The Tears of an Evil Eye
“Damn it. Even if this is a hidden quest, the conditions are hellish.”
Horizon was full of countless serendipities. A stranger walking by could suddenly pull out a legendary sword or learn a forgotten secret technique. Seo-eun was no exception. Thanks to pure luck, he had become the disciple of a legendary alchemist NPC, Seong Jermeng.
Thanks to that, he had climbed to the top of the alchemist rankings in the global hit game Horizon. But recently, one thing weighed on his mind.
“That damn muse-pissing old man… Asking for a trial like this.”
Seo-eun, who was approaching level 200, had received a special quest from his master. He had to hand over his own secret technique and prove his abilities instead!
Legendary NPC Seong Jermeng was a meticulous, cranky old man—typical of an alchemist.
“Bring me over a tenth of the materials needed to create the Philosopher’s Stone. This difficulty is insane.”
The Philosopher’s Stone was a legendary item, the holy grail of alchemy. It could turn copper into gold and even grant life to non-living things. Seong Jermeng himself still hadn’t completed it. The quest was simply to gather some of the required materials.
“At least these are the lowest-grade ones I can obtain with my skill.”
Seo-eun stared at the list Seong Jermeng had pulled together. Dragon’s heart, Demon King’s horn, Second-World matter, Devil’s morality, cat’s footprint…
“How the hell am I supposed to get any of this?”
Seo-eun ranked in the top 100 of Horizon’s overall leaderboard—top-tier expert. Yet this quest was an elite among elites.
“I seriously can’t buy any of these with real money.”
He had tried every possible method, but none of the materials were obtainable. He had no choice but to prove his ability to Seong Jermeng.
“Even if it stings my pride to be used by an NPC, I have to learn his skills or my position will become dangerously unstable.”
Horizon was growing at an explosive rate every month. Not just for fun anymore—many people had started treating it as a real career. Seo-eun was no different. He had quit his office job the moment he got the serendipity.
Since becoming Seong Jermeng’s disciple, his life had been nothing but success. He could no longer be satisfied with 200-300 million won a month. Considering Horizon’s growth trajectory, even maintaining his current position would make him a billionaire before long.
“The top-ranked player in Korea earns over 5 billion won a month just from hunting.”
It was just a rumor, but even the thought of Lee Hyun-seong’s monthly hunting haul was enough to make it believable. Seo-eun decided to use Hermes’ wings anyway.
“For now, this agency is the best in Korea.”
If that failed, he would have to venture to another continent on another server or investigate their black market.
“Foreign servers’ black markets are usually run by mafia or gangs, so I don’t really want to use them…”
As soon as he thought that, a reply came.
“It’s quick.”
“Je ra-er: It’s here.”
“Eh?”
“Je ra-er: I was going to contact you anyway… I’ve got something that’ll make your mouth water.”
The alchemist blinked in surprise.
“Whoa… o…”
Seo-eun stared at the gleaming gem in astonishment. Just by appearance it looked incredibly valuable.
［Evil Eye’s Tear］
“How did you even get this?”
Seo-eun looked at the player in the black robe with wide eyes. Nickname hidden, face hidden.
“Even the current rank 1 couldn’t take down an Evil Eye… Wait, maybe I could? It’s brutally hard. But… how could I get its tear?”
Evil Eye. A monster that lives in the Second World. At current player levels, hunting it is almost impossible. First, actually encountering one is already difficult. Entering the Second World is nearly impossible, and Evil Eyes spawn randomly, making encounters rare. Plus, their levels range from 200 to 500. Hitting it requires more than just beating it down—it needs to trigger the tear, which demands devastating damage.
And Evil Eyes have near-perfect physical resistance; they maintain a full defensive shield at all times. If you somehow break the shield and strike it, the creature will immediately flee back through the gate the moment it feels its life is threatened.
In short, the gems in front of Seo-eun were an item worth ten million gold each, if not more.
“As for the source… I can hand over five items to you, alchemist-nim.”
“Five?”
“Yes.”
“That alone will cover half the quest condition in one go.”
The alchemist’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Five million won each.”
“Now it’s time to bet.”
“If you ever have more of these materials, contact me anytime.”
Seo-eun shook hands with the mysterious man, satisfied.
“He’s not from any big guild and he’s not a ranker I know.”
Those guys would have taken advantage of weaknesses and demanded a higher price.
“Newbie energy… yet he can hunt an Evil Eye…”
Seo-eun had no idea who the man really was. There was one thing he did figure out, though.
“That guy is ridiculously frugal!”
Seo-eun was experienced in haggling, but he still felt he’d been taken to the cleaners.
“Can’t be helped.”
Still, he didn’t feel like he’d lost. He’d just acquired one of the hardest materials.
As he was about to leave his seat, Seo-eun suddenly remembered something.
“Say… can I ask just one more question?”
“No.”
“This one’s really important…”
“No.”
“Fine. Fifty thousand won if you answer.”
“……I’ll listen, and then I’ll answer. Only this question.”
“That works.”
Seo-eun continued. “How did you obtain Evil Eye’s Tear?”
“How did I get it?”
“You know Evil Eyes are hard to catch. How did you manage it?”
Such information in Horizon was expensive—usually traded alongside special strategies.
But…
“I just beat it down.”
“You beat it down?”
“Yes. I just hit it until it cried.”
The answer was hilariously simple.
