Chapter 75
Chapter 75
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Approaching Evils
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I quickly showered upon returning home after so long, donned the mask the branch chief had given me last time, threw on some casual clothes, and headed straight to the Black Market via the portal installed in the basement.
Today, only a small auction was running, selling low-grade items available every day. Having experienced it once already, I had no desire to go through it again, so I made a beeline for the boss's office.
"Welcome. The boss has been eagerly awaiting you. Please go right in."
Today's secretary greeted me and, without any prior contact, escorted me inside.
The moment I entered the guild master's office and caught Seo Ye-rin's eye, she sprang to her feet and rushed over to me.
"Sit down there."
She even used her Word Spirit magic to seat me on the sofa, handed me a drink, sat across from me, and stared at me with an intense, burdensome gaze.
"Did something happen?"
At my question, Seo Ye-rin looked at me as if to say, You asking me that? Then she licked her candy in silence.
Less than a minute later, the branch chief burst into the boss's office in a hurry. He'd rushed over in confusion at the sudden summons, but froze upon seeing the peaceful atmosphere inside.
"You've arrived."
"It's been a while."
"Looks like you went into the Abyss. You didn't contact anyone and weren't at your mansion, so I was startled."
"Yeah, well. I'm a hunter too. The Abyss is a place where you can grow much faster than on Earth."
More stages, countless quests, opponents to compete with, and so on. In many ways, it was true that the Abyss was better for growth than dungeons.
Of course, dungeons were mostly born from the Abyss anyway, except for some special cases.
Anyway, I was starting to get a sense of what was going on. If the branch chief had come all the way to my house, it had to be about the auction. Not a problem, but that it had ended too successfully.
And the appearance of 100% pure mithril must have drawn an enormous cheer from the customers. Sure enough.
"Mithril. Whew~~. It's giving me another headache because of that. Do you know how much it sold for?"
"What, a few hundred billion?"
Man, to casually toss around numbers in the hundreds of billions. I felt a surge of gratitude; I could almost bow in worship to the Tower of Gold authority.
My estimated value was just a tad higher than gold. Even though it was a crafting material and thus lower in prestige relative to its value, it was an Ancient-SS grade item, two full ranks above the Ancient-S+ gold.
At my words, the branch chief shook his head as if I didn't grasp the gravity of the situation and replied.
"1.89 trillion."
This time, even I was shocked. What lunatic shelled out that much for a single crafting item?
No matter how great a family they were, a trillion was an enormous expenditure. I was an exception, having amassed insane wealth through abnormal items, but even an SS-rank hunter needed years to earn that kind of money on a trillion scale.
Sure, you could strike it rich with a lucky big drop, but luck doesn't visit that often. Experiencing heavenly fortune once in a lifetime is already a lot.
"Who bid on it?"
"The world's greatest blacksmith and the only non-combat SS-rank hunter, Golden Heaven Jang Chi-woo. He bought it."
One of China's three SS-rank hunters, the man who'd achieved the greatest success in popularity, power, and wealth.
"Then he could spend that much without batting an eye. They say he holds 10% of China's wealth. For 100% pure mithril, he'd come running even if it gouged out his eyes."
He was a blacksmith. One who'd awakened the legendary class job. Another reason for his fame was the numbered items. 101 items engraved with the name Golden Heaven. Each one boasted immense value, at minimum high Hero-grade treasures.
Naturally, whenever a new numbered item was released, hunters from around the world came flocking with bags of money. It was only natural. Beyond the money, he was the man who created what they all craved, so his popularity soared beyond imagination.
In the future, he'll end up crafting legendary-grade treasures.
It even made headlines in Korea. Golden Heaven NO. 0 - Fury Dragon Divine Sword [Legend-C+].
Made from the bones, hide, and heart of the Fire Dragon Leakers that appeared in America, this sword literally embodied the dragon's rage.
Its greatest ability was, of course, the ability to use a dragon's signature breath attack. And it could replicate part of the Fire Dragon's power.
Above all, the Fire Dragon's ego was imbued within, so upon being chosen as its master, a quest would appear to inherit its knowledge and power.
The sword had been commissioned by the American government itself, but the one chosen by the sword wasn't American—it was a low-rank hunter from Brazil.
They said the Fire Dragon chose him directly for his immense mana talent. In the end, he received the divine sword, immigrated to America, worked under the national banner with massive support, and grew rapidly.
I think I saw an article about him taking the SS-rank exam before my regression.
Anyway, being that kind of man, he'd naturally covet pure mithril, which was on par with the byproducts of the disaster-grade monster Fire Dragon that possessed legendary prestige.
He probably wanted to buy it right away and craft a new item.
And right now, he's in a slump.
Because he couldn't clear the secondary job quest given at level 100: to craft even one legendary-grade weapon.
"That's the problem."
My train of thought was interrupted by the branch chief's words.
"Everyone's demanding more mithril. Things might escalate to armed demonstrations at this rate."
At that, I chuckled. That anxious face, trembling at the thought there might not be more mithril—it was hilarious.
"There's plenty. Tons of it, so don't worry. No shortages of mithril or gold. And I think I can reveal something new soon, too."
At my words, the branch chief and Seo Ye-rin sighed in relief but couldn't hide their shock.
"Anyway, I came today because I need something and have a favor to ask."
