Vengeful Ghost (3)
Chapter 140: Wraith (3)
Around the time explorers were dying in the Wolyeong Village, at the opposite end of the spectrum, peace reigned at the Astroal Merchandise headquarters.
"...You're selling random boxes?"
[Yes, that is correct.]
The group of explorers, who had been invited and rescued after being chased by monsters, received a special product offer from Astroal just before leaving.
[A special product for our valued customers—a random box.]
Astroal brought out twenty boxes.
Clatter, clatter. They were small package boxes with lids that quivered like boiling kettles.
"What is this?"
Two men and one woman were skeptical, but—
"What's inside?"
The female warrior showed interest.
[Yes. This is a random box from which you can acquire very rare items...]
Beep. Astroal's eyes recalled the past.
"...So it's been reproduced."
[Beep.]
Seol Ha-un placed the random box on the table.
[Master. What is the manufacturing process of this box?]
"Intuition."
[Intuition. Edible intuition.]
"No. Intuition. Gut feeling."
When you open a random box, the item pops out with special effects. Like in a game.
In reality, the motif was indeed that random box from 「MoMo」.
At first, he had thought of random boxes as mere game items, but thanks to Astroal, he broke that framework, and through effort, he managed to 'ritualize' it.
"Amazing, right?"
The so-called Seol Ha-un special random box.
[Indeed. Furthermore, mystery multiplies the price.]
"That's exactly it. Doesn't it look like there's a rare item inside to anyone who sees it?"
[Should we put the random items inside the box?]
"No. Items will go into this box."
Seol Ha-un placed a much larger, rectangular box on the counter.
"I tried to guess the principle of the random box. And this is the conclusion."
Within a massive system called the cloud, countless items are stored, and the moment you open a random box, one of them comes out.
"For us, this is the cloud. This box and the random box are linked."
He tapped the box with his staff.
"Once items are placed in the box, the moment a random box is opened, an item is randomly transmitted. That's why you can never know what's inside unless you open the random box..."
[Beep. Would you like to make a purchase?]
"Yerin. Arthur. You're going to get scammed."
A man interrupts the business. A stupid-looking human. He actually seems to have very low intelligence. His face says so.
"Don't buy it. Come on."
"Hmm..."
Aro quickly added.
[Special discount offer: First product, C- grade loot.]
"Huh? Ah, C- grade is..."
The warrior Yerin nodded. It was worth it—like buying one slightly expensive lottery ticket.
"Then I'll buy one."
[Transaction complete.]
Aro exchanged the C- loot for a random box.
"Should I just open it?"
[Yes. Just infuse it with magic power.]
She seeped magic power into the random box.
Drum drum drum... Whee!
mark
With a splendid effect, the box opened, and an object flew up into the air.
"Amazing..."
Amazing.
Her lips, about to speak, froze. Her eyes and nose swelled like balloons.
[Congratulations.]
Aro's panel beeped and sparkled.
[Rare item: 'Dreaming of Astroal Snow Globe'.]
"......"
"......"
"......"
All the explorers were speechless.
Aro explained the item.
[Inside a round glass globe lies an astonishingly intricate miniature world. In the center stands a crystal-like Penguin Tower, and around it unfolds a small village. A faint blue light emanates from the tower, softly illuminating the interior.]
The warrior Yerin picked up the snow globe with entranced eyes.
[When the globe is shaken, sparkling silver and blue snowflakes slowly fall, creating a magical vortex of light. Sometimes, the snowflakes gather like constellations, forming mysterious patterns.]
"...Wow."
[The base of the globe is made of antique precious metal, intricately engraved with ancient letters and zodiac symbols. On the edge of the base, the abbreviation 'SSR─Super Super Rare' is engraved in elegant handwriting.]
"Super Super Rare..."
She muttered blankly. Even the explorers who had warned against being scammed had gathered around.
"What... is this?"
[Beep.]
Aro rewound time again...
"...Broadly speaking, this is Seol Ha-un merchandise. I'm pulling out my 'essence' and putting it in."
At Seol Ha-un's words, Aro stirred the [Witch's Cauldron] and asked back.
[Putting the essence in.]
"Yes. I'm going to put my 'dream bubble' into this snow globe. Is the cauldron ready?"
[Yes. The solution has been synthesized.]
The C-grade loot melted into liquid. The solution, infused with the magic power of the talented ritualist, was dazzlingly blue.
"Good."
Seol Ha-un closed his eyes.
He vividly remembers the 'skills' he has personally used and that have seeped into his body. Every time he repeats them, he naturally learns and reproduces them.
This is the power of a very important tech tree he had learned as a ritualist—[Intermediate Mana Memory].
Thus, he ritualizes the dream bubbles remembered by Seol Ha-un's mana and infuses them into this solution...
