Selling Trash for 1.2 Million Won? The Hunter World Has Gone Mad
Ah.
My vision blurred.
As I stared at the small smartphone screen, it felt like my eyeballs were about to pop out.
[Item Market Bulletin Board]
[Sale] Goblin Leather Bundle 10kg Standard Trade / Only Those Who Need It – 200,000 Won [0]
[Sale] 1st Floor Slime Mucilage Unlimited Sale~ (Per Stack 10,000) [15]
[Sale] (Urgent) Tower 15th Floor Conquest Map (Revised Version) - 3 Million Won [8]
[Sale] Worn Leather Boots (E-grade) Obtained from 2nd Floor - 1.2 Million Won [135]
[Purchase] Cracked Iron Ore Fragments (Urgent!!) Per Piece 800,000 Won [21]
[Sale] Night's Rusty Iron Gauntlets (F-grade) - Urgent - 500,000 Won [47]
It had already been two hours.
I scoured the market bulletin board, but I couldn't find any decent weapons or equipment.
Occasionally some gear appeared in the listings, but to be honest, they were so basic that even if I tossed them into the forge, they were still legal-grade items—I had zero interest.
_tsk._ How much should I sell this for?
There wasn't even D-grade equipment on the market board.
If that's the case, what am I supposed to ask for my own gear?
I had no clue.
_E-grade leather boots are 1.2 million won..._
The only thing that seemed like a reasonable benchmark was right there.
One grade difference? So what?
Anyway, E-grade or D-grade, C-grade or mine—my eyes saw them all as the same.
The prices were all about the same too.
With that thought, I tapped the sale post.
[Title: Worn Leather Boots (E-grade) Obtained from 2nd Floor - 1.2 Million Won] [135]
[Poster: LuckyBoy]
[Price: 1.2 Million Won]
It was loot from the 2nd floor.
There was some wear and tear, but since it's E-grade equipment, the defensive correction is solid.
Cool trade possible up to 1.1 Million Won.
└ Appraisal: Honestly, the leather is tanned and the condition is rough, so let's do a cool trade at 500,000 Won?
└ LuckyBoy: ㅁㅊㅅㄲ임? Get lost.
└ ㅇㅇ: Wow, can I buy it now?
└ LuckyBoy: It's already sold. ㅅㄱ.
└ Neohunter: I'll buy it! Let me check the note!
└ LuckyBoy: It's already sold. ㅅㄱ.
There were 135 comments on the related post.
It looked like the sale had already been completed, and the comments even said it was sold.
_Is the world completely crazy?_
I yelled out loud in frustration.
[Appraisal]
Just in case, I appraised it.
[Appraisal Result]
- Name: Worn Goblin Leather Boots
- Grade: E-grade
- Category: Shoes
Durability: 2 / 50
- Description
Shoes crudely sewn together with Goblin leather that had begun to rot, without even tanning it properly.
Wearing them can cause severe eczema and athlete's foot on the instep.
- Effects: [Disgusting Odor], [Athlete's Foot Fungus], [Hardening (Defense +10)]
As expected.
It was trash.
Even in the other world, this kind of equipment was what beginner adventurers wore.
But why would anyone pay money for a useless piece of trash that no one wants?
Are all hunters actually rich?
I felt a doubt flash through my mind for a moment.
_No way. Just a sec._
At that moment, a thought struck me.
If trash like this gets comments and is being sold for 1.2 million won, then there must be a shortage of equipment demand.
Meaning that my weapons and gear are worth more than the price?
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, isn't it?
_Then, let's try selling it for around 3 million won first._
I fiddled with the newspaper bundle in my bag.
First, I would list D-grade pieces at 1.5 million won and C-grade at 3 million won.
F-grade gear was 500,000 won, E-grade was 1.2 million won.
That should be roughly enough.
_It's my first sale, so I should be careful._
No matter how good my gear was, I couldn't start by pricing it too high.
I didn't know yet where the hunters' price resistance line was.
Better to start with a moderate price and test the market's reaction than to miss an opportunity by trying to set it too high.
Plus, I had already done this precarious balancing act before.
The reason I could become a Grand Smith in a world where everything was shaped by stone and iron was because of this.
_Let's post the sale._
After making that decision, the moment I tried to upload the post to the Hunter Gallery market board...
_But how do I even post?_
While the flashy screen lit up, my fingers lost their way and waved in the air.
My brain must have been as hardened as stone and iron too.
*
_Shit. Who knew posting would be harder than swinging a pickaxe._
It took three hours of gripping the phone before I finally managed to write my first post.
Why did it keep spitting out endless fields asking what I wanted to write?
Of course it took forever.
But the three hours of struggling were worth it.
[Title: (Personal) E~C-grade Weapons for Sale. Performance Guaranteed. - 1 to 3 Million Won] [0]
[Poster: Hammering for 300 Years]
[Price: 1 to 3 Million Won]
Personal crafted weapons.
E-grade weapon: 1 Million Won
D-grade weapon: 1.5 Million Won
C-grade weapon: 3 Million Won
I smiled with satisfaction when I saw my first sale post.
_They'll sell it fast, right?_
But contrary to my expectations...
_...what?_
Even after the next morning, not a single alarm sounded.
***
_Hah... hah..._
A man was panting heavily.
His armor was soaked with blood and flesh.
Blood trickled from a cut on his face, staining his eyes.
_Hyung-nim._
At that moment, a voice called out to the man.
Park Taesu lifted his unfocused eyes.
