Chapter 107
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Transaction (2)
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"Sorry, but it's a trade secret."
"A secret... Well, yeah. If it's the method used to heal Park Jung-woo's wife, it makes sense to keep it under wraps."
"Thank you for understanding."
"Anyway, getting back to the point—you mentioned a Level 10 Skill Stone?"
"Yes."
Chairman Han Seok-ho stared at the Elixir of Youth that Song Bi-yeon had brought out, his face full of contemplation.
He wanted nothing more than to seize it by force, but standing behind Song Bi-yeon was the S-Rank hero Park Jung-woo.
"I understand your dilemma, Chairman."
Song Bi-yeon picked up on Han Seok-ho's inner conflict and spoke first.
"A Level 10 Skill Stone isn't something you can just buy with money alone. But don't you need to stay healthy to make up for Daeyang Corporation's losses?"
"You really know how to hit where it hurts."
The losses she referred to were from the previous incident when the Destroyer had stormed Daeyang Corporation and stolen their Artifacts and Skill Stones.
Fortunately, their most rare and valuable items had been stored separately and escaped the thief's grasp, but the damage was still considerable.
"Besides, someone like you could acquire a Level 10 Skill Stone anytime you wanted, so this wouldn't really be a loss."
"You're right—obtaining a Level 10 Skill Stone is just a matter of time for me. But isn't the same true for the Elixir of Youth?"
"No way. The Elixir of Youth never drops from Towers or Gates. Feel free to verify that yourself."
This was something Song Bi-yeon had double-checked.
If it came from a Tower or Gate, rumors would have spread long ago.
The fact that there were no rumors up to now convinced her it came from the Healer personally.
"If that's true, then this is my chance."
Chairman Han Seok-ho pondered for a long while, but the answer was clear.
A Level 10 Skill Stone he could obtain whenever he set his mind to it, versus an Elixir of Youth he might never get again.
"I have two Level 10 Skill Stones. How about exchanging them for two Elixirs of Youth?"
"Perfect. Luckily, I only have three Elixirs of Youth. You'd take two of them."
Chairman Han Seok-ho nodded and gave instructions to the man standing behind him.
"Bring it."
"Yes, sir."
One of the people behind Chairman Han Seok-ho left the room briefly and soon returned with a small box.
From her experience seeing countless Artifacts in the black market, Song Bi-yeon recognized it immediately.
"That's the [Vault of Eternity]."
It was an Artifact currently valued at around 5 billion won.
Only the owner could open it with their imprint,
it could be summoned before the owner at will,
and it was utterly indestructible by any means.
Moreover, if the owner died, the entire box vanished, earning it the nickname "Absolute Safe."
Naturally, with such abilities, demand was high, driving its price up to 5 billion.
"It's perfect for storing Skill Stones."
With that response, Chairman Han Seok-ho opened the vault and took out two Skill Stones.
Given their prior discussion, both were undoubtedly Level 10.
"Here are the two Level 10 Skill Stones you asked for."
"Thank you. Then I'll add one more Elixir of Youth to the table."
Song Bi-yeon pulled another bottle of Elixir of Youth from her handbag and placed it on the table.
"If you don't mind me asking, what Skills are they?"
"No problem. One is [Titan Turret]. It's famous, so you probably know it."
"The Skill used by the American hero Chris. I didn't expect you to have it too, Chairman."
"It cost me a fortune. There's no better Skill for long-range support fire."
[Titan Turret] summoned a weapon resembling an anti-aircraft gun.
Once summoned, it could be manually controlled for sustained fire, but there was a catch.
"It devours money, though."
The turret's ammunition consisted of Artifacts.
Insert an Artifact, and the number of shots depended on its value.
"On the plus side, even an F-Rank hero can shine with it."
Unlike [Star's Pursuit], which required preparation time, or [Dragon's Breath], which demanded S-Rank mana,
[Titan Turret] could be used by anyone with spare Artifacts.
"True enough. What's the other one?"
"[Instant Execution]. Also usable from F-Rank."
"If it's usable from F-Rank, it must have its drawbacks."
"Requires a bladed weapon and can only be used once per day."
[Instant Execution] massively boosted physical stats, including attack power, in a single burst.
As a Level 10 Skill, even an F-Rank hero could unleash C-Rank level power momentarily.
"Both are excellent Skills."
