Gugune White Sundae (1)

Second passage.

I stepped inside.

Swoosh.

The point where I should've been bounced back before.

But this time was different.

It felt like passing through a thin membrane of air.

The second passage revealed its inner secrets.

'Arcane Chamber?'

My eyes went wide.

A room for magic training?

'No way!'

Was this a place to learn magic?

My heart pounded with anticipation.

Thud thud thud!

I hurried through the remaining passage, almost running.

And there it was, unfolding before me.

A space far wider than expected, stretching endlessly.

'The mana flow is different here.'

Through Dragon Blood, I sensed the mana currents in this room.

Mana flows intertwined with some magical device.

Because of it, the space felt even larger than its actual size.

Even though it was a sealed chamber on all sides, the air rippled softly, and lights shimmered like heat haze everywhere.

Woooong!

And then.

The most striking feature in this room.

A crystal orb floating in the center.

It looked mystical and captivating, as if holding a miniature universe within.

At its core, faint glowing specks of starlight slowly rotated.

Whenever they scattered, glowing lines intertwined like a spiral galaxy.

The orb's surface was perfectly smooth and transparent, like a galaxy floating on clear, still water.

'Whoa.'

My mouth fell open at the mystical, dreamlike sight.

'Those galaxy-like starlights are a phenomenon from mana concentrated at a single point.'

Tremendous mana density.

That's what my awakened Dragon Blood eyes could see.

'The walls and ceiling are covered in runes and magic circles.'

Ancient runes and magic circles, presumably left by dragons.

They glowed softly, emanating a subtle blue and purple aura throughout the room.

Hummm!

On one side, magic books floated in the air, slowly rotating.

The floor held an intricately engraved magic circle.

'Incredible.'

I could tell at a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠glance.

This place was designed for dragons to learn magic.

"How do you use it?"

I muttered, stepping onto the massive magic circle on the floor.

At that moment.

Flash-!

Kwaaaaa!

Starlight poured from the central crystal orb.

"Ah!"

An exclamation escaped me.

My mind cleared, and knowledge of how to use the magic training room etched itself clearly into my brain.

'Just as I thought. I can learn magic here!'

The moment anticipation became reality!

I moved immediately.

My target: the magic books floating in the air.

I placed my hand on the lowest one.

Magic icons appeared one after another.

As if entranced, I placed my hand on the ice-shaped icon.

'...Insane!!'

I could acquire magic right away.

No more buying 1st circle spells for 1,000 coins each.

And that wasn't all?

The second magic tome.

I placed my hand on it.

The third magic tome was the same.

'Jackpot!'

Jackpot, jackpot, jackpot!

Until now, I'd just been a hollow shell leveling up.

No more.

Now I could walk the true path of a magic warrior!

"Ice. Acquire it."

With my will.

Shaaaa!

Cold mana flowed from the 1st circle magic tome and into my hand.

"Whoa."

Another gasp escaped.

Not F-grade, but a full S-grade.

My head was spinning.

I finally understood what it meant for blood to boil with excitement.

I learned a few more after that.

Wind Cutter and Spark from 1st circle.

All S-grade!!

But there were still mountains of 1st circle spells left.

I wanted to sit right there and learn them all.

Gurgle.

"It consumes more mana than I thought."

Learning from the Magic Tomes took way more mana than expected.

I'd have to keep some Lunadria nearby and munch on petals while learning.

"I want to try the magic training room too."

Alright.

If I'm doing this, let's do it right.

"Gotta buy some gear."

Magical tools for training.

Time to shop on the Superhuman Net.

***

I'd just exited the second passage.

"Oh."

The cherry tomatoes I'd auctioned off sold.

This time I'd set it for a full 24 hours.

Has a day passed already?

Well, I slept a lot, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yeah.

"Let's see how much... Hm?"

Sold for 30,300 coins.

That's 303 million won.

I'd put up 100 cherry tomatoes as a teaser.

'300 coins each.'

Amazing.

3 million won per batch.

Even higher than the potatoes and sweet potatoes at 1 million each.

Cherry tomatoes are much smaller, so they usually sell cheaper.

'Why the price jump?'

I checked the Superhuman Net right away.

I figured it out.

'Buffs stack?'

Insane!

What a steal!

And since I only released 100, the scarcity drove the price up.

Everyone rushed the auction seeing the low quantity.

'Auctions from now on, at least for a while.'

Until it sells below my target price, auctions only.

'More auctions today then.'

Potatoes, sweet potatoes.

And cherry tomatoes.

300 each this time.

