The Market
"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Hah—hah!"
Yang Jun-sik's breathing came ragged and raw. He had sprinted with every ounce of strength left in his body, all to keep from being dragged.
And he was fast — fast enough that you could have called him a track athlete and gotten away with it. Even so, there were limits. No matter how far beyond human bounds an ability could push a man, no man yet had ever outrun a car.
"We haven't even started yet?" Won-goo said, stepping down from the driver's seat.
"I'm talking. What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
"Well, see, I've got a party too, you know? Every one of them is stronger than me. So later, they're definitely going to—"
Thwack!
Won-goo swung the warhammer without waiting for the sentence to finish. With a dull, heavy sound, Yang Jun-sik writhed in agony.
"This is why I keep saying consultations should be kept to a minimum. Talking doesn't solve all that much."
Crack!
Won-goo brought the hammer down again on the crown of Yang Jun-sik's bowed head. He knew perfectly well that a man like this wouldn't take lethal damage from anything so light.
"This time it's really happening. You should be thanking me, by the way. A flaying procedure like this? Costs a fortune."
Back in the driver's seat, Won-goo stomped the accelerator without a shred of mercy.
"Wait—just—hold on! Gaaaaah—!"
Thud.
Staring at Yang Jun-sik — every inch of his skin flayed away, his whole body shuddering uncontrollably — Baek Seol's eyebrows twitched.
"I don't make a hobby of eating people, Director."
"That's not meat. He's alive."
"And you brought him to me because…?"
"Come on, Baek Seol. Watch your words — they're getting awfully ugly. He's a person. A person."
"That's exactly my question. Why did you bring this person to me?"
"He's in this state, sure, but the man's got real skill."
"Somebody with real skill doesn't usually show up looking like that."
"The skill's fine. He just needed a little therapy. We did a few laps around the Shelter."
At that, Baek Seol turned and studied Yang Jun-sik properly. The skin had been stripped away so thoroughly that his original face was barely recognizable. Even his scalp was peeled in patches, making him look like a burn victim.
"Even Poke didn't end up this bad, if I remember right."
"Poke's a spineless little rat — he'd have pumped every point into toughness. This one, I guarantee. You're short-handed lately, aren't you?"
"Did I ever say I was doing open hiring?"
"Please. You followed me in one step. Buri Island's got all the gangs locked in a pissing contest right now, so tell me — who's coming out on top? Sugar. You've got trade routes to secure and debts to collect. Of course you're short on hands."
"Shouldn't running the business be your job, Director?"
"Not my style. How would I even haul all that around?"
"How good is he, exactly? What's he worth in coins?"
"That's what the Coin Exchange appraisal's for, later. Thirty or better."
"Thirty?"
Baek Seol's composure cracked for just a moment.
"He ate a pincer attack from our vanguards with plenty of room to spare."
"Thirty. You're certain?"
"There's a chance he comes in under. But that's the caliber of the man. If he disappoints, I'll refund you."
"You're not the type to cheat me over something like this, Director. Thirty, then? At that level he'd be Named."
"His skill is at that level. And you know what that means? Raise him right, put him to work, and he'll be worth far more than that. Sky's the limit."
"So how many coins are you handing him over for?"
"Twenty, flat. I'm throwing in the equipment he used, too. Honestly, it's a steal."
Clang!
Lee Hyun-sung dropped the aluminum bat onto the ground.
"This is the equipment? One bat?"
"The rest was junk — not worth mentioning. But this one's actually decent. Good durability."
"Fine. It's your word, Director. In exchange, payment comes after this market wraps up."
"Aigoo, why now? I need a little cash for the market myself, you know. Why else would I hand off a talent like this? I could've chained him up with contracts and hauled him around, and he'd have earned his keep ten times over."
That was a lie. No matter how exceptional a person was, Won-goo never took into his crew anyone he couldn't trust. Even a man bound tight by contract was no exception.
"Why do you need into the market, Director?"
"I earned my entry rights, that's why."
"So that's how you settled this whole incident?"
