Chapter 43

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 43

Chapter Title: Black Market (3)

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After that, I followed Song Biyeon's guidance to a deep underground area of the black market.

"I had no idea there was a place like this in the black market."

The basement was in a spot so labyrinthine within the black market that you had to twist and turn more than ten times just to get there.

Perhaps because of that, even Lee Seojun reacted like it was his first time here, too busy gawking all around to pay much attention.

"Ah. Come to think of it, I still haven't heard your name. What should I call you?"

At that moment, Song Biyeon, who was leading the way, asked for my name.

I briefly recalled Lee Seojun's name but decided to make one up since I'd yelled at her earlier.

"Healer."

"Healer... So you have no intention of telling me your real name."

"We're not close enough yet."

But besides getting close, I offered another option.

"Or you could become my possession."

"Your possession? You mean you want to own me?"

"That's right."

Song Biyeon stopped walking for a moment and stared at me.

I met her gaze without flinching.

"That's a bit too much of a joke."

"What if it's not a joke?"

"No, I'll take it as a joke."

Song Biyeon said that much and turned back around to keep walking.

As expected, this approach wouldn't draw in Song Biyeon or anyone else.

'Maybe it's easier to just solve things with money like this.'

Having crossed fourteen worlds, I didn't have much aversion to buying people.

I'd even recruited companions that way in one of those worlds before, so maybe that played a part.

"We're here. This is the place."

Clank―

While I was lost in thought, we'd arrived, and Song Biyeon opened the door and stepped inside.

Naturally, the path here had been heavily guarded, with plenty of what seemed to be security personnel along the way.

"People must be expensive."

That was the only reason I could think of, so I said it aloud, and Song Biyeon nodded.

"They start at a baseline of 300 million, at least. Most can't pay off their debts, so that gets factored into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the price too."

"Debts?"

"Meaning they don't kidnap innocent people, at least. There are some special cases, though... Should I tell you?"

It wouldn't help to know, but I was curious anyway, so I nodded.

"Tell me."

"They sometimes raise kids who became orphans young and send them here once they're old enough."

It did sound like a special case.

"And those kids come quietly?"

"Use your imagination."

They probably didn't.

Anyway, inside were one-room units about two pyeong in size, each with a single person sitting there.

"It looks just like a pet shop."

The doors and walls of the rooms were made of transparent glass, giving a clear view inside.

Lee Seojun mentioned a pet shop upon seeing it, and yeah, it did give off that vibe.

"By the way, Lee Seongmin. Are you really planning to buy someone?"

I glanced at Lee Seojun, who had said that.

"It's straight-up slavery."

Lee Seojun seemed pretty negative about the whole slavery thing.

But from crossing fourteen worlds, I'd learned one thing: every world had slaves.

'Besides, I'm basically a slave bound by a contract myself.'

Was I hopping worlds because I wanted to?

No, it was because of that fraudulent contract with the Creation God.

In a way, I was a slave too, so I didn't take Lee Seojun's words too seriously.

'Anyway.'

I scanned around, checking potentials, but most were between 20 and 40.

The highest was 46, but it was a guy, so I pretended not to notice.

"No one catches Healer-nim's eye, huh."

Song Biyeon, who'd been watching me, spoke up.

"Yeah, no one really stands out."

"Mind if I ask what kind of person you're looking for?"

"A talented woman."

I gave her a concise answer to her question, and after pondering for a bit, she spoke again.

"Does it matter if they have defects? Like, something wrong with their body somewhere."

"Doesn't matter. I told you my name."

Healer.

To me, who could even revive the dead, physical ailments were no issue.

"In that case, there are a few."

"How many?"

"Various circumstances."

I had no idea what those circumstances were, but Lee Seojun seemed to have a guess.

"They probably bought gear on debt, failed a gate raid, lost everything, and barely survived with their life."

I relayed Lee Seojun's words to Song Biyeon as is.

"They bought gear on debt?"

"Some of them did."

Artifacts came in weapons, shields, armor, and so on.

And there was no guarantee they wouldn't break.

'If their body was fine, they could've paid it off eventually.'

On the flip side, maybe that's why they ended up here—because their bodies weren't fine.

"This one's it."

I looked through the glass at a woman lying on a bed.

True to the "defect" mention, her right wrist and left leg had been amputated.

