Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Aftermath (2)
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It was an item I'd never seen before. Even I, who possessed knowledge from the future, was seeing this for the first time.
I channeled more mana into the Sun's Eye to read the detailed information, and I couldn't help letting out a short gasp.
"An item like this exists?"
I couldn't help but question it. The Temperance Stone had one ability: stabilizing a dungeon's state. Whether it was a dungeon black hole, a dungeon rampage, or a dungeon break, using it in any situation would stabilize the dungeon.
If such an item existed, humanity could truly escape the unknown threat of dungeons.
Even if people were sucked into a dungeon black hole, hunters could be deployed after stabilization with the Temperance Stone to rescue them.
During a dungeon rampage, it could prevent the dungeon from exploding like a bomb.
And when a dungeon break occurred and monsters tried to emerge into reality, it could reinforce the barrier even further through stabilization.
It was an item that could turn the world upside down. And yet, it never appeared in the future?
'One of two possibilities. Either the vested interests monopolized it, or this is the only one.'
Given its rare grade, multiple might exist, but there was no guarantee that Earthlings could obtain the rest.
"I know what you're thinking, but unfortunately, I only have this one. And I haven't told a soul that I obtained it. So even if I had two and used one, no one would suspect me."
That would naturally resolve the incident.
Not that I'd wiped out the assassins with raw power and cleared the rampaging dungeon myself. Instead, I could claim that after stabilization with the Temperance Stone, I survived with the hunters' help and was immediately rushed to Miracle Hospital.
"With a hand like this, you could gain so much more. And you're going to reveal it just to create an alibi for me?"
The Temperance Stone—admittedly, I wasn't sure—but it was an item of immense value, capable of yielding tremendous rewards.
It was on a completely different level from other rare-grade items that could be bought for a few hundred million.
Even at my words, the Association President just nodded. As if to say, wouldn't this at least partially restore your shattered trust in me?
It was a tempting bait. A lure to reel me in. In the end, he was trying to climb higher by cutting down those above him, using me as his blade.
And also exploiting me, driven by the powerful motivator of revenge.
No matter how much he invoked his mentor or my parents, whom he called old friends, his true nature wasn't good.
If he were good, he wouldn't have stood by and ignored the miserable ends of his mentor, the previous Association President, or his friends, my parents.
He had risen to his current position by disregarding them, after all.
'Still, he's useful enough to exploit.'
He might not be a steadfast ally, but maintaining a relationship where we mutually used and profited from each other wasn't bad.
Just because he wasn't good didn't make him evil.
'If you're going to use me, you'll have to cough up accordingly.'
Above all, the Association's power would serve as a sturdy shield protecting my still-weak self.
And if Seo Mi-na offered even a little help, making Seohwa Guild back me too, it would be perfect.
I left the Temperance Stone with the Association President and relaxed my expression. My mind was made up.
It was awkward, but joining hands to escape this situation safely was more important. He wasn't useless to me, and though our ultimate goals differed, our immediate objectives aligned.
"Help me out, then. And I'll cooperate."
At my words, the Association President nodded as if he'd expected it.
"I'll handle this matter cleanly myself. It'll be a good card to smack down that Changseong punk and the old fogey, so don't worry about this one as a debt. Equivalent exchange. Fair trades are clean and good for our relationship, right?"
He knew it too. He couldn't earn my full trust with just this one favor. That's why he phrased it that way.
"Fine. Then I'll leave the cleanup to you. If you catch that Moon Kang-woon guy, give me a call. The bastard sent assassins after me twice; I at least want to see his face."
"Team Leader Park Seo-ha. Make it happen."
"Tch. Got it. I'll do it, so keep doing what you're doing. He's holed up tight, so it'll take a few days at least."
With that, I rose from my seat and left the Association immediately.
'Changseong. You're a thorn in my side. A real pain.'
There were many enemies of my parents, but Changseong and Chairman Lee Seo-yong were the most interested in me.
The others dismissed me as a fledgling who'd just awakened, but they monitored, observed, and checked me.
'I need to grow faster.'
This time, it'd been brushed under the rug, but relying on the Association's help had its limits.
