Mission: Black Market
Skyla lagged behind.
Stumbling along, she finally collapsed to the ground.
Yoo Min-jeong, leading the team at the front, raised her hand. The team members following behind slowed naturally, their formation shifting seamlessly from snake to diamond.
"Huff... huff..."
Skyla, gasping for breath, looked up at the approaching Yoo Min-jeong. Above all, she could feel the pity in her eyes.
I've been sticking to the fitness program, but it's still not enough.
Not just Yoo Min-jeong—Choi Muhyun, Yeom Sang-taek, and even Kim Jun were all fine. They were a perfected team, honed through long training into perfect harmony. Their formation shifts, attacks and defenses, movement speed—flawless.
"That's it for now. Regroup at 1:30 after lunch."
Yoo Min-jeong issued the order.
The team members logged off one by one and vanished. Only Yoo Min-jeong remained standing before Skyla.
"A few years off, and it's not easy keeping up."
Skyla forced a playful tone to suppress her irritation.
"You'll get better."
"...Yeah."
"I'll head out first."
"Okay."
Skyla was left alone in the dim virtual space.
She was grateful that Yoo Min-jeong hadn't tried to comfort her with empty words about how it would all work out. Those never helped anyway.
It's entirely my fault. I thought coming back as an active Raider would be easy. Sigh... At this rate, I won't make it to Changwon. I'd just drag the raid down.
Skyla stood, let out a sigh, and logged off.
Lunch was packed bentos.
Everyone focused silently on eating. Fluffy steamed rice, crispy shrimp tempura, salty fermented squid—the bentos were excellent.
Yoo Min-jeong set her bento down for a moment and spoke.
"Listen while you eat. Our goal for this raid is to break the record. The highest earnings ever from an F-rank dungeon in Changwon. That way, the Raid Review Committee can't keep sending us only to F-rank dungeons."
The team leader was thinking not just about the raid in two days, but the ones after.
"What's the record we need to beat?"
Choi Muhyun asked.
"780 million won."
"...For an F-rank? That's insane."
Yeom Sang-taek had every reason to be shocked. Monsters in F-rank dungeons usually dropped common cores, so the rewards rarely matched the effort.
"It's from nine years ago. Guess who set it."
Yoo Min-jeong's eyes narrowed playfully.
"Lee Hwan."
It was Skyla. She'd seen it while researching him intensively.
Yoo Min-jeong smiled at her.
"Right. It was Lee Hwan's first time leading a team, in an F-rank dungeon. If we top 780 million there—and it gets out—our next raid will be E-rank."
After Yoo Wan-seop lost his arm, Lee Hwan had risen as the top Raider. A Brave Guild dealer with overwhelming power and good looks, his popularity was off the charts.
Yoo Min-jeong continued.
"The problem is core prices in F-ranks. Last dungeon, we killed 15 Haren Sauruses and 12 Ulpen Sauruses. Our storebacks were full, but that only added up to 150 million. We hit over 300 because we lucked into absorption stones."
The core absorption stones from the Absorption Trees fetched 200 million each.
"So?"
Choi Muhyun prompted.
"This raid, we'll go aggressive. Not just safe zones—we'll push farther, to where the gate light fades. Speak now if you have objections."
Yoo Min-jeong scanned the team. She couldn't proceed if even one opposed.
"I'm in."
Choi Muhyun first.
"Me too."
Yeom Sang-taek mustered his courage.
Kim Jun nodded at Yoo Min-jeong.
Last was Skyla. All eyes turned to the late-joining ice dealer.
"Good."
Skyla answered them—and herself. No backing out now.
If stamina was the issue, she'd find a fix. Even if it cost her.
"You sure about this?"
"...Yeah."
Skyla gently caressed the sleek body of her Harley Davidson. If she'd known she'd sell it without a proper ride, she wouldn't have bought it.
With a sigh, she handed the keys to the dealer and stepped back, committing the bike's form to memory—and heart.
The deal wrapped quickly. Selling in a rush meant eating a financial loss.
"Such a shame. Few love their Harleys like you, reporter."
The salesman flashed a promotional smile.
"Just go already."
Skyla knew lingering would weaken her resolve.
Skyla had scraped together every won from her reporter savings, plus the Harley sale, and slipped into a dim alley in Insadong.
It was past midnight.
Scanning her surroundings, she stopped before a door flanked by cactus pots.
"Whew."
Knock-knock. Knock-knock-knock. Knock. Knock-knock-knock-knock.
Skyla knocked deliberately.
Soon, knocks echoed from inside.
Knock. Knock-knock. Knock. Knock-knock-knock.
Skyla knocked five times, then waited.
Nearly five minutes later, the door opened. A bald man, over two meters tall, loomed before her.
"First time?"
"In Korea."
"Prove it."
