Jonggak Gold Exchange
With the loan approved and their bags stuffed full of cash, they headed straight for a gold exchange in Jongno.
"This way."
Yoo Seon-ah led the way with total confidence. Ha Seorin had recommended her regular gold dealer, and Seon-ah was certain nothing could beat the place.
After all, what jeweler would have the gall to scam someone connected to the one and only Ha Seoryeong? If anything, they'd bend over backward. Good word of mouth meant landing even more awakened customers with deep pockets.
"Here it is."
Tucked into the corner of an alley, an old-fashioned sign came into view: Jonggak Gold Exchange.
"Jongno, awakened, gold — hence 'Jonggak.' When it comes to gold for inventory storage, I'd say this place is the best in the industry."
"Ooh, nice."
Following Seon-ah inside, Seo Hwarang found his vision filled with an atmosphere of luxury and refinement. Softly glowing chandeliers! Display cases shimmering even more brilliantly under the subtle lighting!
"Welcome to Jonggak Gold Exchange."
As a staff member greeted them with meticulous courtesy, Seon-ah flashed a bright smile.
"We came on Ha Seorin's recommendation."
"...Ha Seorin. One moment, please."
The employee raised a hand to her earpiece and murmured something, then straightened into an even more deferential posture.
"Customer."
"Yes?"
"We'll show you to our VIP consultation room. Please follow me this way."
Ooh.
Seo Hwarang wore a look of wonder as he was escorted along. One name bought treatment like this?
They moved up to the second floor, where an opulently furnished room awaited them.
"Your dedicated manager will be with you shortly to assist with the consultation. Our establishment will do its utmost not to betray the trust Madam Ha Seorin has placed in us."
With one final, deep bow, the employee withdrew.
"What's the deal with this Ha Seorin person?"
"...She's that party member I mentioned before. Can't go into details, but the girl's loaded. Trust-fund rich."
"Yeah, I can definitely feel the special treatment."
Well, that worked out. If he was going to buy gold anyway, better to do it somewhere with this kind of credibility.
The consultation began. Once they laid out exactly what they wanted, the manager made a gentle suggestion.
"Rather than gold bars, how about gold or silver coins?"
"You carry coins that work with inventory storage?"
Hmm. Coins might actually be better than bars, come to think of it. That village did have goldsmiths and jewelers, after all...
"Yes, that's right. One moment, please."
The manager pulled something from her inventory, and Seo Hwarang's eyes went wide.
'That sun emblem!'
He remembered it. It was unmistakably one of the pictographic symbols written in the skill books.
And that raised a single, dizzying possibility in his mind.
'No way...'
Could these be gold coins actually circulating in Etherion? Because if so, that would be an absolute jackpot.
"These are Solaris gold coins. Their minting technique differs from modern methods, and the magic woven into them makes them beautiful — which is why collectors seek them out. Naturally, you can melt them down for use here in the real world, and their quality guarantee is the most airtight in the industry: inventory-certified. Pure fineness, of course — point-nine-nine-nine-nine!"
99.99% purity. Flawless.
"Hmm. So how many can I buy with 360 million won?"
"Per ounce, we run higher than Maple Leaf, Kangaroo, or Eagle products. Roughly 3.7 million won apiece. And you're aware, of course, that South Korea tacks an additional 10% VAT onto gold purchases."
Heh. So 4.07 million per coin? That stings.
This was the part that rubbed him wrong. Anti-tax-evasion measures or not — VAT on gold, of all things! From what he knew, barely any other country on earth levied one.
"You don't do off-the-books deals, by any chance?"
When Seon-ah sidled up and asked slyly, the manager laughed in embarrassment.
"...Haha. Ah, no. Surveillance has gotten rather tight these days, you see."
"Off-the-books" meant dodging state oversight by slamming down cash and buying gold without the VAT. It used to be rampant, but steep fines had all but killed the practice.
"Ah. I see."
She pursed her lips in disappointment, and Seo Hwarang asked about something else.
"And the silver coins?"
"40,000 won per ounce. With VAT, 44,000 won."
Whoa. Seriously? That put the exchange rate at roughly 1:100.
It struck him as uncanny how perfectly it matched Etherion's own ratio.
'But seriously, though.'
If these actually circulated in Etherion, wasn't that insane? Even simple trade between Earth and Etherion would make him rich overnight.
Take staves, for instance. In Etherion, a staff worth 4 coppers sold here for 3 million won. That was a value approaching a full gold coin on Earth.
So what if he bought a genuine one-gold-coin staff in Etherion and brought it back here? Wouldn't it command an absurd, almost criminal price?
And that was just staves. How much wider could the gap be for everything else?
Thump. Thump.
Seo Hwarang's heart pounded.
If it really worked — if it truly worked — he could go into the skill book distribution business. He could build the largest private library in the country and buy up rare books to his heart's content!
Truthfully, that alone would be thrilling. But Seo Hwarang was only human. Books aside, there was no way he could hate money.
He could pamper his parents, who toiled away for the family. And money was precisely what would buy him a life of reading, freely and comfortably, forever.
Gulp.
Seo Hwarang swallowed hard.
'Ha.'
Part of him itched to buy just one coin and test whether it truly circulated... but he couldn't. The moment he stepped through now, he wouldn't return to Earth until he'd finished reading a skill book.
Nothing for it, then. For now, he simply had to buy.
And even if the coins turned out to be worthless there, no harm done. He could just visit a craftsman and have them appraised for raw gold value. Honestly, even that alone would be a windfall.
"Do you happen to carry copper coins as well?"
"...No, I'm sorry. We are, first and foremost, a gold and silver exchange."
