Special One
"That's a nice perk. But I've got one question."
"Please, go ahead."
"Why'd I get a number card?"
Kang Hyo-jun's eyes sparkled.
That impassive gaze, that bored expression... Does it mean he already knew about the portals?
A heavyweight who could yawn at the Black Market's most guarded secret...?
Kang Hyo-jun's mind cooled to ice. If he didn't handle this right, the man could walk away anytime. Someone who could supply items like this wouldn't miss the market one bit.
I need to make him understand. Why we have no choice but to hang on his every word.
Kang Hyo-jun opened his mouth calmly.
"Setting aside the value of S-grade for now. You already know that much."
...Silence in response. Just as expected.
"Normally, even the best consumables build up tolerance in the human body. Once tolerance stacks, they lose effectiveness and cause side effects."
Consumables were Tower products, after all. No matter how pure, they always had components unfit for Earth humans.
Impurities. What they called 'demon beast residue.'
The man just stared at Kang Hyo-jun, not even nodding. That indifferent gaze overwhelmed him.
Right, skip what he already knows.
So Kang Hyo-jun cut straight to the chase.
"...This consumable has no impurities. Even the church's 'Holy Water,' which held the top spot for so long, couldn't filter out microscopic impurities—its tolerance limit was clear. But Hunter-nim's consumable... it's perfect. An elixir you can use infinitely. This is a miracle that could shatter ecosystems."
A faint change rippled across the man's demeanor.
Got it. That's the answer.
He didn't know how the man obtained it. As a merchant, Kang Hyo-jun shouldn't pry, and it didn't matter.
But he instinctively grasped the market value of an 'impurity-free consumable.'
S-grade? Impressive, sure. But consumables were one-and-done. Not enough to challenge for a 'Number.'
What made this consumable go from 'impressive' to legendary was the total lack of impurities.
No tolerance buildup.
Meaning this top-tier consumable that could reattach severed limbs could be used endlessly.
No side effects.
Anyone—men, women, young, old, highborn or low—could use it without worry.
The societal upheaval from this cheap-looking potion in a glass vial was beyond Kang Hyo-jun's wildest imagination.
But one thing was crystal clear.
This consumable is a massive hit. Guaranteed.
"It's clearly an artifact crafted by some extraordinary being. And obtaining a consumable artifact like this means you're connected to that being."
He spoke carefully, without stumbling. With confident tone to inspire trust.
"On this Earth, you're the only one who can supply such divine medicine."
Kang Hyo-jun declared with utter conviction.
"That's why—a 'Number.' And among them, '1'."
Yeah. That's why Number. No.1, specifically.
The Black Market's ace in the hole.
The only way to hold onto this man.
-Hmmm.
The man let out an intrigued hum.
* * *
As he stepped out, Ha Seong-un thought,
Was this guy's vibe always like this...?
Kang Hyo-jun might see him as a stranger, but I'd met the guy a few times. Sold him manastones, bought some necessities.
Back then, he was all 'How may I help you, customer~?'—friendly branch manager vibes.
But now... total pro.
Impressive shift. Honestly, from midway through, it was kinda funny—like he was under some delusion.
No impurities? Made in my dingy room with cheap market alchemy junk on the fly? Yeah right. Probably full of dust.
"Heh."
Artifact from a special being? An unawakened scrub like me? Special in a bad way, maybe.
I do have that busted Synchronization ability, though.
But technically, it's more my 'character's skill' than mine.
Still too soon to call myself special.
That said, hearing it did make my chest tingle a bit.
Anyway, time...
I glanced at my holographic watch.
About 18 hours left before Lee Ah-un's clock ran out.
Plenty of buffer.
Smoothly, I pulled out the sleek black card from my pocket.
The front was pure, unadorned black. Made from some special material—it was unnaturally pitch-dark, like it absorbed light. I'd heard of special light-absorbing paints; probably that.
The back was simple. 'No.1' etched in gold.
[Fascinating. Looks gold-etched, but this is hologram tech on par with my optical cloaking.]
Oh ho.
[Civilian access to this level... Not in my database. That number probably changes via control tower commands. And it's not just a card—seems like a communicator too?]
Frozen kept muttering tech jargon I couldn't follow.
TL;DR: How the hell is this here?
Whatever. To me, it screamed luxury. Sleek black and gold harmony.
Below that, my self-proclaimed title was engraved.
Ahem.
I'd whipped up the title on the spot when they asked for a designation to engrave.
Special being vibes. 'Special One.'
Number 1 meaning baked in too.
But if it's limited to 100, me snagging No.1 means someone got bumped from top 100, or the old No.1 slid to 2.
Whoever it was, probably clutching their neck right now.
Not my problem. No way some rando hunts me down.
* * *
"Eek?!"
In the dim underground chamber, Saintess Yeri-che shot up from her prayer pose.
The holy power softly enveloping her popped with a pang! and scattered.
"N-No way!"