"Call it that. Here — count it. Twenty exactly."
With that, Baek Seol drew twenty gold coins from inside her coat and passed them over.
"Pleasure doing business. One thing to keep in mind, though — that man stays a secret from Dr. Woo's side."
"…Sorry?"
"I stole him from Dr. Woo's hideout."
"Director."
"No need to worry. He was never one of Woo's people. Word is he was just a mercenary there for a short stint."
"Still — that's damaged goods, isn't it?"
"There's nothing for him and Dr. Woo to be tangled up over anyway. It's fine."
"It's not fine. Dr. Woo's family has been expanding its turf lately, and they do a fair amount of trade with us."
"It's fine. That trade isn't going to last long anyway."
"…?"
And with that, Won-goo turned on his heel and walked away without a backward glance.
The Trainer's Shop
The crew was busy cleaning out the interior of the shop. The only two not working were Won-goo and Mu Beob-sa — Won-goo smoking a cigarette with his nose buried in the ledger, and the mage seated in the corner, reading the same book he always carried.
"Once you're more or less finished, gather around."
The crew assembled at once.
"You can see for yourselves — our income's been pretty decent lately. But don't get comfortable. This last job went well because things broke our way, and there's no law saying every job will. Our agency runs on safe and easy. And what does staying safe and easy require? Building up your skills. That's how."
With that, Won-goo laid a stack of gold coins on the table.
"First, we bring everyone up to par. Hyun-sung's had a lot of investment recently, so he's excluded."
"Yes, Hyeong-nim."
"Hye-ji, you're first. Come take yours. The moment you've got them, head to the Coin Exchange and raise your abilities, and don't forget to bring back the confirmation slip. You've got levels in already, right? Just keep building on those. Same for you, Chul-soo. You two are still in the fundamentals stage."
With that, Won-goo handed Jeon Hye-ji and Geum Chul-soo five gold coins each.
"Jo Mu-sa, take yours too. Same as always — raise what you always raise."
"Yes, sir."
"Suwon — you're changing your build this time."
"Ye-yes?"
"You got your hands on a good piece of gear, didn't you? Then you build around it. Don't put anything into strength — spread your points evenly across stamina and toughness."
"O-okay. Understood."
Won-goo gave Suwon and Jo Mu-sa five coins each as well.
"And now, our resident mage."
"Me as well?"
"Of course you need a Milestone Trait too, mage."
"Is unwinding my twisted circuits the part you intend for me to take?"
"What are you talking about? Did you forget our agreement? For you, Mu Beob-sa, it's spell power amplification. That path and no other."
"It is only that lately I seem to be idling a great deal. That is the part that gnaws at me."
"A mage whose mana circuits tangle until he can't cast? That's practically an occupational hazard of the profession. The moment you burn a trait on untangling them — or preventing it — you're finished. Your circuits recover on their own, and they're tangling less and less as it is. So there."
"Hmph… understood."
Won-goo handed the mage two coins.
Despite his seemingly useless state, the Gift Mu Beob-sa carried was of extraordinary value.
Spell Power Amplification.
Cast the same spell through Mu Beob-sa's hands, and its power multiplied. A Gift you almost never saw. By any measure, the man held tremendous potential — if he could keep investing in amplification traits without interruption.
The problem was that most mages never endured that process. Mages, as a rule, could hardly fight solo. They needed a party — and the moment one of them became unable to cast properly, the whole party treated him like an idiot. So nearly every mage, early on, sank their traits into stability: the guarantee of being able to keep casting, steadily, forever.
Won-goo was different. He was patiently waiting out the stretch where Mu Beob-sa was useless. Sure, he nagged now and then — but by any reasonable standard, he was waiting it out remarkably well.
"But is this not the part where you feed me coins and then nag me harder than ever?"
"Then start earning your keep some other way, why don't you."
"Was that not also part of what we agreed upon?"
"Aigoo, fine, fine. Meditate often or whatever it is you do. Go on, hurry up and take your trait. Sigh. Everything I've earned lately, gone in one go."
"But why the sudden heavy investment? That is the part I do not follow."
