Two Men
Among the items in the shopping basket, the top one was a chair. No, it was an actual chair.
The thought crossed my mind: who on earth would even use something like this?
Yet here it was, sitting proudly on the marketplace, verified by Babylon itself as genuine.
“Whoa… it gives off such an overwhelming presence.”
It was something that practically screamed “throne.”
[(Legend) Throne of the Immortal King]
(Equip Slot: Waist)
Emperor Argos had wanted eternal life, so he bound his own soul to this throne to gain immortality.
But his empire never lasted forever.
Now a ghost, he had transcended death itself—yet all that remained was endless loneliness.
▶ [Negligence] Movement Speed -100%
▶ [Soul] MP +2,000 / MP Recovery +500%
▶ [Reflection] HP -70%, no HP recovery
▶ [Emperor] Subordinates’ Attack Speed and Movement Speed +50%
Bound upon equipping.
The chair was called an item, yet it equipped on the waist.
Moreover, it had a fatal flaw—no one would ever use it.
Ignoring the reflection option, it simply forbade movement.
I understood why. You had to sit to use it.
Besides, the Throne of the Immortal King was massive. Carrying it anywhere would be impossible.
It weighed 1,240 kg—your Strength stat had to be ridiculously high to even lift it.
Price: 230 million won.
Legendary grade, even with all those drawbacks.
If it weren’t for the [Reflection] debuff, it probably would have started at 10 billion won.
“Tsk… I still have almost 300 million in my account…”
It was a useful item, but I couldn’t buy it right now.
After all, the money in my account was still my mother’s price.
Every time I checked the balance, she popped up, and I couldn’t spend it easily.
Moving on to the second pick.
[(Legend) Bundle of Tigrial]
(Equip Slot: Weapon)
The shady back-alley merchant Tigrial had accumulated wealth through illegal deals and conspiracies.
He hid all his treasure in this bundle, which held the spoils his subordinates looted and ill-gotten gains.
Yet he sold his own soul in the process.
▶ [Lucky Bundle] Luck +25%
▶ [Thief] All items looted by subordinates automatically stack into the bundle
▶ [Reflection] HP -70%, no HP recovery
▶ [Black Hand] Cannot equip weapons, Attack Power -100%
Bound upon equipping.
The bundle looked like a wrinkled gray Santa Claus bag, complete with the same (-_-) expression as the emoji.
It was an actual spatial inventory.
I heard spatial inventories were worth at least 500 billion, but this one cost only 270 million won.
Way too cheap.
The [Black Hand] and -100% Attack Power were deadly for hunters, of course.
And it was for equipping weapons, not carrying them.
“Still, I have no choice—I have to buy it.”
The real highlight was the [Lucky Bundle].
Luck increased by a massive 25%.
That would synergize perfectly with my Fortitude trait, which boosted all stats by the amount of my Luck stat when HP dropped below 10%.
In other words, every stat boost from Fortitude would be 25% inflated!
The [Thief] option was also great—everything my skeleton soldiers looted would be mine.
It felt almost too good to be true.
“Adding them up… 500 million… still, it’s a pipe dream.”
Wait… 500 million.
Immediately, the 500 million won reward for reporting Bae Hyeongsin flashed before my eyes.
Right after, a face poked out from behind my shoulder—Kim Taesu’s.
“What are you doing? I told you to read the tip, and you’re off doing god-knows-what. Shopping?”
He looked like he’d been caught sneaking during exam period in high school, staring at his mom.
I hurriedly closed the screen and deflected.
“Hyung. How do I report Bae Hyeongsin for the 500 million won reward?”
“The report has to become the decisive clue that helps catch him. Why? Getting interested in him now?”
“You seriously think Bae Hyeongsin is hiding inside Clody’s nose?”
I was still skeptical about that possibility.
Out of Clody’s entire body, only the nose was actively moving—how could someone hide there?
“I’ve searched everywhere else. If I were him, I’d be at Oryukdo Gate.”
“So if I find him, that 500 million goes to my share, right?”
“Of course, bro. Anyway, I’m a cop—I can’t take that money.”
A thread of possibility toward the 500 million.
I decided to test Hyung’s instinct.
HP had climbed to 96%.
That was enough.
“You used it well, hyung.”
I handed him back his smartwatch.