His entire body covered in monster fluids, Kim Cheolho limped toward him.
_...How many died?_
To Taesu's question, Cheolho lowered his head.
_Three. Minho and Jihye. And the new rookie too._
Taesu's fist trembled.
Images of their faces flashed through his mind.
They hadn't died because they were weak.
_That damned equipment... If only the equipment wasn't so crappy..._
Taesu swung his sword at the supply sword lying nearby.
Clang.
The sound of metal hitting metal rang out strangely light.
The blade of the supply sword was already shattered beyond repair.
It had broken before it could even pierce monster leather.
_This shit._
Taesu looked down at the broken supply sword on the ground and spat out bloody saliva.
Only ten years since the tower appeared.
Even though it had been enough time for a few generations to change, humanity was still powerless before the tower's ecosystem.
It was because supplying equipment that could withstand hunter mana was already a burden.
Of course, there were rumors that some superpowers had developed smelting technology at the national level to produce equipment usable in the tower.
But that was just their own private league.
_You bastards._
All that came back to latecomers like Korea were scraps or crude factory blades.
Even the gear carried by the dead colleagues just now was the same kind.
_Hyung, the 30th floor re-conquest deadline is only a week away._
If we fail this reset cycle, a gate will open right in the middle of Seoul.
Then our guild will be finished like those who failed the previous conquest._
Cheolho's shout as vice-guild master echoed.
Taesu swallowed dryly.
Failure in the 30th floor re-conquest.
It meant the tower's outer area would turn into a monster lair.
_Hah. It already happened like that._
The tower never gave humanity rest.
The time given to conquer new floors was only three months.
But the crueler part was the one-year validity period on the floors already occupied.
If you failed to re-clear within the period and couldn't calm the mana, a gate would open in the real world centered on that floor's coordinates—known as a Dungeon Break from failed re-conquest.
The problem was the tower's rules.
Anyone who had ever stepped on a higher floor could no longer attempt re-conquest of the lower floors.
While elite hunters dashed ahead, the back-end work fell entirely to mid-sized guilds like Steel Guild.
_We have to try again._
_...Even if people can be resurrected, we can't clear it with the gear we get from the management agency._
Cheolho's sharp remark made Taesu sigh.
_...We have to somehow get it._
_As long as it's cheap, anything that can tear monster leather is fine._
_Where the hell are we supposed to get that?_
_Back to the market board? There's always only scam posts and useless gear from shitty places._
_Instead, why don't we go to the big guilds..._
Irrelevant to Cheolho's words, Taesu pulled out his phone with a trembling hand.
His vision was so dizzy from exhaustion, but he refreshed the market board anyway.
Then, a post that didn't make sense caught his eye.
[Title: (Personal) E~C-grade Weapons for Sale. Performance Guaranteed. - 1 to 3 Million Won] [0]
_Is this a fishing post?_
A C-grade weapon on the Hunter Gallery market board?
Normally, even basic F-grade and E-grade gear traded in the hundreds of thousands of won range.
From D-grade equipment with even slightly verified performance, the price was already beyond our reach.
Plus, it wasn't just the grade.
If it had mana conduction rate or special effects attached, the price would skyrocket.
But a C-grade weapon for only 3 million won?
It was 99% scam, but that 1% of stubbornness made his fingers move.
_...What? Why isn't it opening?_
Taesu clicked the post like he was in a trance.
But the screen didn't advance.
Instead, a white loading circle spun mockingly in the air.
[Page cannot be displayed due to exceeding connection users.]
_Shit! Just when I need it!_
He moved his fingers faster.
***
_...nothing._
My legs trembled uncontrollably.
My balls shriveled.
Anxiety, fear, and all negative emotions dominated my body.
_The weapons I made._
I shook my head.
No. It can't be like that.
It is impossible.
There is no way this could happen.
Even if I tried to deny it with all my might...
Now was the time to admit it.
_...Is it really possible to have zero popularity?_
It had already been 12 hours.
I received no contact, no notes, no messages.
My expectation that it would sell like wildfire right after posting had been brutally shattered.
Wasn't the weapon the important part?
No. Then what was that trash supply sword?
Why would anyone sell trash for 1.2 million won?
Questions piled on top of questions.
_Hah. I have no choice._
Since it had come to this, I had no choice but to delete the post and look for new sales channels.
I was about to have to personally sell it, but I supposed that was just part of social adaptation.
_My first shot was a total miss. Shit._
Why did things keep going wrong?
Frustration made curses spill out.
It was definitely my fault.
I needed to do more market research and understand how hunters actually traded gear.
_Is my brain literally turned to stone?_
I sighed.
_First, let's delete the post._
I couldn't stand leaving it hanging any longer.
After 12 hours, it was already unsellable.
If I kept it up, there were plenty of other things to do, and my 300-year blacksmith pride wouldn't allow it.
I supposed deleting it myself was the right thing.
Just as I picked up the smartphone I had tossed onto the bed...
Whoosh!
A vibration strong enough to numb my fingers erupted.
_Eh?_
Did the phone break?
It had been stuttering from earlier.
Probably because it was a model from 10 years ago, its lifespan had run out.
_Wait, why is the vibration so insanely strong?_
My palm itched from the non-stop vibration.
I was about to throw it away.
Just as I looked at the screen thinking that...
[Note has arrived.]
[Note has arrived.]
[A new comment has been posted.]
[Chat request has arrived.]
[Note is comi...]
[Missed Alarm Note 321+]
Alarm windows poured down like a waterfall on the screen.