"Because I can see the sprouts on all of you. And there's work coming."
"Could it be… that entering a dungeon is the part you have in mind?"
"That's part of it, yeah."
"Dungeons are the part that will not do. Plenty of souls have walked in chasing a big score and simply never walked out."
"When it comes to dungeons, I know more than you do, so spare me the worry. Have you ever once seen me stretch out my legs in a place where I could die?"
"Even Named parties struggle in dungeons. That is the part I am telling you — and those are the lowest-grade ones."
"Good grief. I'm well aware."
"Is settling Buri Island not also the part that remains? There is the Dr. Woo matter as well."
"You're a persistent one, mage. I told you, I know all of it. But Buri Island — we don't move until the gangs settle it among themselves."
"Why is waiting for them to settle it the part that comes first?"
"And step in before they do?"
"Is that not the part that keeps Buri Island and everything tied to it from slipping out of our hands?"
"You old fool, you still don't get it. You think the law's going to protect Buri Island's assets? They'll tear each other bloody, hash it out, and settle it themselves — what's that got to do with me? Once they've fought enough and made their conclusions, then we go collect what's ours."
Mu Beob-sa realized, yet again, just how differently this creature called Gong Won-goo thought from everyone else.
"But is being ganged up on afterward not a possible part of this? The gangs around here are not soft. That is the part I know."
"Which is exactly why Dr. Woo taking the bait worked out so well. Once we've blunted his strength a little, the odds are good that Respect is the one who swallows Buri Island."
"…"
"No need for that face. Do you not remember what I said when I first recruited you?"
"What was it you said?"
"That I'd make this whole area a place where nothing ran unless it ran through our agency. That was no joke, I'll have you know. Gripping this neighborhood in our fist — that's the first button of the plan I've sewn."
"Is that the part that lets us go toe-to-toe with outfits like 3B or Cheonmok?"
Won-goo answered with a quiet nod.
"There's a great deal more that needs cleaning up besides. This world of ours is in want of… a little order, you see."
The market opened.
At regular intervals, a market was held at the very center of the Shelter — a place one could only enter and leave with the Shelter's express permission to come and go.
"So this is the market, eh?"
The market was a subspace. They had stepped into a small tent — and inside, space unfolded without end. Goods were laid out on display like some vast department store. Daily necessities to rare items. There was nothing you couldn't find.
And yet, hardly any survivors bought items here. The goods sold in this place were simply far too expensive for the options attached to them. The daily necessities, on the other hand, were practically free. Some things went for a tenth of what the Shelter charged, and others for even less.
"Hye-ji. Keeping a good list?"
"Yes. But everything's even cheaper than I expected — I think we'll come in under budget."
"That's fine. Fill what's left with ramen."
Just then, a searing gaze landed on them.
A familiar face was glaring daggers at Won-goo's crew.
Dr. Woo.
"Well, well. Never thought I'd run into Master Woo here. My, my — scrimping and pinching, has the household fortunes finally taken a turn for the better?"
Won-goo beamed, all sunshine. Even from a distance, you could practically see the veins standing out on Dr. Woo's forehead.
"A low-down trick always shows its limit soon enough, boy."
"Oh my, is that so? Funny thing, though — who gets to decide where that limit sits? 'Cause last I checked, it ain't you, Master Woo. It's me."
Dr. Woo and Won-goo drifted toward each other with perfect, natural ease. And the moment they were close, the old man bared his teeth.
"You son of a bitch. That Il-chul fella — Il-chul, Il-chulbong, whichever damn name he's wearing this week — you don't get him cleared out posthaste, you're gonna regret it in a mighty big way."
"Who, exactly? Me? Or you, our dear Master Woo?"
"…"
"My, my. Away from you for a little while and your tongue's gone all slack, Master Woo. If you've got the stones, come at me. Otherwise, bow that head and be humble about it. Oh, and fair warning — the bill's gone up since last time. Doubled, in fact. I hear the Trainer's kid's grown in the meantime. Eating more these days, they tell me?"