A Fortune in Whiskers
These ray bastards' whiskers are worth a fair bit of money.
They're incredibly tough—hard to snap—and hold up well against both water and fire. Naturally they find use in all sorts of places, and the price is decent. Depending on the amount, you can pull anywhere from a few tens of thousands to over a hundred thousand won per ray.
Not much by Awoken standards, but we've taken down more than a thousand of the things. Done right, that could mean over a hundred million. After every other cost and the company's cut, the incentive might still land around a million won per person. Base salary comes on top of that, plus a million-won bonus for a single day. Not bad pay for an E-rank dungeon. Three days straight would be three million—more than my monthly salary. I'm not an Awoken, so my incentive share is far lower, but it should still cover a proper bender and a new set of clothes.
Haah... damn it...
Watching myself get excited over that makes me want to quit on the spot and start my own company.
"What are you all standing around for? This is money. Money! Kim Isol! Don't just toss them like that. If the whiskers tangle, the market value tanks."
"Yeah, yeah, I got it! But how long do we have to keep doing this!?"
"We cut every last one we took down today. What, you want to throw them away?"
"What? All of them?"
"You too, Donggeul. Hang in there. You only used one heal today, right? You've still got plenty of mana left! Anyone who keeps whining doesn't get to come to my room anymore—keep that in mind."
Everyone was bored out of their minds. We'd only finished about a hundred so far; there was still a long way to go. I decided to head outside early with Jang Yong.
"Keep at it. There's too much of this stuff, so I'm going out first to call a recovery crew."
Jang Yong hoisted a bundle of whiskers that had to weigh several hundred kilos. He'd pulled one strand free and tied both ends of the long mass, then had to cinch it a few more times in the middle just to keep it together. Only after we passed through the gate and reached the management office building did the trailing end of the whisker mass finally clear the portal.
The civil servant on duty spotted us and asked with wide eyes, "What in the world is all that?"
"What else would it be? Ray whiskers."
"You're the first non-military Awoken team I've seen haul these out."
"Haha... our company's broke. Anyway, there's a decent amount. Mind if we leave it here for a bit?"
"Go ahead. Looks like you had a good hunt."
"Yeah, well... maybe about a thousand?"
"Excuse me?"
Talk about overreacting. The guy looked older than me but still in his twenties; he nearly keeled over. Whether he was putting it on or just soaked up too much American flair, the theatrics were big. Still, it left Jang Yong and me feeling pretty damn proud. If he found out this pile was less than a tenth of the total, how much harder would he flip? I was starting to look forward to it.
I called the equipment outfitter we'd visited earlier. Told them the haul was big enough that they needed to come collect it. One of the biggest headaches of commuting to a dungeon is exactly this. Outfitters use special transport carts called dungeon carts for long hauls inside—modified lunar rovers, supposedly. They let you ferry tools deep in and haul bulk loot back out. We don't have one, so we'd have to shuttle these whiskers out by hand dozens of times. Miserable existence. Mine and Jang Yong's both, Awoken or not.
"It'll be about a truckload."
—Sorry? What did you hunt that fills a whole truck?
"What else is in this dungeon besides rays? We only took females, so it's all whiskers."
—Come on, you're joking. A few light whiskers don't need a truck.
"Want me to call someone else?"
—Aigoo, fine, fine. We're coming. Transport fee's the same even if the load's light, so we don't lose anything.
One more person about to be surprised. He still didn't fully trust me, but the situation made that fair enough; I wasn't offended. If anything, I was grinning at the thought of his face when he saw it.
I gave the civil servant one more reminder and headed back through the gate with Jang Yong. Then I had him start ferrying out the piles the women had already cut. The whiskers soaked in purple blood were even heavier; Jang Yong groaned under the load on his shoulders. Me? I had nothing to do. Those whiskers wouldn't cut under my strength. I had ways, sure, but this wasn't combat and I wasn't wasting energy. So I just stood back and barked orders.
"Whiskers get washed, dried, then priced by weight, so cut them as long as you can. Clean cuts!"
"Then you cut them!"
"I don't have mana, do I? Can't."
"Team Leader, what was that earlier?"
"What do you mean, Donggeul?"
"Why did every single ray that was flying just drop out of the sky?"
"Yeah. What kind of trick was that?"
"I'm... curious too..."
"Hmm... this is top secret."
Of course they were curious. I drew it out like it was the most important secret in the world. Really I was just waiting for Jang Yong to clear the gate, but watching them stare at me all tense while I stalled felt perfect.
"Thanks to all of you, I've grown a little myself. Same way you've grown."
"What? You're not even an Awoken."
"Is there a law that says non-Awoken can't grow? You grow if you grow. I can now freely shut off mana—monsters or people, doesn't matter. So if any of you ever think about betraying me, you'd better be ready. You won't be Awoken anymore."
"Wow... that's amazing!"
"Hmph."
Reactions varied, but I didn't sense any betrayal brewing. When sticking with me made their mana climb steadily, why bother? Learning about my ability probably only made them more certain—that staying close would make their own power even stronger. Or not. Either way.
Just cutting and gathering the whiskers took two full hours. Outside the gate the sun had set and it was dark. We really had taken a massive haul.
"Whew... that's the last of it. Good work, everyone."
"You just stood there watching."
"Kim Isol, what's with the attitude!?"
"Forget it! It's nothing."
I'd felt her discontent for hours already. She wanted to be the one leading the charge against the monsters. Wanted her new strength recognized and praised. A little frustrated, maybe? She was itching to show off her boosted power, yet here she was stuck cutting whiskers—pathetic and stifling to her.