“……Thank you for answering. Here’s the promised amount.”
Seo-eun handed over the gold. The next instant, the man’s body dissolved into light and vanished.
［Logged out.］
“Phew.”
Outside the capsule, Kim Ganghan stretched and inhaled the familiar scent of his apartment.
“Deal’s done…”
He immediately wrote the details into his household ledger.
－ Evil Eye’s Tear: 5 crystals sold.
－ Amount: 53,942,710 won.
－ 5% commission deducted.
“Sold well.”
Five crystals at around 10.7 million won each. He’d expected 8.5 million; he’d managed to squeeze out another 2 million per piece.
“The buyer was… Seo-eun!”
The rival was no ordinary player. A full-fledged alchemist who had appeared in the original novel’s later chapters, even if only mentioned during big raids.
“53 million won is pretty generous.”
Of course, part of it would go toward living expenses, but most would be reinvested to grow his character.
“There’s no stock that always moonlights, but still…”
Kim Ganghan grinned. “Then I should eat first and log back in.”
No time to waste before the Orc event. Feels like overtime at the office.
After checking the rice bucket, he sighed at the empty container. “Rice is gone, so ramen it is.”
Fifty million won in hand and no rice to cook with. How ironic. But Kim Ganghan was used to this. “Whatever, I’ve lived without for a day or two before.”
He poured water into the pot and turned on the stove. Just enough to start boiling…
Normally, he’d dump in the ramen right away and be done. But today’s ramen was anything but ordinary.
“Fufufu… real beef ramen.”
The beef had been a reward from the game for starting ahead of Flush. It was his precious protein source during these lean times.
“Stir-fry the beef lightly, then add it in… this will be premium beef ramen.”
He’d tasted this exact style in real life a few times, but it was always a special occasion. Putting beef in ramen was something he’d only do when necessary.
“Haven’t enjoyed real ramen in ages.”
That was when—
CLANG!
“Hey! Oh Jinhwan! You little shit! Open the door! Now!”
“Little shit…?”
Kim Ganghan’s expression twisted. Calling him “shit” right away sounded like a debt collector’s thug.
“Wait… that voice is female.”
Debt collectors usually send big guys, right? His thoughts were cut short by the door rattling and the sound of screws coming loose.
“If I wait any longer, the door’s gonna get wrecked.”
Kim Ganghan staggered up and opened it.
A young woman in her early twenties stood there, wearing boxing gloves over a tracksuit.
“Who are you?”
“Who? Even your own sister Oh Hanbyul can’t recognize me?”
“Sister? You?”
“Haa… just move. No more insults.”
The woman who had called herself his sister stormed inside.
“And how many times did you ignore my calls? Why didn’t you pick up?”
“Eh?”
“……You never checked?”
“What calls?”
“Haa… talking to someone like you is already bad enough.”
The sister sighed. “You get so many calls?”
Kim Ganghan opened his phone.
－ Missed calls: Bitch (39)
“Of course I couldn’t recognize you…”
He checked the settings: calls blocked, messages blocked, everything. That was why she’d come in person.
“I’ve been busy lately. Something urgent came up…”
“Urgent? Sounds like the streamer crap.”
“Streamer?”
“You said you were streaming, right?”
Her sarcastic tone suggested their relationship wasn’t great.
“Sheesh… looks like Oh Jinhwan was always interested in broadcasting.”
In the novel, Oh Jinhwan was a scummy landlord who only exploited players. Broadcasting had never come up, so Kim Ganghan had missed it.
“No interest in that stuff anymore.”
Kim Ganghan changed his contact settings.
“Then do it. Because of that, Mom collapsed. If you’d kept going for the streams, I’d have punched you myself.”
“…”
It seemed Oh Jinhwan had been even worse than Kim Ganghan thought.
While Kim Ganghan was still stunned, Oh Hanbyul sighed as she looked around the room.
“Haa… what kind of house is this? Not even a pigsty.”
She immediately started cleaning—throwing trash into a bag, sweeping the floor.
In moments, the house sparkled. She pulled out a bag of rice and side dishes without a word and set them on the table.
“Kimchi, this is ddan-dduk kimchi, this is gat kimchi, and this is water dropwort and fern… and…”
“Wait, why are you giving me all this…?”
“Because of Mom. Just shut up and eat.”
As she placed the food down, Oh Hanbyul glanced at Kim Ganghan’s body. “You’ve gotten a lot fitter. Did you start exercising?”
“Just after work sometimes.”
“Well, long-term observation does show change.”
Oh Hanbyul stood up and headed for the door.
“What about dinner?”
“I already ate. If I hadn’t, I’d have bitten my tongue and died after eating with someone like you.”
With that, she vanished.
Left alone, Kim Ganghan stared blankly, then snapped back.
“Come to think of it, Oh Jinhwan had family.”
The novel had never mentioned them, so he hadn’t paid attention. Now he felt differently.
“This is a variable.”
Since Oh Jinhwan had been thoroughly beaten by Flush, his family’s future probably wasn’t bright either.
That was when—
［Family Relationship］
－ Oh Jinhwan and his family have extremely poor relations. Repair the collapsing family ties before collapse.
－ Reward: Insight
“More work, great.”
Kim Ganghan sighed, then switched from ramen to rice and side dishes.
“…”
Unwilling to admit it, but the kimchi tasted really good.