Seeds of Retaliation

<Of course we have it. Haven't I told you time and again? The Arcana Market's motto is to provide whatever the customer desires.>

Oh... they really have it.

"How much is it?"

<With the VIP discount applied, one thousand stones.>

Hmm.

Wait, what?

"That's... actually much cheaper than I expected?"

Honestly, I'd been worried. What if it cost tens of thousands? But one thousand mana stones... converted to cash, that was about fifty million won. Even before the fifty percent discount, it was only a hundred million won. For merchandise from the Arcana Market, that felt shockingly reasonable.

<Well, it's merely a plaything for Transcendents.>

"A plaything?"

"He speaks no falsehood. To begin with, beings like us have no reason to covet such petty ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rifts," Merlin chimed in casually from the side.

Aha. Well, Transcendents operated on an entirely different dimensional plane, so that made sense. They probably had zero use for something like this.

<Take a look at the goods yourself.>

Cassius tossed a seed forward onto the counter.

Ah, wait. It's not a skill?

Its item type was listed as consumable. Which meant...

"So I have to buy a new one every single time I want to use it?"

<Ah. If a skill is what you desire, we have those too. But abandon all foolish delusions. Anything of that caliber starts with price tags measured in supreme magic crystals.>

Insane. So an actual skill did exist. A skill that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let you pop open dungeons at will? That was practically godhood. Of course, if the currency was supreme magic crystals instead of intermediate ones... Yeah, giving up on that dream was the sensible move.

...Or maybe not. Who knew? Someday I might actually buy it. Still, it was completely out of reach for now, so...

"Hmph."

I fell into contemplation. Should I buy this or not? The price? Honestly, cost wasn't an obstacle anymore. One thousand mana stones. In the past, my jaw would've hit the floor at that number, but these days I could scrape that together in no time. Running a single B-rank dungeon already pulled in 720 stones. The real issue was this specific caveat:

The dungeon's rank is determined by the catalyst used alongside it.

"When it says catalyst here, it means monster materials, right?"

<Precisely. It refers to monster byproducts capable of serving as the rift's core. Like the minotaur horns and hides you sold off previously.>

"Just as I thought."

In other words...

"Without high-grade monster materials, I can't open high-rank dungeons."

If that was the case, maybe there wasn't an immediate need to buy it right away. China's number one ranker, Luo Qin, was famous. He strolled through A-rank dungeons like taking an afternoon walk, and rumor had it he could comfortably conquer most S-rank dungeons with proper preparation. That meant any trap meant for him needed to be an upper-tier S-rank dungeon at the very least... but was that even realistic?

I don't even have A-rank monster materials, let alone S-rank.

A catalyst? All I had were the miscellaneous junk dropped up to the 15th floor of the tower, or byproducts from B-rank dungeons. What would be the point of opening a dungeon using those as catalysts? Forget Luo Qin—even his lackey's lackey's lackey could breeze through it. That would blow my whole plan for revenge out of the water.

Wait. Hold on. I had sold monster materials here before, which meant...

"Do you happen to sell S-rank catalysts here too?"

<We only purchase such crude byproducts. Well... we do stock byproducts intended for Transcendents, such as the blood serum of an Ancient Red Dragon Elder. But that is hardly something you could endure, is it?>

"Uh... yeah, that might be a bit much..."

Not just a red dragon, but a red dragon elder? I didn't even need to look at the price tag. Just hearing the name screamed financial ruin.

<Naturally. That is an item you would need to roll in the dirt for another century before even daring to dream of touching it.>

I didn't think it would take quite that long, but either way, that wasn't what mattered right now. My purpose in coming to the Arcana Market had been twofold from the start.

One: find out if there really was a way to spawn a dungeon wherever I wanted. And number two...

Prepare to clear an A-rank dungeon.

Honestly, how did I feel about A-rank dungeons? If I could clear one, great; if not, whatever. That was roughly my attitude. After all, Korea wasn't lacking in Awakened. I figured someone else would step up and take care of it eventually. At least... until I saw the news this morning.

The article went on to claim that if Awakener '???' stepped forward in person to apologize, Luo Qin would graciously clear the A-rank dungeon for Korea. Pure, unadulterated bullshit. Small wonder the internet had exploded.

Was that insane or what?

Tell me about it.

I'd felt it for a long time. Luo Qin and the rest of those Chinese officials—they were beyond arrogant. Leaving them alone after such brazen insolence sat terribly with me. An A-rank dungeon? Fine. Let's see about giving it a shot.

"Mr. Cassius, could you show me some buff potions? I have about five thousand magic crystals to spare."

<Ha—pathetic whelp. Did you truly believe a potion bought for a mere five thousand could yield any respectable effect? Good grief... wait here a moment.>

Hmm... Honestly, I bet it'll still be amazing.

Buff potions sold at the Arcana Market... I'd never bought one before, but their effects? I didn't need to see them to know they'd be extraordinary. The merchandise sold here had never once disappointed me. Potions wouldn't be any different.

