Chapter 10: The Chit-Chat Community

The community was for chit-chat, but the only real-world items currently in my inventory were the eight standard E-rank mana stones I'd picked up today while clearing an E-rank gate with Taesoo hyung. He'd handed them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all over to me under the guise of covering my repair fees.

Selling them would net me 2.4 million won, but for my current needs, it felt a bit light. 'Selling another B-rank one feels off, doesn't it?'

Fortunately, I'd gone through that E-rank gate with Taesoo hyung today, giving me the perfect alibi of having harvested mana stones myself.

After a moment's thought, I bought ten '99% Purity D-rank Mana Stones' from the point shop. One D-rank stone cost 10,000 points—a total spend of 100,000 points. Blue particles gathered in the air, coalescing into ten flawlessly clear, crystalline mana stones that tumbled onto my workbench.

I immediately pulled up my smartphone contacts and made the call.

The signal barely rang three times before a hurried voice came through the receiver.

"Hello? Mr. Kwon Daesung?"

It was nearly 10 p.m., but her tone carried more anticipation than fatigue.

"Sorry to call so late. You haven't clocked out yet?"

"No! I was just working overtime. What's up?"

The faint tremble at the end of her voice didn't escape me.

"Yeah. I've got some items I'd like to show you first."

"I'm on my way! Give me 20 minutes—I'll head straight to you!"

The call cut off abruptly. I couldn't help but chuckle as I cranked the junkyard's interior lights to full brightness. No way was I greeting a sucker—er, my precious VVIP partner in a dusty pit.

'This is basically an ATM on legs...'

Exactly 18 minutes later, a sleek black luxury sedan tore into the quiet alley in front of the junkyard, engine roaring like it was ripping the night apart. The door flew open, and Jeong Yuna—in a charcoal suit and clacking heels—burst inside, sweat beading on her forehead. A far cry from her usual cool, intellectual demeanor.

"You're here. Coffee or—"

"Show me the goods first."

Skipping even greetings, she went straight for it. I shrugged and plunked two leather pouches onto the workbench.

"These are the raw ones I dug up myself from the gate today. And this one's the stuff you'll like."

Jeong Yuna sucked in a sharp breath and opened the first pouch: the eight standard E-rank mana stones from our hunt with Taesoo hyung.

"Hmm... Freshly mined, no doubt. But as you know, these are your run-of-the-mill impure stones anyone can get. What I want from you is—"

"In a rush, huh? Try the other pouch."

At my smirking nudge, she hastily untied the second one. A cascade of deep, crystalline blue light poured out like a waterfall—ten 99% purity D-rank mana stones, utterly superior in size, color, and mana density.

Her eyes widened to an almost comical degree.

"My god......"

She fumbled a luxury magnifying glass and tweezers from her designer bag, her hands shaking as she gingerly lifted one stone.

"This perfect clarity....... How is this even possible? Last time it was three B-rank stones, and now ten flawless D-rank ones? Even Korea's top three guilds couldn't refine a single one this pure in a month! Mr. Kwon, what the hell are ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you up to?"

She slammed her hands on the table, glaring at me with a mix of awe and fierce suspicion.

I didn't flinch, just leaned back in my chair, hands in my coat pockets.

"Appraiser Jeong. Didn't I make it clear last time? We don't ask about sources—that's our rule."

"......Right."

"I'm honoring that by bringing these ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠treasures straight to you instead of the black market or big guilds. But if you keep prying and breaking the rules... well, that's a problem."

My casual warning hit home. Her shoulders jerked, and she let out a deep sigh, head dropping.

"......I crossed the line again. Couldn't contain my scholarly curiosity. Sorry. You're right, Mr. Kwon. No more questions. But our deal still stands: all future stock of this quality goes through me exclusively, right?"

"Of course. As long as the price isn't stingy, you're always welcome."

We finally exchanged knowing smiles. She whipped out her tablet and tapped the calculator furiously.

"Let's tally it up. Eight standard E-rank stones at market price: 2.4 million won total. I'll bump it a bit higher."

"Works for me."

"And the stars: ten 99% purity D-rank stones. D-rank in name only—their mana efficiency rivals or exceeds impure standard C-ranks. Per our last deal, twice the market premium."