"Shouldn't she be in a hospital, not here?"

"Treatment's done. Word is, the wrist got bitten off by an alligator, and the leg rotted from poison, so they amputated."

Alligator? Crocodile?

"It's a bipedal monster with a crocodile head. Pretty strong, uses weapons too—rated C to B-class."

I listened to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Song Biyeon and Lee Seojun in turn while checking the potential of the woman on the bed.

'Potential's solid.'

No, more ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠than solid—pretty damn good.

Anyone over 70 was rare; you had to hunt for them.

Of course, at the Hero Officer Academy, talents from across the nation gathered, so they were easier to spot there.

"I'll take her."

"You can even fix amputations, huh."

No point hiding it, so I nodded in confirmation.

"Hey, Lee Seongmin. Can you check that woman's name?"

In the meantime, Lee Seojun had peeked into another room and asked me to check the name.

I looked toward that room and saw a woman with bandages wrapped tightly around her face and upper body.

'Check her name?'

I checked her name and potential right away.

"What's her name?"

I'd checked the name and potential, but no need to tell Song Biyeon that.

When I asked, she glanced at the bandaged woman and recalled it.

"Ga Se-yeon. You interested in her too?"

Lee Seojun reacted right away to the name.

"Whoa. Never thought I'd see the Blade Saint here."

'Blade Saint?'

I thought toward Lee Seojun, and he explained briefly.

"She'll show up as a villain in 2-3 years. Her innate ability is so good, almost no one can beat her 1-on-1."

With Lee Seojun hyping her up like that, I got curious about Ga Se-yeon's innate ability.

"Looks like she hasn't unlocked her innate ability yet. Or maybe she does it after entering the tower later?"

Anyway, after hearing Lee Seojun, I decided to take Ga Se-yeon too.

Her face was bandaged, so looks were hard to tell, but high potential usually came with good looks.

"I'll take her too."

"Don't tell me she has great talent too?"

Song Biyeon knew I wanted talented women, so she probed about Ga Se-yeon's talent.

"Somewhat."

"You must have an eye for talent."

"I can just tell by looking. You have similar talent yourself."

"...So that line about wanting to own me wasn't just talk."

But at the mention of her having similar talent, Song Biyeon seemed to lose some interest in the two.

'Song Biyeon isn't bad either.'

She must've thought her own talent was nothing special.

Anyway, we looked around more after that, but no other standouts.

There was one with 53 potential, but after Ha Chae-jung and Ga Se-yeon, it didn't impress.

'Still, snagging two isn't bad.'

Song Biyeon had shown us everything, so she signaled to someone nearby.

Soon after, Ha Chae-jung and Ga Se-yeon were dragged out like prisoners.

"Fuck. What the hell you gonna use a cripple like me for?"

Ha Chae-jung hopped out on one foot, glaring at me like she wanted to devour me.

In contrast, Ga Se-yeon had a resigned, empty look as she was pulled along limply.

"Now, use these bracelets to control those two women."

Song Biyeon handed over two bracelets, ignoring them completely.

Figuring they were artifacts, I took them and scanned with Observation.

After reading that, I turned to look at Ha Chae-jung and Ga Se-yeon.

Sure enough, they both wore short choker-like collars around their necks—probably the slave collars.

'Forces obedience through pain, huh.'

It seemed weak to me, but Ha Chae-jung's eyes held fear; she'd clearly experienced it before.

'My [Contract] is better anyway.'

Bracelets could be taken away, so binding them with my [Contract] seemed smarter.

Pop―

So I conjured two contracts in midair, pulled pens from my subsapce, and proposed to Ha Chae-jung and Ga Se-yeon.

"Sign these, and I'll take off those collars."

"What?"

Ha Chae-jung eyed the summoned contract warily and read it over.

Naturally, it was the exact same as the one I'd forced on those gang members before, so she scowled immediately.

"Fuck."

She cursed again but snatched the pen and signed.

Slave or not, she probably just wanted the collar off.

Ga Se-yeon, with her lifeless eyes, read it too and signed just like Ha Chae-jung.

'Not planning to keep them bound forever, though.'

I just needed basic precautions until I knew how they'd act.

If I healed them good as new and they bolted, it'd be a hassle.

"Take off their collars now. And take these bracelets back."

As the contracts glowed and vanished, I handed the bracelets back to Song Biyeon.