'Time to head to the Abyss.'
The fastest way for a hunter to grow was ultimately to delve into the Abyss and dungeons, building strength.
'Once I get that class, I'll be even stronger.'
Of course, it wouldn't be easy. Even before regression, the one who obtained it had poured in years of effort, barely surviving near-death experiences multiple times.
'But I have the information.'
The man who later reached SSS-grade, on par with Dangun Cheonje Dangun Ji-hyeok, loved bragging about himself so much that he revealed everything in interviews—from receiving the quest to clearing it.
I could confidently say I'd read that information more thoroughly than anyone. Like me, he'd been scraping by in the tutorial zones.
Yet he never despaired at his limits and kept pushing relentlessly.
His persistence paid off: with money scraped together from his bottom-rung days, he bought gear, crossed into the Abyss, and luckily received the starting quest for that class. Through luck, grit, and effort, he became the protagonist of a living success story.
'Sorry, but I'm taking your myth.'
He'd get that starting quest in three years. Right now, he was still a bottom-tier adventurer wandering tutorials.
Sorry, sure—but no guilt.
'If we meet later, I'll toss him some cash.'
That was the extent of my feelings. My own plate was full; I had no time to worry about others.
'First, the black market.'
Lucifer's second wing. I needed to acquire the item to unseal it.
I headed straight home and used the portal the headquarters chief had installed in the basement to enter the black market directly.
"5,000 coins. No less."
"Fuck! What the hell? 5,000 coins? Why not just say fill it with 5,000 blue coins? Outside, it's not even 2,000!"
"Ha! Then buy it outside. Don't buy here. Plenty of other buyers. Who do you think you're causing a scene with?"
I pushed through the still-rowdy place and headed straight for Black Money.
'Unique-grade should be in the auction house.'
Common-Rare, then Unique. From Unique onward, they were truly one-of-a-kind, so prices skyrocketed.
The next grades, Epic or Heroic, were out of reach unless you hit the jackpot.
Ancient-grade jackpots were rare, and Legendary even more so—few owners worldwide.
In practice, Unique was the ceiling for regular hunters pooling every penny, making them quite popular.
'Especially demonic aura items are the rarest among them.'
They were discovered in tiny numbers, but demand was high. Demonic aura—called the exclusive energy of demons—excelled in curses and debuffs.
Any grade of demonic aura item outdemanded holy power-infused ones. So if one entered the black market, it went straight to auction.
As I headed to the auction house, a rabbit-masked guide blocked my path.
"Could you show your card? Apologies, but the auction house is for C-grade members and above only."
I pulled out a card with no rank marked. The rabbit-masked man looked dumbfounded at first, then widened his eyes, glancing between my masked face and the card before bowing his head.
"Sorry for not recognizing you. Please don't stand here; we'll assign you a top VIP seat. Follow me."
He guided me courteously. He had no choice—that unmarked card was a one-of-a-kind made personally by the black market owner just for me.
Truth be told, if I asked the headquarters chief to snag a demonic aura item, he would. My reason for the auction? Simple curiosity. I wanted to experience it.
The rabbit guide led me to a spacious room—a VVIP lounge.
As I sat, he handed over drinks, light snacks, and a catalog listing all auction items.
"Just press the button beside you, and I'll come running. Enjoy your time."
With that, the rabbit-masked man left, and I flipped through the catalog, stunned.
"An Ancient-grade rune is up?"
Runes were one of the additional systems unlocked upon finishing the tutorial and entering the Abyss.
Tiny stones granting permanent buffs, distinct from personal potentials or conditional skills.
Yeah, think of them like passive skills. Closer to blessings than skills, really.
'That's why every hunter craves them.'
No limit to how many you could equip. The drop rate was abysmal, but if you got them, they provided reliable power.
The highest officially revealed rune was Ancient-grade: [Survival of the Fittest - Ancient-SSS-] owned by an American ranker.
The more the body reached its limits, the more it evolved to adapt. That was its power.
My eyes gleamed as I licked my lips at the sole rune in the catalog with no details listed.
'This one's mine.'
Even if it cost every last won of my 4 trillion.