The Black and White Spiral Sword

According to my contribution points, I received twenty skill cards as the first-clear reward. Adding the extra twenty granted by the Moros’s Sword trait, I now held a staggering total of forty skill cards.

‘The cards I earned while leveling were all poured into core stats like Chaos Power and Minion of the Underworld. With these forty, I can take my time and pick up all the skills I’ve been missing.’

Grandfather had fully recovered, so there were no urgent skills I needed to chase. Nothing I couldn’t live without. That meant these forty cards would go toward the useful but lower-priority abilities I had been putting off.

Especially since I mostly cleared the Tower solo, I had to cover every role in a raid party by myself. In other words, I needed to become something close to an all-rounder.

After claiming every card and stepping out of the Tower, I realized it was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠already late evening.

“You worked hard today, Humin.”

“You too, Sowon. Shall we head straight to settlement?”

“Of course! I can’t miss the most fun part of the day.”

Once the settlement was finished, the mana stones alone had earned us a jaw-dropping 2.4 billion won.

After I transferred the promised ten percent into Sowon’s account, she looked up at me.

“It’s in.”

“Thank you. Oh, by the way, what are you planning to do with those boots?”

“The boots? Oh…!”

Only then did I remember the boots I had tossed into my inventory and completely forgotten about.

I pulled them out and examined their options once more.

Looking at each option individually, the boots were a perfect bundle of excellent traits.

For shoes, anything over twenty percent movement speed was considered excellent. Thirty-five percent was practically top-tier. The weight reduction was just as valuable. Most weight-related bonuses came from belts, so having it on boots was both rare and incredibly useful. After all, lighter weight meant faster movement.

The attribute resistances were impressive too. The minus thirty percent to light resistance was a heavy penalty, but monsters that used light-attribute attacks were extremely rare. On the other hand, dark-attribute attacks were everywhere. A forty-percent resistance to darkness was an absurdly good option that even high-end armor struggled to provide.

The dark-attribute skill boost of plus two was equally insane. It would immediately raise the level of my Night Raven skill by two.

As for the attached skill, Shadow Blink let me instantly travel between any shadows within line of sight. There was a limitation—the gap had to be large enough for my body to pass through—but the ability to teleport behind an enemy in a single breath was undeniably overpowered. And the cooldown was only ten seconds. My mouth was practically watering.

Yet I couldn’t use the boots. The restriction was the problem.

‘Assassin or Rogue only…’

Even if I equipped them, only the appearance would apply. None of the options would activate for me.

“Well, even with the class restriction, something this good should still sell for a high price. Still… it feels like a waste.”

Sowon’s eyes sparkled at my answer.

“Then, Humin, if you have time tomorrow, would you like to visit the Artisan Guild with me?”

“The Artisan Guild?”

“Yes! Those boots are actually a unique drop that only comes from shadow slimes. You’ll get a much better price trading them at the Artisan Guild than you would at the Administration Bureau’s exchange. Or you could trade for similar-grade equipment. Some artisan classes can learn unique item recipes by repeatedly dismantling them, so they’re always desperate for exclusive gear like this.”

Oh. That was an incredibly useful tip.

The White Dragon Guild’s basic training program had never taught me anything like that.

‘Well, it was only the beginner course. They were too busy drilling us and teaching Tower strategies to cover stuff like this.’

“I’m in.”

Tomorrow was Sunday anyway—our agreed-upon regular day off.

For some reason Sowon’s face brightened like a flower blooming. She smiled brightly and asked, “What time should we meet tomorrow?”

“Morning might be too early…”

“No! Morning is perfect for me!”

“R-really? Then let’s say eleven o’clock.”

“Great! Eleven tomorrow morning it is!”

“Get home safely.”

“You too, Humin!”

She waved enthusiastically and walked off, clearly in a wonderful mood.

The next day.

“Haaam~.”

I woke up early and followed my usual routine, brushing my teeth on the rooftop while watching the Han River sparkle under the morning sun.