"Everyone grab a bundle and sling it on your back. Split four ways and we're done for today's expedition."
"Do we really have to carry these..."
"Donggeul, what's wrong? Did cutting whiskers burn through all your mana?"
"No... it's just dirty."
"What is? The purple blood?"
"Not that... if you look where these whiskers grow, they're not really whiskers, they're actually..."
"Huh?"
"The hair... down there..."
"......"
Everyone turned to stare at me. What? Why? What are you looking at?
"Heh... heh... heh... so the guy who rubbed his whole face in that hair is... pffhahaha."
Kim Isol burst out laughing. First time I'd ever seen her laugh like that. Then everyone else joined in. Everyone except me.
"These are females. Don't get the wrong idea... and they're whiskers. You don't even know where a ray's genitals are."
"Female or male, same difference. Pffhahaha."
I wished they'd ease up. I wasn't truly pissed—just figured I'd need to scrub my face extra hard tonight.
We handed the massive load of ray whiskers over to the outfitter. They made a huge fuss about how we'd managed to hunt so many. Like non-Awoken needed to know our methods. Anyway, they started treating us like a high-potential Awoken team all of a sudden. The same people who'd sneered when we said we were only renting gear and coming straight back out. Of course that sneering had been aimed solely at me, the non-Awoken.
"Looks like you're a new company, right? You might get famous soon. A haul this size with just four Awoken in half a day... hah, hah. With skills like that you haven't even hit D-rank yet? We lock down this whole area, so if you ever come down to Daejeon, make sure to stop by. We do nationwide service too, of course."
They even gave me a business card. Our company already has regulars... but I might start my own someday, so I pocketed it.
It was well past seven. We rushed through dinner. Night fell, and the first person to show up at my room was Jang Yong.
"Hyung-nim. What the hell was that in the dungeon today?"
"That?"
"I'm curious what kind of magic you pulled, Hyung-nim."
"Hmm... I don't like revealing my abilities to anyone I can't trust. And Jang Yong, don't go around blabbing about what you saw today either."
I deliberately kept the formal speech. Wanted a little distance. The subtext was clear: if you want to get close and earn my trust, keep your mouth shut about today.
"Hyung-nim... I want to earn your trust too."
"I'll start trusting you from now on."
"......"
"I'll take that as you understanding what I mean."
"What do I have to do to earn it? Give me a hint at least."
He caught on fast that begging wouldn't cut it. Not completely dense, then... Honestly, revealing my info to him now wouldn't be a big problem. With my Authority Level up to 3 from this suspicious power, I could use the shield freely. As long as I had energy, I didn't need to fear anything short of a group beating from Awoken. One enemy? Block a couple hits with the shield and snuff their mana. Top-tier Awoken or Transcendents were the exceptions, of course.
My real worry wasn't whether to show the ability—it was how to use Jang Yong to pull Jang Ahra onto my side. She was loaded. The sponsorship money alone proved that. To get those funds flowing my way, I needed her weak point—Jang Yong—locked in as completely mine. Sure, I could snuff her mana and threaten her into obedience if she wanted it back, but the risk was too high. That woman had connections to Korea's top-class Awoken. Poke her wrong and their attention would lock onto me. Not the time for that kind of gamble yet.
What to do. Boost Jang Yong's power? Would that lock him in for sure? Too much to chew on. Right now I could strengthen his mana. Hitting 100% synchronization had given me more than just Authority Level 3. The base points for any Awoken had jumped from 1 to 3. Meaning I could currently raise Jang Yong from E-1 all the way to E-4. Same for any first-time Awoken I met. But the growth was so small I was hesitating. Use it now and I lose a card for emergencies. Put it off and Jang Ahra's fat stacks of cash keep glittering in the corner of my eye.
Just one rank for now? If he gets a taste of rising mana, he might start respecting me a bit. Three days ago I only had one point on him and zero room to spare; now I had a little breathing room at least.
"Jang Yong. Turn around, sit, and close your eyes for a second."
"Yes! And please speak comfortably, Hyung-nim."
He listened well. Did he already trust me? I ignored the request and declared:
"I'm going to shut off your mana for a moment."
"Huh? What?"
His voice jumped in shock, but he didn't open his eyes. I brushed a hand across a single stray strand of his hair and snuffed the mana. Just the tip of one protruding hair. Eyes closed, he might have felt something near his body but couldn't be sure.
"Hy-Hyung-nim. Suddenly my mana..."
His mana was gone. Time for the lie.
"This is my ability. I can erase an Awoken's mana. Monsters too."
"That's incredible! So you're not an Awoken after all—wait, are you a Transcendent!?"
Same reaction as his big sister. Really are siblings, huh.
"You don't need to know that. Keep your eyes closed. I need you to understand how big a risk I'm taking by showing you this."
"Thank you, Hyung-nim. Thank you for trusting me."
"And this isn't my only ability. I can raise an Awoken's mana too. But it takes a lot of conditions. Because you have a blood-related sister who's Awoken, this is something that really needed a consultation first—but today I'll push it a little and give you a taste. You must never tell a soul. Family, lover, anyone. If you do, I'll have no choice but to erase your mana forever."
"Understood. I won't say a word."
"Same goes for our teammates."
"Yes. I'll keep it locked down!"
"Good. Then from now on, I'll raise your mana by one rank."
This time I set my hand on Jang Yong's shoulder.