Lounge Channel (2)
‘Hup.’
A sweet, night-like flavor bloomed on his tongue.
Not the rich savor of bone broth he had expected, but something entirely unforeseen.
He never imagined it would be this sweet.
As someone who loved sweets, his eyes flew wide open. It was so sweet he almost worried it might cloy—yet that thought lasted only a moment.
A cool, refreshing fragrance immediately followed, wrapping his mouth as the pure, crisp energy of the Manyeon Stone Fungus and Baekyang Herb slowly spread through him.
‘Huh.’
That refreshing taste gently washed away the lingering sweetness, carrying the scent of fresh forest moss and the vital force of nature itself.
Then the deep, weighty meat aroma of the bone broth rose, finishing not with greasy richness but with a subtle earthiness and profound life force.
It felt less like eating food and more like drinking a mysterious elixir that cleared the mind and purified the body.
‘This is… fresh?’
Herbs and the mysteries of nature blended into a complex flavor he had never anticipated. After the first spoonful it was not the kind of aggressive taste that flooded the brain with dopamine, yet somehow it felt addictive.
Under the influence of Elixir Master, the Manyeon Stone Fungus and Baekyang Herb have achieved perfect harmony.
You have created the first perfect Cheonji Hoesaeng Soup.
Regeneration permanently increases by a small amount.
“Oh.”
First achievement bonus. It felt like finding free money he never expected.
He scooped up a few more spoonfuls. His stomach filled quickly.
Your mana capacity has greatly increased.
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
And then the level-ups!
Already Level 23. The speed was thrilling.
The moment he leveled, he checked the Guardian Room and the Second Passage. Both were still locked. Yet a hunch struck him.
Something will unlock at Level 25.
Ever since forming the contract with Dania, his instincts had become unnervingly sharp. He felt certain this time would be no different.
Still… if I put this on the exchange or auction, it would cause a riot.
He checked the information on the Cheonji Hoesaeng Soup he had made.
Lv 99
Perfect harmony achieved.
Upon consumption, Regeneration +1,000% for 60 minutes.
Afterward, a permanent minute increase to Regeneration.
“As expected.”
Level 99, a massive buff, and a permanent stat boost. A single bowl would easily fetch at least 500,000 coins.
Looking at the Cheonji Hoesaeng Soup he had created, a proud smile rose unbidden.
『Kkyu-ung. Me too! I wanna eat too!』
“Popo!”
Beside him, Dania and Popo were making a racket.
“Alright, alright. I’ll give you some right away—just wait a second.”
First he scooped a generous spoonful for his little lucky charm, Dania, and poured it over her.
『Kkyuuuung—! Tasty. Tasty!』
A golden flash bloomed behind her. Good—Dania leveled up too!
“And one bite for our hardworking Popo.”
“Popo—!!”
He poured a spoonful over Popo as well. The slime bounced around with a cheerful >_< smile.
Guardian Popo has leveled up! 105 Lv → 106 Lv
Whoa. At this rate Popo might hit Level 110.
“Popo-! Popo!”
Still bouncing with excitement. But how strong would Level 110 actually be?
Hmm… Popo doesn’t seem combat-oriented at a glance.
Clearly a utility-type guardian. Yet the Guardian Room surely held plenty of combat-type guardians as well.
Those would all be at least Level 100, right?
In that case the place was basically a nuclear weapons storage facility. Just one combat guardian stepping outside could turn Earth into a wasteland.
Whoa. Thinking about it that way sent a chill down his spine. He was only now truly grasping how vast the power he had obtained really was.
“Well, of course right now I’m stuck in here.”
But the moment he left this place, the history of the superhuman world would be rewritten around him!
“Popo-!”
『Seojun, more food—!』
“Uh… sure.”
At the moment he felt more like a kitchen maid serving meals to the kids…
While he was distributing the Cheonji Hoesaeng Soup, a system message suddenly appeared.
has been successfully auctioned.
The winning bid, minus the 10% auction house fee, will be paid out.
“Huh, is it already that late?”
He immediately checked the winning bid.
“One, ten, hundred… Wait. Is this amount right?”
He stared at the final price in disbelief.
Why? Because it exceeded a full three million coins.
A short while earlier.
The moment Seojun listed the Gongcheong Oil on the auction, one person took notice first by pure chance.
“Transparent Gongcheong Oil?”
He was a giant of a man, 190 cm tall with striking silver hair—Alexei Volkov, the Grand General of the Northern Front.
After the age of superhumans dawned, the northern front had been designated a Forbidden Zone. Dungeon breaks had erupted across the entire Northern Hemisphere, and the land had been seized by vicious monsters.
Arthur Bennett, one of the Twelve Heavens and a revered archmage, had cast a massive Domain Barrier. Without it, humanity might still be fighting an apocalyptic war against the monster waves pouring down from the north.
And Alexei Volkov was the Grand General who guarded the sole gateway of that Domain Barrier—the man called the Guardian Deity of the Northern Hemisphere.
“I need it.”
The instant he saw the transparent Gongcheong Oil, he understood. It was Gongcheong Oil condensed with extreme Yin energy.
How did he know? Because of the trait he had mastered.