She spun the tablet screen toward me.

"Total: 204 million won. Sound good?"

I bit back my grin and nodded coolly.

"Eh... a tad low for my hard work, but your passion sways me. We'll call it this once."

I threw in some subtle swagger.

"Thank you! Transferring to your account now!"

Her finger had barely left the screen ten seconds ago when my phone chimed merrily. The banking app glowed with endless zeros: [204,500,000 Deposit].

"What's the extra 500k?"

"Just a thank-you. Buy yourself something nice."

She beamed. 'Oh, classy...' Even from a customer management angle, it impressed me.

"Confirmed. Clean transaction. Business done for—"

"Wait, Mr. Kwon. One sec."

As I wrapped up, she cut in urgently, glancing at the pouch of D-rank stones she'd carefully stowed.

"About the next batch... Could you refine stones from C- or B-rank gates to this purity? I'd pay five times what I just offered."

"Five times?"

I stroked my chin thoughtfully. Buying from the market worked, but mining gates myself meant insane margins. Plus, I needed to get stronger anyway.

One snag, though.

"I'd love higher-grade stones, but reality bites."

"Reality? Funding issue?"

"Nah. My awakener rank. You might not know, but I just registered as combat at the Association—barely scraping F-rank. Rules say low-rank hunters need high-guild backing or party leader approval for C+ gates. Illegal otherwise."

Confusion flickered across her face—like, 'This guy pumps out impossible purity stones and he's just F-rank?' But she kept her poker face, honoring the no-questions rule.

"Ah... yeah, strict gate controls. But you accessing high gates means I keep getting top-shelf goods."

She pondered, then snapped her fingers and rummaged in her bag.

She slid a sleek silver badge my way, emblazoned with the Hunter Association's holographic logo.

"What's this?"

"Badge for direct collaborators of Association material researchers. Senior appraisers like me or mana engineers get free pass to B-rank gates for rare monster byproducts or gate surveys—no rank checks."

"......Oho."

My eyes lit up as I snatched it. This was worth a fortune in cash—free rein on high-rank gates like my own backyard, no prying eyes.

"Conditions?"

"Sharp as ever. In exchange, all your C+ high-purity stones go exclusively through me. Consider it an advance on our monopoly deal."

Zero downside. No better buyer who paid double market without questions.

"Deal. Your investment won't go to waste—I'll deliver killer goods soon."

"Looking forward to it. Gotta rush these to the lab."

She left with a deeply satisfied bow, more polite than ever. I flicked the silver badge into the air and caught it as her engine faded.

"204 mil cash plus B-rank free pass. Today's my lucky day."

With all deals done and the junkyard empty, I locked the shutters tight and slumped into the workbench chair. Silence reigned, broken only by the pounding in my ears.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Slower than a normal human heartbeat, but each pulse unleashed lava-hot energy surging through my veins.

The heartbeat's slowed... what the hell?

"Hoo......"

Hand on chest, eyes closed. The sensation of smashing that hobgoblin's skull in the gate still lingered in my fists.

'Dragon Heart mana......'

When I first chugged that Dragon Heart Mana Circuit Activator from the Multidimensional Secondhand Market, I figured it just added mana storage. But after real combat, doubts crept in.

This destructive power radiating from my body.

'Is it just bigger mana reserves? Or is my flesh itself... turning draconic?'

A chilling hypothesis hit me. If my body was truly mutating beyond human limits into a dragon—what about side effects? Scales erupting? Heart overload?

Risks I'd overlooked in my power high chained ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠together.

"I need answers. About this power's true nature."

Earth's net or Association databases? Fat chance of Dragon Heart intel.

One option: scour the Multidimensional Secondhand Market itself.

I fired up the market app on my phone. Flipping through menus, my eyes snagged on a dim gray tab at the bottom.

"Chit-chat tab? Right, that existed."

Too busy hustling for cash, I'd ignored it. But think about it: 9th-circle archmages, retired northern mercenaries, Tower Masters, World Tree elf elders—all fantasy powerhouses logging in.

They'd know dragons and Dragon Hearts inside out.

I took a deep breath and tapped the tab gingerly.

The screen shifted with a chime, flooding my view with a torrent of real-time posts from countless dimensions.