“Not bad, right? It doesn’t cost much, so get one too. Smartwatches are great for features. Artifact accessories look so dated, but artifacts are better.”
“I’ll buy one later. I’m still poor right now.”
“Once you catch Bae Hyeongsin, you’ll be swimming in money, bro.”
Bring it on, Bae Hyeongsin.
I hope you’re hiding inside his nose.
I turned to Hansik.
Clang—clang—
Hansik was still swinging his pickaxe without stopping, and the pile of loot was getting huge.
Now that I looked, he’d been mining for over six hours.
He really was a hard-working artisan—no tricks at all.
“That’s plenty. He’s actually better than me.”
Hansik answered with a thumbs-up.
My stats had risen, so Hansik’s mining was noticeably faster than before.
It looked like it was enough for a skill level-up.
The amount he’d mined yesterday was almost double. Given that the experience needed for [Skeleton Soldier Summon] was currently 2,000—twice yesterday’s amount—leveling up right now seemed certain.
“Yes, hyung! Burn it all for me!”
“Don’t burn it wastefully! I think the degree of cooking for shellfish depends on the flavor.”
“Oh… really?”
“If you’re going to eat it, make it taste good.”
“I’ll count on it.”
Crackle.
Flames rose from Hyung’s hands.
Yesterday it had felt like a blazing torch, but today was different.
Last night, Hyung must have been thinking about the flavor.
He began subtly cooking the shellfish.
“You keep flipping them with the shovel—need to cook evenly.”
“Huh? Flip? Yes!”
As soon as I grabbed the shovel, things changed. With two Strength stats, the shovel felt feather-light. I swung it lightly and expertly flipped the shellfish in the fire.
“Like stir-frying. The heat inside the shell sears the flesh.”
“Stir—stir…”
“You’re doing great. Rhythm’s perfect. Yeah.”
Our stomachs were growling, but we were both serious about food. We synced up and let Hansik cook the shellfish.
Sizzle-sizzle… bubbles bubbled in the shell,
Crack—crack… the clams opened their mouths.
“Doosik, I have butter in my bag.”
“Whoa! Butter!”
I hadn’t expected that.
“What a thoughtful guy…”
I dashed over and grabbed three bricks of butter from Hyung’s bag.
The butter was packed tight in a black bag.
I took three. It still looked plenty.
“Melt it and stir!”
“Yes, chef!”
Following his order, I spread the butter between the cooking shellfish and started stirring again with the shovel.
The rich butter scent filled the air.
After continuous stirring, butter coated every shellfish,
“Finish! Fire flavor! Fire!”
Strong flames burst from Hyung’s hands.
They swept across the shellfish like a torch.
Whenever they brushed, the butter-coated flesh darkened slightly and Maillard reaction kicked in.
“Whoa.”
“This is it…”
[Skill Level Up!]
I yelled in my head with joy.
Could it be any more perfect?
Hyung slipped on a gardening glove and picked up a giant clam. He carefully pried the shell open and removed the flesh.
“Here, enjoy.”
“Oh.”
The butter’s aroma—perfectly capturing the clam’s briny scent—tickled my nose. The moist, chewy clam meat slid into my mouth. Butter filled my mouth, salty and savory, while the shellfish’s rich flavor lingered. Suddenly,
I was all fire-flavor.
“How is it?”
“Whoa…”
“Cooked enough?”
“No kidding, hyung. Try it fast. It’s amazing!”
“Cooked? Okay to eat.”
Our hands moved faster. Clams were overwhelmingly delicious, but the oysters weren’t bad either.
Oysters mixed with lettuce and perilla leaves, wrapped in a wrap, burst with fresh perilla scent and crisp lettuce crunch, combined with the juicy oyster flavor.
Plus,
Salty.
“C… crap…”
“Whoa!!”
I shook with my body after one glass of soju with Hyung.
“That’s it. That’s the stuff.”
“Yeah, that’s it.”
“Doosik, how about setting up a food truck at the entrance of Oryukdo Gate? It’d be amazing with this!”
We’d become close, but it had only been a short time since we met. Yet Hyung was already talking business.
It was a good business idea, but I had to turn it down.
“Hyung, if I took a bribe, I’d earn thousands. That wouldn’t be enough.”
“Bribe? Tsk, if you insult small business owners’ good faith, you won’t get anything.”