“No matter how many times I see it, I never get tired of this view.”

After finishing, I headed to the mineral spring to train Imperial Swordsmanship with Goblius.

But something felt off.

“Strange. Yesterday my body moved exactly how I wanted it to. Why is it so different today?”

The gap in movement compared to yesterday was massive. When I fought Slim, my body had reacted before my thoughts, and every creature in the world had felt like an extension of my own eyes, nose, ears, and skin. Today, that sensation was completely gone.

“So basically, I’m still lacking, so I should keep working hard. Right, Master?”

“Then let’s go again!”

Clang, clang, clang, clang…!!

After finishing sword training with Goblius, I took a quick shower, ate a late breakfast, and got ready to head out.

Ten minutes before our meeting time.

“Humin! Over here!”

“You’re already here…”

I had been about to greet Sowon, who had arrived first, when my hand froze mid-air. Noticing my awkward reaction, she glanced down at her outfit and asked cautiously.

“Does it… not suit me?”

“No, no! It suits you incredibly well. It’s just different from your usual style…”

I wasn’t exaggerating. She normally wore loose, practical clothes, and during Tower runs she layered leather armor on top, so her figure had never been visible. Today, however, she wore short jeans that showed off her legs and a slightly low-cut shirt that revealed the curves she usually kept hidden.

‘I never noticed before, but Sowon… you’ve been hiding a killer figure.’

I finally understood why she preferred that baggy style.

“You look really beautiful.”

“Th-thank you… Shall we go in?”

The place we were heading to was the Flame Anvil Guild, one of the top three artisan guilds in the country.

The Flame Anvil Guild mainly handled large-scale transactions between guilds, so individual trading wasn’t as active compared to other artisan guilds.

“That’s exactly why people in the know come here. Sometimes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠high-grade items that were accidentally left out of bulk deals end up in the personal exchange at cheap prices.”

“I see.”

Even though their main business was bulk guild trading, the underground personal exchange was packed with people, buzzing like a marketplace.

“Wait, didn’t you say personal trading wasn’t their main focus?”

It wasn’t a joke—the underground market was almost as big as an amusement park.

“That’s why it’s like this. Other places make you take a number and wait forever.”

“Ah…”

The exchange had countless stalls. Not only those run by the Flame Anvil Guild itself, but also independent merchants who paid rent and commissions to sell their goods.

“There are plenty of cheap pieces alongside the expensive specialty gear.”

“That’s because the artisan guild exchange has much lower fees than the Administration Bureau’s auction house. Plus, people sell items here that feel too awkward to sell at the Bureau because of the fees. If you look hard enough, you can sometimes find amazing pieces no one else noticed.”

“We could spend all day here and still not see everything.”

Wandering the market with Sowon taught me a lot.

Since I was essentially a beginner as a hunter, I was basically her pack mule, but her vast experience made her an excellent teacher.

“Huh?”

“What is it?”

Sowon suddenly gasped at something she spotted. I asked what was wrong, and she whispered in my ear.

“That backpack over there. It’s the one I’ve been looking for.”

“That small one?”

“Yes. Normal backpacks can be stored in your inventory, but this auxiliary bag is special. It only takes up one inventory slot but can hold up to two hundred kilograms of any items without adding weight. It’s basically an inventory slot upgrade.”

‘Ah, so that’s why… I wondered why such a small bag was unique-grade.’

Having found what she wanted, Sowon immediately began haggling with the stall owner.

“Excuse me! How much for this?”

“You’ve got a good eye. Since you recognized it, you already know this isn’t sold at the Administration Bureau. Even though it’s for pack mules, the options are so good that a lot of people want it. But since you’re so pretty, I’ll give you a special discount. How about this price?”

The owner showed her the calculator. Sowon let out a small laugh.

“Aww, handsome boss, you’re trying to rip me off. I can tell this is leftover stock from a canceled large-guild order. Who’s going to pay that much for an auxiliary bag? Pack mules aren’t exactly rolling in cash. Come on, let’s clear out this dead stock in one clean deal. Honestly, if I weren’t here, you wouldn’t find another buyer willing to haggle like this. Right?”