Heart of the Arctic (SSS)
Alexei’s heart accepts the energy of the Arctic, rendering him nearly invincible in extreme cold. The denser the surrounding chill, the greater his power becomes.
Because of that, he knew every obscure detail about extreme-Yin elixirs—including the fact that Gongcheong Oil grew more transparent the more extreme Yin energy it contained.
“I must obtain it.”
There was a reason he had to have it. He was currently Level 79. The Wall of Lamentation—Level 80—the realm the Twelve Heavens had once reached, still eluded him after so long.
The problem was that the monsters pouring in from the Northern Hemisphere were growing stronger by the day. Even with the Heart of the Arctic, he was gradually being pushed to his limits.
To remain the Guardian Deity of the Northern Hemisphere for humanity’s sake, and to fulfill his own desire to reach Level 80, he absolutely needed that Gongcheong Oil.
So he entered the bidding war.
The starting bid of 500,000 coins shot past one million in an instant. With one hour left until the auction closed, it had already climbed to two million—far beyond the market price of ordinary Gongcheong Oil.
With ten minutes remaining, the bid broke three million.
I’m short on funds.
He currently held 3.2 million coins—every last coin he could scrape together. In the end the final winning bid was 3.35 million.
“Ah.”
A sigh escaped him. Someone—he had no idea who—had outbid him at the very last moment.
I cannot give up like this.
On Superhuman Net, with a somewhat desperate heart, he contacted Madoje.
If the heavens had not abandoned him, contact would be made. The dice of fate had been cast.
3,015,000 Coins have been deposited.
3.015 million coins. He had earned even more than expected—just from selling a single mouthful of the overflowing Gongcheong Oil.
“Nice.”
Besides buying a Platinum Badge, he had plenty of other things to do: tools to help Popo cultivate the land more easily, new spirit herbs, and additional magic skills he needed to learn. He had already passed Level 20 and could now learn third-circle magic, yet he still only knew the first-circle Fire spell. That was a little embarrassing.
“At least I don’t have to worry about money anymore.”
Realizing he was nearly free from financial concerns left him feeling warm and secure. Time to buy the Platinum Badge right away.
Just as he was about to open the badge purchase tab on Superhuman Net, a comment appeared under the post he had made.
Beneath that comment a flood of replies had already piled up.
Countless more replies followed. Looking into it, the man was apparently an enormous celebrity—and for good reason. He had guarded the choke point where monster waves could erupt for over a decade. He might not be as strong as one of the Twelve Heavens, yet he received even greater hero’s treatment. Rumors about him were endless. He barely used Superhuman Net at all, appearing only occasionally in the Gold Badge channels. For such a figure to show up on the regular Superhuman Net board, of course everyone went wild.
“So this Taesan is the Guardian Deity of the Northern Hemisphere?”
Even someone as clueless about the superhuman world as Seojun had heard the name. A man called a hero. He couldn’t just ignore him and walk away.
Seojun was a little surprised by Taesan’s words. The man’s insight was remarkably sharp. No wonder people called him a hero.
He suddenly felt curious. Beneath Taesan’s words he could sense a quiet desperation.
He had been planning to sell it anyway. Hearing that story, he felt he simply could not refuse Taesan.
The moment he said that, Taesan’s reply paused. Had he misspoken?
A short while later the answer came.
Taesan paid 3.2 million coins and received the Gongcheong Oil. Since the man insisted on paying full price, Seojun added an extra 10 ml beyond the original 50 ml when he sent it.
“To break through to the next realm, huh…”
Would it really be that easy? He was curious. Seeing how Hong Seolhwa had broken through Level 80 with the Taeumyangjeong he had given her, it didn’t seem impossible.
In any case, he silently cheered the man on. Just as Taesan had said, he hoped the man would continue to remain the Guardian Deity of the Northern Hemisphere.
But if the monsters keep growing stronger, couldn’t the Domain Barrier itself collapse?
Nah, no way. Even if that happened, humanity wouldn’t fall into immediate danger. At that point it wouldn’t be Taesan but the Twelve Heavens—no, the Eleven Heavens—who would move. Humanity would still take a heavy beating, of course. Eleven people couldn’t cover the entire planet.
Anyway, that was a problem for later.
“Purchase Platinum Badge.”
His coins had ballooned past six million in an instant.
You have purchased a Platinum Badge for 1,000,000 Coins.
Even after spending a million coins, his balance barely seemed to have shrunk. Wow. Spending coins actually felt good.
In high spirits he waited for the Platinum Badge to arrive. The Lounge Channel he had only ever heard rumors about. It supposedly offered a far more refined System than Superhuman Net—grade-based system shops, skill shops, top-tier training facilities, commissions, and more. You could also closely interact with superhumans of the same rank. In every way it was said to be a huge advantage. The consensus in the superhuman world was that the badge more than paid for itself.
So then—how would the sole Platinum Badge be assigned?
Entering the Lounge Channel.
Platinum Badge confirmed.
You are the first to enter the Platinum Lounge.
First-entry privilege granted.
EX-grade Privilege Skill Selection Ticket has been awarded.
Current Platinum Lounge users: 1
No exchange partners available.
Additional authority to use the Gold Lounge has been granted.
Oh.
Watching the cascade of messages appear before his eyes, a gasp of pure admiration escaped his lips.