“Drink. Corrupt official.”
Clink-clink.
Clear soju sloshed in a disposable cup.
Now clams again. One glass of soju.
“C…”
“Ah, good. Doosik, where do you live?”
Now that I thought about it, we hadn’t done the host-investigation yet.
“I live in Seoul. Yeongdeungpo.”
“So Seoul?”
“Yes. But this rice—what do I do? No microwave.”
“Wait. There’s water, so warm it in hot water.”
“Oh… as expected from the chef. Where do you live, hyung?”
“I live in this neighborhood. If Seoul was my home, I’d go back.”
A hint of longing colored his voice.
He really was a friendly guy.
My first bad impression was long gone.
“Yeah, I live with my dad. I’m not going home yet, so when the lease ends, I’ll move wherever.”
“Hey, when you come to Seoul later, come visit Busan again. Then hyung will treat you to a Busan full course.”
“Really?”
“Of course, bro. One more drink.”
When eight empty bottles were stacked, we were both lying on the ground looking at the night sky.
We’d become even closer, and I felt like my stomach was about to burst.
“Hyung, what’s that sky?”
“What do you mean? It’s the sky.”
“No, the sky we know isn’t this one. There’s a planet with a ring floating there.”
There were four moons.
“Don’t know. Maybe another planet.”
“Alien?”
“Probably.”
“Not surprising?”
“I’ve seen so many.”
Suddenly Hyung sat up and pulled a cigarette from his pocket.
“Smoke?”
“No, I don’t drink. If I smoke, mom will kill me.”
“Yeah, don’t. It’s hard to quit.”
“Now it doesn’t matter… mom’s gone.”
Mom’s face flickered, and Hyung silently lit his cigarette.
“When hunters die in the gate instead of reality, do they go to that sky?”
“I guess so? This is another world.”
“Then… we can’t die in the gate.”
That sky meant no mom and no Hodu.
* * *
Day 2 of camping at Oryukdo Gate.
The day my skeleton soldiers reached two.
My heart stirred.
Hansik in his rider suit and a plain nameless skeleton soldier.
Hansik had started teaching the newborn skeleton soldier how to hold a pickaxe.
Watching him mine made me sigh.
Hoo, when will I get to raise that one too…
+——+——+ SKILL +——+——+
[(Unique) Skeleton Soldier Summon LV. 3]
– Unique skill of the Skeleton Lord. Summons skeleton soldiers for 18 hours (1 hour × Intelligence).
– Stat Inheritance: The summoned skeleton soldier inherits 26% of the lord’s stats (0.01 × Intelligence).
– Summonable Soldiers: 2 (proportional to skill level)
– Equip System: Each skeleton soldier can wear individual equipment sets. Equipment sets are saved and recalled upon re-summon.
– Individualization: Each skeleton is a separate entity with different abilities and equipment configurations.
– Stat Transfer: If a skeleton soldier dies in battle, its stats transfer to the nearest skeleton soldier for 18 minutes (1 minute × Intelligence).
– MP Consumption: 50
– Cooldown: None
– Level-up Required EXP: 549 / 5,000
+——+——+——+——+——+
Anyway,
“Hyung was right. It must be Fibonacci. I need to level the skill higher to be sure, but…”
“Ho, someday the skeleton soldiers summoned will be as strong as Bae Hyeongsin’s Dark Bolt. The thought gives me chills.”
“Hyung, keep my abilities a secret, okay?”
“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”
“But the next level-up EXP is more than double.”
“Annoying. But aren’t you going to level it? You said summoning the skeleton soldiers only raises the skill level, right? Your level still matters most. Even if there were 100 million level-1 skeleton soldiers, it wouldn’t scare me. Even if there were 100 million rabbits, one tiger could beat them, right?”
His words were 100% correct.
I had to improve the quality of each skeleton soldier.
I stood up and grabbed the pickaxe.
My palm was still sore from the burn, but overprotecting was a luxury.
Clang—clang—
…
[Level Up]
Only after the sun set did I succeed in leveling up.
[Skill Level Up!]
Finally, Skeleton Soldier Summon reached level 4.
Now I could summon three.
I had achieved the first goal.
“Hyung.”
“Hm? Why?”
“I’m ready.”
Now it was time to look for Bae Hyeongsin.
500 million, just wait.