After a fierce, cutthroat negotiation that would have made swordsmen blush…

“Fine, you win. But I can’t go any lower. And don’t tell anyone we sold it at this price. You know we supply them to large guilds for seven million each, right?”

“Thank you~!”

In the end, Sowon managed to buy the five auxiliary bags she wanted for a total of 250 million won.

“Sorry, Humin. I got a little too excited…”

“Not at all. I learned a lot just watching. Your haggling skills are no joke.”

“I come here often trying to save every penny, so I guess I’ve only gotten better at useless things. Do you need anything, Humin?”

“No, I don’t think there’s anything I need right now.”

“Then let’s head straight to the Flame Anvil Guild’s official exchange. They might have what you’re looking for.”

We made our way to the largest official store in the underground market.

“Welcome. What are you looking for today?”

“I’d like to trade an item. I want to see swords of similar grade to these boots.”

“Please wait a moment.”

A short while later, the employee who had taken the Light Shadow Footprints returned and guided us to a private room.

“This way, please.”

The private room had swords of every kind displayed on the walls and tables.

“These…”

“These are all the blades we currently possess that match the value of the Light Shadow Footprints. Please take your time and choose whichever one catches your eye.”

Most of the swords were crafted by artisans from the Flame Anvil Guild, though a few were complete weapons dropped by monsters.

‘There are so many different swords…’

The Clear Sky Sword I currently used was definitely a good weapon, but it was starting to fall behind my needs. I planned to demote it to a secondary blade and choose a new main weapon, so I examined each sword carefully.

At that moment—

“Hm? This one is Ancient grade, not Unique?”

I noticed an Ancient-grade sword displayed among them and asked. The employee kindly explained.

“Ah, that’s the Black and White Spiral Sword. Its performance is among the highest in the Ancient grade, but the usage restrictions are so strict that we value it similarly to a top-tier Unique.”

‘Usage restrictions?’

I picked up the beautiful blade whose black and white lights spiraled perfectly around the sword body in perfect harmony and examined its options.

‘Jackpot…!’

The moment I held the weapon, my eyes widened in shock.

The employee’s warning about the strict requirements had been accurate. It wasn’t strength and stamina or strength and agility that needed to match—it was strength and intelligence.

Frankly, even most swordsmen rarely raised their secondary stats like stamina or agility as high as their main strength stat. Yet this weapon required investing in intelligence—the one stat swordsmen never needed—until it matched strength? And solely to use this single item?

It was practically impossible. No wonder it had become unwanted dead stock.

But for me?

Thanks to the Chaos Power passive, my strength, stamina, agility, and intelligence were all equal.

I could meet the ridiculous restriction without any trouble.

More importantly…

‘Strength +4 and Intelligence +4 is basically the same as Chaos Power +8 for me.’

When I confirmed the effect actually applied that way, I couldn’t hide my astonishment. With just those two options, this weapon was practically Legend-grade for me.

On top of that, it had the slashing power befitting an Ancient weapon, dual attack attributes, on-hit proc skills, and even automatic durability recovery.

‘Equipment made from mithril and dark mithril usually has high repair costs despite great options, making them hard to use freely. But with automatic recovery, I don’t have to worry about repair fees at all.’

For me, this wasn’t dead stock. It was the best sword imaginable, one that even Legend-grade weapons couldn’t surpass.

“I’ll take this one.”

“Um… are you sure you don’t want to reconsider? This weapon is difficult to use in actual combat. It’s more of a display piece…”

“No. This is the one I want.”

“Once you decide, there are no refunds. You understand, yes?”

“Yes!”

I answered with absolute confidence, worried the employee might change her mind.

And so, I traded away a pair of useless boots and became the owner of the Black and White Spiral Sword—a blade that, for Ahn Humin alone, rivaled Legend-grade equipment.