Quantity? No worries.

A green wave stretched before me.

With Popo's and the lair's power, the crops were booming.

'5 Lunadria and 5 Baekyang Herbs too.'

Time to sell some daily harvest of these.

Needed steady coin income.

'Wonder how much the Baekyang Herbs will fetch.'

They're expensive baseline.

Minimum 500,000 coins.

But mine?

Even conservatively, at least 1 million each.

5 would be 5 million coins.

'Whoa. I'm rich.'

Just selling Baekyang Herbs steadily would make me loaded.

But.

To properly use the Platinum Lounge, this wasn't enough.

'Gotta steadily sell Seondo or Mandragora at least.'

I glanced at the Seondo tree.

'Hope the next ripening has some seeds.'

Ding!

A notification sounded.

'Hm?'

This was from the Gold Lounge.

I accessed the Gold Lounge.

Checked the alert.

'Gugune White Sundae.'

The nickname I suspected ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was my friend.

A reply from him.

***

Gold Lounge nickname: Gugune White Sundae.

Real name: Gu Donghyeon.

He checked the comment left by the nickname 'Madoje'.

'...?'

At first, he thought it was a scammer.

Because.

Even Gold Lounge had fraudsters.

'Madoje' was an unfamiliar nickname.

Grade hidden as ?.

Even more suspicious.

But.

The replies were unusual.

All urging him to seize the opportunity.

'What?'

He searched for Madoje.

'Whoa!'

He hadn't been in the superhuman world long.

But each footprint was sensational.

If you'd followed the news.

You couldn't not know Madoje.

But he'd been focused on treating his ruined mana circuits, missing it all.

'Why me... from someone like this?'

Emotions churned in his dead eyes.

Confusion, doubt, disbelief. And... faint hope.

But.

He shook his head.

'My mana circuits can't be revived with some spirit herb.'

Gu Donghyeon's level.

Lv49.

Mid-tier superhuman.

Poisoned by Heavenly Death Poison in a Heavenly Death dungeon.

Normally, prompt detox and treatment would've been fine.

But.

He couldn't get it in time due to unavoidable circumstances.

As a result.

His mana circuits were irreparably damaged.

He visited the Temple late, but no use.

They said surviving was lucky enough.

'Is there truly... no way?'

The priest shook his head regretfully at his desperate plea.

'You'd need at least a Half Elixir-grade treatment.'

'Ah...'

Elixir.

Legendary potion known only from records in the upper Abyss Tower.

Impossible to obtain.

But Half Elixirs, top-tier treatments, occasionally found by Twelve Heavens past Lv80.

Astronomical price.

Gu Donghyeon couldn't dream of it.

So he had to give up.

'Unless he's offering a Half Elixir, it's just false hope.'

He smiled bitterly.

Big hopes lead to big disappointments.

'Ignore it.'

He tried to ignore Madoje's comment and close the Gold Lounge channel.

But.

He hesitated.

'Can I really give up my superhuman life like this?'

To him, being a superhuman was his whole life.

He had a backstory that demanded he walk this path, tear-jerking enough.

So.

In the end, desperation made him message Madoje.

He didn't know what he'd say.

But... just maybe. If he had a way to fix his mana circuits.

He'd pay any price he could, grasp that lifeline.

'Please...'

He squeezed his eyes shut, praying fervently.

Hoping heaven pitied him with this golden thread.

***

The message that arrived.

My eyes sparkled.

Gugune White Sundae. Was this the guy I knew?

Started with simple greetings.

Then expressed sympathy for his situation.

Next.

To confirm if he was my guy, I slipped in a question.

'It's him.'

My ballsy friend Gu Donghyeon.

The real deal.

'How'd his mana circuits get wrecked.'

I clicked my tongue inwardly.

He was always a bit careless.

Even as a superhuman.

"Popo."

"Popo?"

Hop, hop.

Popo, freshly awake, hopped over at my call.

"This is safe to eat straight, right?"

"Popo!"

I held out Popo's Fluid.

Popo grinned with ∩_∩ eyes and hopped happily.

Affirmative gesture.

'Good. Let's give him this.'

I bottled some Popo's Fluid.

'Not sure if it'll revive his mana circuits, but...'

My intuition said.

There's a chance.

If it really revives them?

Popo's Fluid would be a priceless treasure beyond measure.

'Hugely boosting its potential as an Elixir ingredient.'

So, test it.

On Donghyeon.

'Feels a bit bad using him as a guinea pig.'

But as confirmed with Popo, even if it fails, it won't harm him.