind beyond the ordinary.'
Before even reaching adulthood, becoming an A-rank player or solo-clearing high-rank gates.
There were countless players with famous tales like that worldwide.
But players who combined martial prowess and intellect were rare.
'That's the real deal.'
Manager Gu glanced at Jo Seong-hyeon.
The man who had been stingy even about buying coffee for the gatekeepers was now giving a gaze filled with praise.
'Good thing I gave him that precious gift.'
Manager Gu didn't particularly like Jo Seong-hyeon and leaned more toward despising his goody-two-shoes personality.
But he was a loyal servant of Jaekyung Pharmaceuticals.
As long as his sister continued rising through the ranks as an executive there, he was resolved to dedicate himself to Jaekyung as well.
He hoped the owner's family would show the proper demeanor.
Meanwhile, Jae-hyeok was closely observing the group's atmosphere.
'Regardless of rank or attitude, Jo Seong-hyeon's status is the highest.'
The Jaekyung Pharmaceuticals employees had immediately assumed they were targets upon realizing the hobgoblins were summoned monsters.
They didn't even consider it might be a coincidence.
They weren't curious who was behind it.
It felt off, but Jo Seong-hyeon the deputy manager seemed to have a special status.
The kind of status where being targeted by anyone at any time wouldn't be strange.
'He referred to the employees as family and freely gave away two top-grade potions— with that wealth, he's probably in Jaekyung's succession line.'
The group arrived at a valley with clear, cold water flowing.
It was already 3 PM.
If they had followed the original route, this would be the time to gather blue-light orchids and tiger's damask vines here.
But the group had already gathered plenty of orchids and vines that morning.
"Pretend to gather herbs and kill time."
After instructing the employees, Jae-hyeok stood before the waterfall.
The cool sound of water cleared his mind.
'Level 24.'
Thanks to the hobgoblin horde, his level had risen by 4.
He needed time to adjust to the increased stats and tune his body.
There were too many eyes to train flashily...
'While I'm at it, maybe practice some forms.'
The theme of the first quest from the Lion Statue was forms.
To get the highest reward, gathering many people was key, but raising his own form proficiency was important too.
"Hoo."
The basics of forms were aligning with the five directions and energies. Harmony with the environment was essential too.
Jae-hyeok positioned himself at the waterfall's center, straightened his back rigidly, and slowly drew his sword.
To focus with reverence, he began with the ceremonial gait of House Kang, stepping firmly and precisely.
"...!"
Jo Seong-hyeon, who had been watching curiously what Jae-hyeok was doing alone, widened his eyes.
'Forms? No, that's not just simple forms. They contain martial arts.'
Jo Seong-hyeon was a graduate of Lion's Castle.
An elite who had completed the grueling training.
He was stuck at C-rank because he had awakened a first skill useless in combat, but conversely, that meant he was a monster who reached C-rank without his first skill's help.
He wouldn't have convinced his father otherwise.
He would have gone to a prestigious school instead of Lion's Castle to learn the knowledge to inherit the family business.
In other words, Jo Seong-hyeon had the capacity to glimpse the essence of House Kang forms, however faintly. He instinctively sensed that understanding something within them would bring enlightenment.
'Interesting.'
Jae-hyeok glanced at Jo Seong-hyeon clumsily imitating the forms and smiled warmly.
He admired the man's efforts to grasp even a fragment of House Kang martial arts and seize what he himself had felt.
A noble was one who protected and led the nation and its people.
With that in mind, Jae-hyeok slowed his forms slightly.
'Let's see if you can follow.'
The once dazzlingly fluid motions disassembled like puzzle pieces, etching into Jo Seong-hyeon's retinas.
'Serendipity!'
Jo Seong-hyeon shivered.
He realized he was receiving instruction from a young boy.
He couldn't miss this chance.
Raising his focus, he experienced no-mind trance for the first time in his life.
Too much knowledge and information flooded in at once, feeling like his brain was burning, but every time he groaned, Jae-hyeok's calm, profound motions helped him regain clarity and composure, repeating the cycle.
Kang Jae-hyeok, noble, House Kang...
The name of the fallen ducal house seared intensely into Jo Seong-hyeon's mind and heart.
***
As dusk settled.
Park Min-cheol, an Iron Guild educational staff member, arrived at Arcane Gorge.
He thoroughly surveyed the terrain he had already memorized, identifying sky fern locations and predicting where Jae-hyeok would be alone.
'One of those four spots.'
His body soon drenched in sweat as he began setting traps.
Installing traps that triggered only under specific conditions was extremely delicate work. It required using his first skill, demanding immense concentration.
Perhaps that's why.
"Unbelievable."
Park Min-cheol noticed the presence behind him far too late.
Startled, he tried to draw his weapon, but it was impossible.
Kwang!
An unidentified figure grabbed the back of his head and smashed it into the wall.
In one blow, his cheekbones and nose shattered, and Park Min-cheol writhed in pain and terror.
He nearly reflexively asked who it was but clamped his mouth shut.
A power vastly overwhelming him, a B-rank player.
One wrong word, and he'd die.
Instinctively sensing this, Park Min-cheol instead buried his face deeper into the wall.
Sharp rocks and dirt tore at his eyes and wounds, but he desperately stifled his groans to survive.
"...If you had harmed my child, you wouldn't be standing here, would you?"
His efforts paid off.
Pleased with Park Min-cheol's groveling attitude, the mysterious figure's tone softened slightly.
"Looks like the work of the security or search teams after all. What rotten luck. I absolutely have to lay low for a while. But you know..."
"Huh!"
Park Min-cheol finally screamed.
The horrific sensation of fingers piercing his scalp and tapping his skull shattered his composure.
"What are these crude bombs? You trash thought you could target my stuff?"
I want to kill him.
The figure gripping Park Min-cheol's head in one hand glared with bloodshot eyes.
But causing another incident here would make the Martial Force mobilize in earnest.
Risking danger to kill one piece of trash was too great a loss.
To target Jaekyung's third son again someday, the best was to hold back until the Martial Force's vigilance eased.
Barely suppressing his killing intent, he whispered into Park Min-cheol's ear.
"Remember this. If you target my stuff again, I'll crush your skull very, very slowly."
Park Min-cheol nodded frantically, forgetting to breathe, then realized he was alone. With trembling hands, he dismantled the traps and fled the scene.
There was a guardian deity protecting Kang Jae-hyeok.
That explained why Yoon Sang-ho had vanished without a trace.
Having learned this shocking fact, he planned to submit two resignation letters immediately upon returning to his lodgings.
One to Lion's Castle, the other to Iron Guild.