"Perfect. May I borrow a calculator for a moment?"
"Here you are."
Clickety-clack!
The calculator flew through Seo Hwarang's fingertips. When he finished, he spoke with calm certainty.
"44 gold coins and 4,112 silver coins comes to exactly 360 million won — with 8,000 won left over, actually."
The manager smiled and replied, "I'll throw that much in as a courtesy."
"Ah, come on now."
Seo Hwarang shook his head with a grin.
"We're spending 360 million won. An 8,000-won service is a little stingy, don't you think?"
"Then what would you like?"
Seo Hwarang smiled with artful innocence.
"Toss in two more gold coins, and I'll pay on the spot."
He had no idea how much commission they were pocketing on this deal, but it had to be at least two thousand — in gold, no less. Two coins would be a perfectly fair ask. This was the VIP room, after all!
"Done."
The manager laughed, cool as could be.
"In exchange, you'll give our shop your continued business, yes?"
"Of course."
Nailed it.
The transaction closed cleanly. They drew up the sales contract and received the gold and silver coins.
◈ Solaris Gold Coin × 46
◈ Lunaris Silver Coin × 4,112
'Ahh, yes.'
His heart felt secure already. With this much, he'd rank among the definite rich even in Etherion!
"Noona."
"Yeah?"
"Let's go."
Ammunition fully loaded and then some! Time to go grind those skill levels properly!
Sleep was for the dead. They decided to head over immediately, without a single moment's rest.
They moved to a deserted corner of the park near their building.
"Get ready."
Seo Hwarang placed his hand on Yoo Seon-ah's shoulder. Not on the fabric — firmly on her flesh this time. Last time had been a frantic rush, but if they were traveling together, proper physical contact seemed to be the way to go.
And then—
9th Circle.
Astra Gate.
Consume 5 Coins.
Flaaaash!
A burst of iridescent light swallowed the two figures in an instant.
Their destination: the third floor of the Magic Guild annex, once again. Seo Hwarang had read every skill book in the place anyway, so there was no reason left to stay cooped up inside.
"...Wow."
Having crossed over after so long, Yoo Seon-ah looked around, seemingly moved.
Sniff, sniff.
She flared her nostrils like a dog.
"Aaaaah, that Etherion scent! I missed it so much. I can't believe I get to come back here!"
"..."
Anyone watching would think she'd returned to the countryside of her childhood nostalgia and was soaking in the memories.
After her little fit of theatrics, Seo Hwarang and Yoo Seon-ah locked eyes. So — where was the first place they needed to go?
One and only one answer!
"The Craftsmen's Guild. That's our first stop."
"Okay!"
First, they had to confirm whether those gold and silver coins were actually good for anything.
"Oooh, Solaris gold coins! The coin whose radiant worth it symbolizes — legal tender across this entire Etherion Continent! To think you carry such a treasure...! Truly remarkable! Heh, and this is a Lunaris silver coin! Isn't it simply lovely? If gold represents the sun, then silver has long been likened to the moon! Both are guaranteed genuine articles, certified by the Empire itself!"
Whoa!
Unbelievable!
They worked! The gold and silver coins bought in Jongno were—
—legal currency accepted across the whole of the Etherion Continent!
"Thank you."
As they stepped outside with their bows, their faces were painted pure excitement.
"Yes, yes, YES! This is insane! You don't get it, this is genuinely—"
"Noona."
Seo Hwarang cut short her celebration.
He understood the giddiness, but it had to be kept under wraps for now.
"You know what I'm about to say, so let's keep it together for a second."
She'd surely already thought of it herself — trade between Etherion and Earth, and the sheer, broken cheat-code nature of the 'Astra Gate' currently in his possession.
"I'll say it once."
"Go ahead."
"Obviously, we're going to do business. You promised to run the skill book wholesale operation, and I intend to help you grow big. But..."
Seo Hwarang's expression turned grave.
"That stays a side hustle. It must never become the main thing. Never."
"Fair."
"You learn magic here, and I read skill books and grind my proficiency there. That has to come first, above everything."
Money? The avenue was wide open; they could print it if they wanted. He could found a company right now, install Seon-ah as the figurehead CEO, and be off to the races. They'd need to hash out the revenue split, but Seo Hwarang would hold the iron grip of the senior partner.
Except—
Before all of that, something had to be built.
'Strength.'
That came first. Without the power to back it up, the odds of getting squeezed dry on both continents — chewed up here, spat out there — climbed steeply.
Just look at Earth: Ha Taemin, that bloodsucking leech, was already watching them with eyes blazing. And it would be no different even if they built the company huge later on. Where wouldn't you find vicious awakened criminals? Ever since awakenings began, Earth's crime rate had blown past every historical record. Starting a company in this climate was, realistically, impossible.
And Etherion? He shuddered to imagine. That was a medieval world — a world where kings and nobles existed. Slavery probably did too.
No strength? Then you might get hauled off somewhere, fitted with chains, and live out your days as a slave.
'Haa. It's a hassle, but—'
to read more skill books, he would need to grow stronger too. He needed the kind of power that could look any persecution dead in the eye, say "Get lost!", and keep right on reading.
More than anything — only if Yoo Seon-ah became genuinely strong could he run wild out in the open and pin every last scrap of it on her.
"Mm-hm, obviously. I told you, remember? Every decision is yours. I just follow orders."
"Good."
Seo Hwarang nodded.
"Then let's start by gathering information."
Before grinding proficiency, before anything else — first, they would find a way to raise Yoo Seon-ah's magical ability.
Whatever it took.
From now on, she was the comrade he'd entrust his back to on this continent.