I pulled 10 mithrils from my inventory and handed them to Seo Ye-rin as I spoke.
"I need 11 Unique-grade Demonic Power items and 11 Unique-grade Holy Power items each, total 22."
At my words, the two tilted their heads, then frowned slightly.
"Right now. None. That many."
"I know. I'm not asking you to get them immediately—just match that number. I'll buy whatever you have at double the price."
They nodded at my words. Holy Power items aside, Demonic Power items were rare, so gathering them would take time.
I could get Holy Power items from Miracle Guild.
But it was a guild, tangled in countless people's interests and relationships—too much hassle. Even buying a mere skillbook required endless meetings, right?
No rush anyway; I still had a ways to go to collect all the wings. The urgent part was unlocking the four wings I had.
"Luckily, we have 5 Holy Power items left in storage. We do have Demonic Power items, but... they're Epic-grade ones we saved for the next major auction. Epic-grade is fine?"
"Doesn't matter. I'll take them all."
It was a shame, but unlocking the wings faster was more important. Money barely excited me anymore. Spending an extra billion or so wasn't a loss.
The branch chief left to fetch the items, and I sipped my drink while eyeing Seo Ye-rin, who had a candy in her mouth.
"Something to say?"
At my question, she finally pulled the candy from her mouth and spoke.
"You. Got grudge. From who?"
At that, I frowned slightly. Someone I had a grudge with? Maybe Moon Kang-un, who still hadn't been caught after fleeing?
"Me?"
"Yeah. Grudge. Tracking. Mark. Curse. Demonkin."
My frown deepened. Had those traitor scum, like bugs to humanity, already pinpointed and started tracking me?
"Begone."
The moment Seo Ye-rin's Word Spirit magic was uttered, her mana swept over my body.
At the same time.
-Kiiiiik!!!!
The demonic form that had been hiding its presence, clinging to my hair, let out a shriek and vanished.
I was stunned. It had already attached itself to me?
When? I didn't need to ask. The only time I'd come into contact with demonic energy was when I killed that demonkin bastard.
The demon race's doing?
The demonkin wasn't in any position to do something to me. I'd know if it had tried anything.
"Already. Targeted. Attacking. Demonkin."
"They've probably checked my house and here too. The Black Market's fine, but the mansion's a problem..."
It'd depend on how powerful a demon and how strong a demonkin they sent. I sighed involuntarily, shook my head, collected the items, and returned to the mansion.
If there was nothing I could do, I'd face it head-on. Misfortune had exhausted all its power awakening Azazel, so it definitely wouldn't open its eyes for a while.
This'll be interesting.
With that thought, I unlocked all four wings from Goldring and waited for the enemy.
"Young master. May I come in for a moment?"
At the Changseong Group's main residence. The secretary knocked on a door and entered.
The room inside was a total wreck. Chaos everywhere, traces of everything smashed and raw power unleashed wildly.
"Are you alright?"
At the secretary's question, the room's owner, Lee Ji-yong, flashed his eyes and replied in a voice dripping with killing intent.
"Do I look alright?"
"My apologies. I'll order the room cleaned immediately."
The secretary bowed, serving a young master not even half his age. After a polite apology, he pulled out a tablet from his pocket and opened the investigation results.
He hesitated for a moment as he looked at Lee Ji-yong.
Is it right to give him this?
Lee Ji-yong had plotted with a scout named Moon Kang-un to terrorize the association. More precisely, to kill a punk named Shin Juha, but it had turned into that anyway.
His mistake was ordering his subordinates to support that scout however needed and then stepping back. He hadn't anticipated such madness.
It might have been fine if it succeeded, but it failed. The association president revealed an incredible item called the Restraint Stone, declared open war on crime, and his approval ratings skyrocketed. Shin Juha ended up in the hospital but survived without major issues.
Worse, they figured out who sent the assassin and that he was the mastermind, then blackmailed his grandfather.
And this incident was one even his grandfather couldn't handle. It was too big.
It violated the tacit agreement among those at the top: no invading each other's territories.
No words or justification for retaliation. In the end, his grandfather had to concede much to the association.
That rage was entirely directed at Lee Ji-yong. But the main source wasn't the association terror.
It was touching that worm-like brat, Shin Juha. Lee Ji-yong didn't know about the grudge between Shin Juha and his grandfather, or the massive interests involved.
So, for the first time, getting scolded by his grandfather over some lowly commoner sent him into a rampage.
"Report everything on Shin Juha, not missing a single detail. I'll kill that bastard myself!"
The secretary sighed inwardly and handed the tablet to Lee Ji-yong.
Time to retire soon.
Thinking he'd quit this damn job once this was over.
"Shin Juha returned from the Abyss a few days ago, visited Miracle Guild for a secretive talk with Guild Master Ki So-young, stopped by the Black Market, then holed up at home and hasn't come out since."
"That's it?"
Of course not. The real important stuff wasn't reported. But the secretary's lips didn't part easily.
This could lead to more than a scolding if mishandled.
"Speak up!"
Lee Ji-yong, displeased by the secretary's demeanor, grabbed his throat and squeezed hard.
"Gahk... Demonkin! Some... demonkin is surveilling Shin Juha!"
In the end, the secretary had to reveal the fact he'd wanted to hide.