A pure white icicle formed at Skyla's fingertip. The ten-centimeter shard detached like an arrow, grazing the man's ear and embedding deep in the door.
The bald man stepped aside, expression unchanged.
"Welcome to the Black Market."
Skyla followed the arrows inside. Stairs led underground.
After a long descent, a wide tunnel appeared—an artificial cave lit sporadically by hanging bulbs.
An old man with a beard to his chest dozed in a chair.
"Banker?"
Skyla asked.
"Exchange? How much?"
"All of it."
Skyla placed a bag of checks and cash on the rickety table.
The old man just laid his hand on it—no counting the bills.
"137 million won. In a hurry for something."
"Exchange it."
The old man nodded and gestured. A seductive woman in a cheongsam brought casino-like chips.
One green, three yellow, seven crimson. Black Market currency only.
Pocketing the chips, Skyla proceeded down the tunnel into a vast space.
It was like a traditional market.
Dozens of stalls, shabby tents displaying wares. All items for sale; all browsers, Raiders.
Two-headed monkeys, color-shifting cacti, walking phones—grotesque, contaminated oddities piled in one corner, far from their original forms.
Skyla sought Ellipsis.
In a corner, makers brewed and sold their own enhancers.
Skyla pointed at a green, pebble-like Ellipsis.
"How much?"
The mantis-faced owner eyed her and held up three fingers.
"Pricey."
"Cheap for those who know its worth."
"Crack on the surface."
"...Sharp eyes."
The owner frowned, folding one finger. Two green chips—200 million.
"Not pure green. Yellow mixed in, crimson inside."
He hesitated, then left one finger.
"No lower."
"Actually, I'm after blue Ellipsis."
"...Blue?"
His eyes wavered as he scanned her again.
Skyla dumped all her chips before him.
"That's all I have."
"Blue Ellipsis for this pittance? You're pushing it, miss. Even if I had it, no."
Skyla considered another maker but, unfamiliar with the vibe and lacking connections, it'd waste time.
Glancing at her wrist, she sighed and removed her bracelet, showing it.
"Th-that's...?"
The maker's eyes widened, recognizing the ice bracelet Iyrin.
"Three blue Ellipsis."
"Deal. Including these chips."
"...Fine."
Skyla took the three dense blue Ellipsis—heavy for their size—and handed over the chips and Iyrin. Her wrist felt empty without the long-worn bracelet. No regrets, though.
She hurried out. Didn't want to stay a minute longer.
Heading to the main street, she sensed footsteps trailing.
Obvious. Black Market access, but chip-poor, eyeing her blue Ellipsis.
Skyla whirled.
Mid-40s man, tall.
About 188 cm.
"What, mister?"
"Hand it over. Unless you wanna die."
Faint flames flickered at his fingertip, sputtering like a low-gas lighter before catching.
Skyla extended her hand, exhaling cold. The flame died; his hand froze white.
He gaped in shock.
"Want me to freeze you solid?"
Skyla watched him flee, then flagged a passing taxi.
The guildhouse was empty.
Entering and flipping the lights, Skyla smiled faintly.
This'll be home for a while. Gonna live like a bum.
Where to absorb the Ellipsis? She chose the locker room—no interruptions till Kim Jun arrived tomorrow morning.
Ellipsis contained traces of lyrium, flantum, skiniram, clerolaiman. Used for regeneration, recovery, growth, enhancement, purification—Skyla bought it to unlock potential.
"Let's do this."
Sitting comfortably on the floor, Skyla eyed the blue Ellipsis, popping them in one by one. They melted on her tongue, sliding down her throat.
Less than a minute, and it burned inside.
To stifle screams, Skyla clenched her teeth.
Kim Jun arrived at the guildhouse an hour early.
To prep more perfectly for the raid in two days. Parking and entering, he noticed the locker room lights on.
Kim Jun, humming a girl group song, froze.
Master sometimes leaves lights on, but never just those.
Burglars?
He checked the simulators. All there, including the new one for Skyla. Gear too.
After circling the master room, Kim Jun tilted his head and entered the locker room.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
Skyla floated a meter off the ground, enveloped in bluish light rippling like gentle waves around her.
"Skyla?"
No response.
Kim Jun pulled out his phone. Called Go Cheolmin—voicemail first, then a sleepy voice.
No long explanation needed.
Waiting for Go Cheolmin, Kim Jun circled the floating Skyla slowly, inspecting closely.
The empty parking lot flashed in his mind.
Her bracelet-less wrist caught his eye.
Blue light flowed from her body, swirled nearby, then reentered.
Skyla twisted as if asleep on a soft bed. Her face scrunched; groans escaped. Eyes closed—like a nightmare.
Good, she's alive.
Suddenly, her back arched backward.
"Aaaagh!"
Eyes snapping open, Skyla screamed, thrusting a trembling hand toward Kim Jun.