"Oh, and please give me one of those Seeds of Rift too."

<Done.>

If I kept it in my inventory, a use would come up eventually. Who knew? Maybe an S-rank monster material would fall right out of the sky. And if not, I could always just crack open a B-rank dungeon to farm.

Seoul, South Korea.

Muguk Guild Headquarters.

"Understood. We need to hear our members' thoughts first, so let's speak again after that."

Jin Do-wook, Guild Master of Muguk, ended the lengthy call with a grim expression. Immediately after, he pressed the intercom button.

Beep—

"All executives, assemble in the conference room."

He summoned all the personnel who had been placed on standby.

"You called for us, Guild Master?"

"Yeah. I just got off the phone with Director Ko."

"Is this about the A-rank dungeon?"

"Right. He asked if we could take the lead."

Muguk's standing: South Korea's number one guild. It was only natural for the director of the Awakened Management Bureau to make such a request. The problem was...

"Isn't that far too dangerous? Even an ordinary A-rank dungeon is brutal, but this one..."

He wasn't wrong. There was a reason no one had stepped forward yet. Awakened were creatures who would lose their minds chasing anything profitable or stat-boosting. For everyone to hesitate this much meant the risk was monstrous. That held true for Muguk, just as it did for the other guilds.

However...

"It's dangerous, sure. That's why I'm planning to reach out to the other guilds as well. If we gather all available A-rank Awakened, we might actually stand a chance."

"Mmm... Guild Master, even if everyone mobilizes together, analysts project our success rate to be around ten percent."

Yeah, so the pundits claimed. Some high-brow expert analysis. And yet...

"It's humiliating."

"Pardon?"

Jin Do-wook swept his gaze across each executive gathered around the conference table. None of them were S-rank Awakened, but every single one ranked as an elite A-rank or higher. And yet...

"A rookie who awakened less than a month ago snatched away China's blessings and gave our entire country a buff... Everyone was thrilled to death, laughing and cheering. Weren't you?"

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

"Th-that's true, but..."

Thrilled didn't even begin to cover it. Several of the tower's highest floor records had fallen since then. Not a soul in this room was ignorant of the fact that it was all thanks to the national buff.

"And look at the pathetic state of affairs right now. Everyone—myself included—is so terrified that we won't even make an attempt."

"......"

"Director Ko practically begged on the phone. He asked if Muguk couldn't please lead the vanguard. Listening to him plead... I just felt so damn ashamed."

If they tried and failed, that would be one thing. To not even attempt it because the difficulty was high? How could they call themselves South Korea's number one guild after that? Worse still...

"Using this 'EX-jwa'—a rookie who probably just awakened yesterday—as a meat shield while we pretend not to see anything..."

"That's..."

Everything about the situation left a foul taste in his mouth. The unfolding circumstances, the dumpster fire on the internet—all of it.

"Granted, most of those comments are probably Chinese astroturfing accounts."

As Guild Master of Muguk, the top guild in South Korea, Jin Do-wook had seen and heard plenty behind the scenes. Tricks like this were nothing new. The rumors circulating online? Just the tip of the iceberg. The reality was far uglier. Not just China, but the United States, Japan, Russia—any nation with substantial clout behaved the exact same way.

Not that Jin Do-wook considered himself some paragon of patriotism. He just harbored a deep, personal grudge against China.

"When I think of Mun-gi, I feel like we should at least do everything in our power to keep from dancing on China's strings."

The former Guild Master of Muguk, Lee Mun-gi. South Korea's sole S-rank Awakened. The man who had abruptly vanished without a trace one day.

Well... they called it a disappearance, but everyone knew the truth. He was dead.

Why?

That ranking had changed to:

The revised ranking told the whole story. China was behind it. Of course, it remained an unproven suspicion, yet Jin Do-wook was certain of it. And so was the Awakened Management Bureau. What good did knowing do, though? There was no hard evidence, and China held overwhelming power.

"At the very least, we shouldn't let them play us for fools like this... So, what does everyone think?"

"Understood, Guild Master."

"To hell with it, let's do it!"

Right. This was the Muguk Guild he knew.

"The Management Bureau is providing emergency escape scrolls in case things go south, so don't be too nervous."

"Come on, Guild Master, we don't need those! Like you said, since when did we ever back ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠down?"

Nonsense. The very same bastards who had been shivering in their boots just a minute ago.

"By the way, Guild Master, has anyone turned up who can process the Phoenix's Feather? If we could forge that into a weapon, your combat power would skyrocket."

"Well... Awakened capable of crafting S-rank materials don't exactly grow on trees."

The relic left behind by the former guild master, Lee Mun-gi.

With no craftsman capable of handling it, it was currently gathering dust in their vault. If only they could fashion it into equipment...

Brrrring—!

"Hold on, everyone."

Speak of the devil. How did he know the meeting had ended right at this exact second?

"Ah, Director Ko. We just reached a consensus. We'll step up and take—What?! The A-rank dungeon has already been cleared?!"