"Saintess-nim!"
"What happened?"
The followers waiting outside the 'prayer room' rushed in.
"It changed."
"Pardon?"
With trembling hands, the Saintess held out a pitch-black card. Even in the dark room, its blackness stood out.
The Black Market's 'Black Card.'
"Why is this..."
Still pitch-black as always? The followers wondered.
Flip.
The Saintess turned it over.
"!!!"
The followers gaped in shock.
The number had changed.
Her Black Number was 1.
But now—it was 2.
"I'm Number 2 now."
Grind.
The Saintess gnashed her teeth.
The 'Holy Water' only she could produce. Her exclusive supply deal had earned her the Black Number.
Holy Water fell short of true artifacts, but it boosted healing and disease resistance like a pseudo-artifact.
Rare enough that money alone couldn't buy it.
Worth a Number 1 spot, naturally. It had taken time to claim it, but she'd held it unchallenged since.
Until now.
"Who the hell...?"
The Saintess called the Italy Market rep.
"Yes, Saintess-nim."
"My number dropped."
"Yes, I imagine so."
"...What happened? They refusing our church's Holy Water?"
"Ah, no, not that. How to put it—a perfectly 'legitimate number usurpation,' you could say."
"'Number usurpation'? What's that?"
"Oh, first time hearing it? Ah, since you've always been No.1, makes sense. When a new rookie dethrones the incumbent No.1 with their debut offering. That's 'number usurpation.'"
Yeri-che was speechless.
"...A newbie? You think that makes sense?"
"Yes, perfectly so. The market leaders unanimously stood and applauded. Oh, keep supplying Holy Water, if you want to hold No.2. Anyway, bye."
Click. The call ended.
"...That fucking bitch. Drops me one rank and treats me like this?"
Getting bumped wasn't just 1 to 2.
The church's revenue depended absolutely on her Holy Water.
No.2 meant her commission perks tanked hard.
A fatal blow to the church's finances.
Crunch. Yeri-che bit her nails in irritation.
"Damn it. Damn it."
Her breath caught in her throat.
Wherever this punk came from, only one place for trash like that to flood the market.
Black Market. Something huge just dropped there.
The artifact from the No.1 usurper.
"Bring Moneybags."
"Um, Saintess-nim. Calling His Holiness 'Moneybags'..."
"Bring Moneybags."
"...Yes, ma'am."
I'll check this 'amazing' item myself.
Saintess Yeri-che decided to raid the church's coffers.
The church with the world's largest 'Gold' reserves.
* * *
"Hm?"
Feeling his pocket card vibrate, the man hurriedly pulled it out.
"Oh ho."
The back changed from '99' to '100'.
The barely-hanging-on bottom of the Numbers was now cliff-edge.
The man scratched his scruffy beard, then slowly dialed.
"Yeah, Hyo-jun. Just checked."
"Teacher. Sorry."
"Nah. Was dangling at the edge anyway—bound to happen. More importantly, the meds?"
[...Prioritizing that first, huh?]
On the other end, Black Market Korea branch chief Kang Hyo-jun sighed silently.
Teacher.
His mentor who led him into the market life. Once a legendary merchant who ruled the Black Market.
But 10 years ago, to save a dying kid, he'd abandoned it all and vanished into the shadows.
"Stabilizers... discontinued."
"Discontinued? Not delivery issues? I said I'd pay plenty. How much was it—50k Gold each?"
"They won't make more. 100k Gold, a million—doesn't matter."
"Why?"
"No demand. Not worth producing."
"...Hyo-jun, what about Meatball then?"
[...]
Meatball. Korean name: Lee Ah-un.
S-grade 'Mana Reflux' Awakened, but cursed with an incurable disease, reduced to a middling Hunter.
Kang Hyo-jun knew exactly what Lee Ah-un meant to his 'Teacher.'
So he couldn't spit out 'give up.'
Rough breathing came through the receiver. Despair-laden.
"Any... other way?"
"Teacher."
Kang Hyo-jun clenched his fist.
Rule violation. But he owed his mentor this much.
"No 'stabilizers.' But..."
"...?"
"A 'cure' appeared."
"What?"
"In this auction—an elixir that might treat 'Mana Reflux'."
"R-Really? That exists?"
"I appraised it myself. S-grade."
Silence. Shivers through the phone.
"So, Teacher."
"...?"
"How much Gold you got saved?"
Kang Hyo-jun offered 'hope.'
It was how he'd repay his debt to his Teacher.
But this hope wasn't kind.
A bloody 'war of money' would erupt over that elixir.
Still.
Lee Hyeong-je grinned.
"Fucking loads."
The man who'd won that war, survived, and clung to the Numbers' tail end.
That was Lee Hyeong-je.
* * *
"...Saintess and Golden Mine too? This auction's gonna fetch a fortune."
Hanging up, Kang Hyo-jun summoned his entire staff.
This auction was the real deal.