Satisfied that they were indeed Level 10 Skill Stones, Song Bi-yeon happily concluded the deal.
The Healer had wanted Level 10 Skill Stones specifically, so the exact Skills didn't matter once confirmed.
"Oh, and by any chance, do you know someone else who might want an Elixir of Youth and also has a Level 10 Skill Stone?"
Song Bi-yeon then tried to leverage Chairman Han Seok-ho's connections to trade her remaining Elixir for another Skill Stone.
Beep beep beep—
"...?"
After spending a peaceful night on the uninhabited island, I checked my watch at the sudden alarm.
A day has passed, so your scores and rankings have been updated. Check them anytime if you wish.
It seemed like a group message sent to all first-year cadets.
Curious about my score and ranking, I manipulated the watch to check.
1st: Cheon Seo-yun (37 points)
Tied 75th: Lee Seongmin (10 points)
'37 points means she hunted summons for at least 27 points?'
Lee Seo-jun had said summons gave 1-3 points each, so that meant at least nine of them.
Confirming Cheon Seo-yun's impressive performance, I checked my own ranking next.
Tied for 75th—with around 20-30 others sharing it, from what I could see.
Below me, scores dropped sequentially: 9 points, 8, 7, and so on.
'The lower scores are clustered together, so they've probably fallen behind.'
Now that scores were visible, everyone should have figured out how deductions worked.
Those with any sense would start sticking together from today on, I figured, and I looked away from the watch.
'I can move when cadets start stealing points from each other later.'
I wasn't obsessed with first place anyway, so I planned to catch a few and call it done.
'Five or six should put me around 10th.'
I'd originally aimed to farm points for Multi-Calculation, but I'd already gotten it.
With ranking rewards not urgent, I was taking it easy.
'Gathering food isn't hard either.'
I went to the beach, used telekinesis to snag fish, lobsters, shellfish, and such, then returned.
Back with the day's meals, I prepped them simply with the stone knife I'd made yesterday.
After cleaning, I cooked them in the stone pot from before—boiling or steaming as suited each ingredient.
'Learning magic sure makes starting a fire easy.'
Even without magic, I could've used a spirit, but still.
Crunch—
'Hm?'
A presence from one side made me turn, and surprisingly, there was Cheon Seo-yun.
She looked a bit ragged, like a beggar after whatever she'd been up to all night, eyeing my hut and the food out front alternately.
"...I want some too."
As the savory aroma wafted over, Cheon Seo-yun bluntly declared she wanted in.
Sharing was no big deal, but staying together deducted 1 point per hour, so I mentioned that.
"Sticking together docks points."
"Doesn't matter to me."
Recalling her 37 points at her indifference, I realized 1-2 points meant nothing to her.
'Same for me, I guess.'
I'd farm points from cadets later anyway, so a couple points were negligible.
"Alright, come eat."
No sooner had I spoken than Cheon Seo-yun plopped down in front of me and grabbed a well-grilled fish first.
She devoured it down to the bones in seconds, unphased by the heat.
Nom nom.
I handed her a few more fish, and she accepted without refusal, polishing them off.
"Did you skip dinner last night or something?"
Shake shake—
Cheon Seo-yun shook her head a few times.
"I stole food from the others."
I stared briefly at Cheon Seo-yun, who admitted to straight-up robbery without shame, then nodded.
"Yeah, their fault for getting robbed."
"Mm."
After finishing the fish and halfway through a lobster, she spoke again.
"Make me one too."
"...You mean a house like this?"
Half-joking, I asked, and she nodded innocently.
Building one was easy, but using my power might go against the survival test's spirit.
"Hmm. Even if I did, the instructors might not like it."
"They can dislike it all they want—no point penalty."
"Fair point."
Normally I'd ask Lee Seo-jun to confirm, but he was at the villa now.
Watching the trio train diligently, I mulled it over myself.
"You took my virginity too."
"... ."
Spotting my hesitation, Cheon Seo-yun immediately jabbed at my weak spot.
Translated: You took my virginity, so what's one house?
"Fine. I'll make you one at least 10 meters away."
"Now. I'm sleepy."
Her ragged look suggested she'd been wandering all night.
"Go crash in this house for a bit. I'll build yours while you sleep."
"Mm."
With that, Cheon Seo-yun finished off the remaining food and toddled into the hut.