#4. Eh? [Balance: 90,792,100 won]

I refreshed the bank app on my smartphone more than ten times on the way home. The blood money the government had legally robbed from me—47 million won—didn't magically come back like some miracle.

"Haa..."

I collapsed into the rickety work chair in one corner of the junkyard, letting out a deep sigh. Tax bomb. Just because I was a broke civilian with nothing to my name, they'd mercilessly stripped away the profits I'd sweated(?) for.

"Taxes or safety, huh..."

I muttered to myself as I summoned the system inventory window in midair. Reaching out, I grabbed a small glass vial filled with swirling red liquid.

This brutal warning had scared me off before, making me cap it back up. Life's too precious to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠risk. Dying would make a billion won worthless anyway.

But right now, my eyes were half-rolled back in desperation.

"Fine, it's from a Royal Alchemist, right? No way he'd sell poison that kills humans."

With steely resolve, I yanked out the cork without hesitation. An unexpectedly sweet, fragrant aroma tickled my nose.

"Screw it!!"

Gulp— I took a huge breath and poured the red liquid straight down my throat in one go. It slid heavily into my stomach.

A brief silence followed. One second, two, three.

"Huh... not as painful as I thought?"

Just as flimsy relief started to wash over me—

"Gaaahhhh!!"

Screaming, I tumbled off the chair and rolled wildly across the rough cement floor.

"H-Hot!!"

My whole body ignited like a fireball, but worse—scalding lava surged through my veins, incinerating every corner of my insides. Was this what burning alive felt like? Veins bulged blue under my skin, ready to burst.

Crack! Crunch—! My bones shattered and forcibly realigned, the sound tearing at my eardrums. I howled like a beast, scraping the cement with my bare nails until they bled.

"Grrrugh... Kughh...!"

The system's mechanical chime in my head faded into distant tinnitus. As pain surpassed the limit, my flashing red vision plunged into deep darkness.

I couldn't tell when I'd blacked out.

"Nngh..."

Sensation slowly returned from my fingertips sprawled on the floor. Heaving up my leaden eyelids, I vaguely made out the stained ceiling patterns. The hellish pain that had ravaged my body was long gone.

Instead, a foul stench assaulted my nose, filling the junkyard office.

"Urgh, what sewer rot is this?"

Staggering upright, I looked down at myself in horror. My skin was caked in thick, black, sticky sludge-like waste. Impurities stacked in my body had been forcibly expelled through my pores by the mana flow. Straight out of a wuxia ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠or fantasy novel—classic body cleansing.

Suppressing vomit, I dashed to the corner shower stall. I cranked the water and scrubbed with a rough towel, soaping up three times. Finally, the stench was gone, and I looked human again.

Toweling my wet hair, I wiped the fogged mirror—and froze like a statue.

"This... is me?"

A total stranger stared back. My sallow, dry skin from sleepless nights now gleamed smoothly. Hunched shoulders from endless work had broadened. My scrawny abs and arms now sported sharp, chiseled muscles like a sculptor's work.

I clenched and unclenched my fist lightly. A heavy, immense energy surged from my heart through my veins to my fingertips—undeniable mana.

"Status window."

My jaw trembled as I cautiously called the system.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"What the hell is this...?"

Average adult male stats hover around 10. Even cocky low-tier F-rank combat hunters barely crack 15. Strength 45? Magic power 65?

"And Dragon Heart? What's that?"

Closing my eyes, I peered inward. A bizarre, alien mana mass pulsed near my heart. A real Dragon Heart had taken root inside me. That old alchemist hadn't scammed me.

How strong am I now?

I snatched a thick steel wrench from the workbench corner—the kind for tearing apart car engines, thicker than my thumb. Gripping both ends, I squeezed lightly.

Creak— With a chilling metallic groan, the solid steel bent like taffy, snapping in half at the center. Pure grip strength had ripped it apart barehanded.

"Ha...?"

A ridiculous chuckle escaped my lips. One task left.

"Time to get that license."

Rush to the Seoul Hunter Association for re-measurement. As a non-combat repairman, getting a combat license was iffy, but these insane stats? Worth a shot.

Me, clearing gates myself?

My heart raced. The combat job I'd craved! Humming cheerfully, I grabbed clean clothes, threw them on, and roughly rolled down the Daesung Resources shutter.

Seoul Hunter Association Official Exchange Office, Room 3 Appraisal.

Chief Appraiser Jeong Yuna carefully set down her magnifying glass, swallowing dryly. At the end of her gaze, three B-rank mana stones left by some shabby young man gleamed with brilliant blue light.

"Team leader, is it that impressive? He claimed it was from his grandfather's belongings."

"Choi, deputy. You wear an appraiser badge and buy that flimsy excuse?"

Jeong Yuna cut off the newbie sharply, disdainfully. She picked up one stone with tweezers, tilting it under the fluorescent light. Flawlessly clear blue. Not a speck of impurity.

"Purity 99 percent. No, close enough to call it 100%."

No gate on Korean soil had ever yielded natural mana stones this pure. Even scraping S-rank boss cores barely hit 90 percent. Someone had artificially refined them.

"Is that... even possible? Processing mana stones to boost purity artificially?"

"That's why I'm losing my mind."

Irritably clicking her mouse, Jeong Yuna pulled up the youth's profile on the monitor.

Deep wrinkles furrowed her brow. A bizarre mismatch. An F-rank repairman casually dropping off top-grade mana stones like pawning a watch?

Her common sense rejected it.

Repairman... repairman. No way?

"Team leader Choi. Send this straight to Investigations? High chance it's smuggled or stolen from illegal gates."

"No. Bury it quietly for now."

Jeong Yuna silenced him with a firm gesture.

"Hand it to those ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Investigation hyenas, and we'll drown in paperwork while they steal all the credit. We'll watch discreetly from here."

The stones' origin didn't matter.

If I can steadily supply these impossibilities...

Jeong Yuna was an appraiser and mana engineering researcher. Her experiments stalled due to impure mana stones. But 99% pure? She could prove her buried theories.

"No time to sit. I need to meet that man."

She shoved back her chair, grabbing her coat urgently.

Seoul Hunter Association HQ, 1st Floor Central Measurement Room.

The vast lobby teemed with nervous rookies buzzing with faint mana, dreaming of hunter riches.

"Next up. Kwon Daesung?"

The desk clerk glanced between the chart and my face, puzzled.

"You're Kwon Daesung, right? Records show you got final F-rank production three years ago. Any special reason for re-measurement? Basic fee's 2 million won—pretty steep."

Her formal tone dripped subtle mockery. F-rank repairman wasting cash on delusions.

"Think I've had a second awakening."

Second awakening—not common, but real. Plenty in Korea triggered by dramatic events.

"Ah, second awakening? Lucky you. Place your hand on the central orb?"

She nodded at the massive transparent crystal. The Association's pride: latest mana scanner assessing total mana and density for official rank.

I exhaled deeply, pressing my palm firmly to the cold surface.

Goodbye drudgery, hello bliss!

Eyes closed, I consciously drew a tiny fraction of the condensed Dragon Heart mana from my heart, gently feeding it into the orb.

And then—

Weeeeng—! Weeeeng—! Weeeeng—!

The red alarm and blaring voice made the clerk's and my eyes meet in stunned silence.

"......Eh?"