Sizzle!
Geometric patterns were engraved into the solution, and it rapidly shrank. It had been as large as a basket but concentrated down to just one cup.
"Now, if we put this into the pre-made snow globe."
He poured the solution into the empty glass globe. The miniature interior was crafted by Seol Ha-un himself using a C+ grade carving knife.
"Once we engrave SSR... it's complete."
He confirmed the item information with his eyes.
[Dreaming of Snow Globe]
■ Grade: Rare
■ Overview: A beautiful snow globe. Worthy of being called a luxury item.
■ Tiny Dream Bubble: Emits a soft, gentle light and waves. This energy stabilizes the mind and body of living beings within a 3.3m³ radius and aids in sound sleep.
■ Astroal Series SSR
"It's rare."
In terms of MoMo, a character has just crafted a rare item. It's astonishing and celebratory, but the much more valuable part is '■ Astroal Series SSR.'
This is called a 'Named Series.' As the name Astroal becomes more famous, the effects of early works also multiply exponentially. It's almost the same principle as the trading cards explained earlier.
"The effect itself is probably about one-tenth of a real dream bubble. How many loot pieces did we melt?"
[We melted 5 C-grade pieces.]
"...Crazy. So this is worth almost 100 million? Including the cauldron, that's nearly 200 million?"
[Witch's Cauldron]
■ Grade: Rare
■ Overview: A cauldron that melts everything. It decomposes matter while perfectly preserving even magic power that cannot be extracted with ordinary containers.
■ Witch's Intuition: Extraction efficiency increases, and when the material melts to its optimal state, the cauldron's surface glows a faint green.
This witch's cauldron, purchased through the 「MoMo」 network, was also quite expensive, so he had to make it worthwhile.
"Aro. Right now, this snow globe is the rarest item, isn't it?"
[Yes. That is correct.]
Wouldn't it sell for more if they just put it up for auction?
Not at all.
First, the rarity of being only available at 'Astroal Merchandise' would disappear, and it took exactly three days to make just one item. He couldn't just sell one and twiddle his thumbs. He wasn't an alchemist by profession.
This is a commercial strategy for more perfect premiumization.
"We're going to give this as a select to our customers."
[Select?]
"Yeah. We put it in. Not random..."
[This is an item with a 3% drop rate. However, certain items may be acquired regardless of probability according to the terms—this is called a select.]
Aro whispered the terms very quietly. The explorers weren't interested in Aro's words.
"Wow... this is an objet d'art type, holy shit. A robot. Is this for real?"
[I never lie.]
"...Uh, how much for a box?"
One of the white warriors rushed over.
[C-grade loot. 19 boxes currently remain.]
"What? Yerin got a C-."
[That was limited to the first product.]
"Then one... no, five, no six!"
"Hey. Dude. Are you crazy? Just buy three!"
"You buy three..."
While the explorers were bickering, Yerin, who had already drawn an SSR, also raised her hand.
"I, I want three more too."
"What? Yerin, you already drew one."
"...I can still buy more."
"Ah, you're so greedy. Just step aside."
After fighting for a while, the remaining 19 random boxes were sold out.
Of course, most of the 19 were duds, but...
'But this is important. Even if all the random boxes are duds, when you pull about 5-6, at least one should be worth the value. Even if they got burned, the buyers' feelings matter. If they get completely ripped off and kicked out without any consolation, only bad rumors will spread. We need word of mouth, right? Only when word spreads will the item's performance improve as well.'
"...Still, I got one fountain pen. Look. It writes well."
Swoosh. The white warrior twirled the fountain pen and raised an eyebrow. It was a pretty good loot, about a third prize.
The effect was improved writing ability.
"I got dog fur, but two C- grades came out."
The black marksman scratched his head and clicked his tongue. The white man glanced at Yerin.
"Yerin. What are you going to do with that?"
"I'll use it for a bit, then get it appraised and put it up for auction. Don't touch it."
She slapped away a hand that tried to touch the snow globe.
"Touching it won't wear it down... ah shit, I'm jealous. Are you Seo Ji-woo or something..."
Seo Ji-woo had somehow become a byword for lucky people.
"...Robot. You only sell 20 a day, right?"
Yerin asked.
[For now, yes. You now have 3 minutes left of your stay.]
"Okay. If I have a reason to come later, I'll definitely buy more. Should I make more boxes?"
[Yes.]
Wheeing. The four people, their stay time up, vanished abruptly.
Aro beeped and calculated on her panel.
Income: 19 C-grade loot. 1 C- grade loot.
Initial investment: 5 C-grade loot, 3 C- grade loot, 3 D-grade loot.
Equipment cost: Witch's Cauldron.
Special notes: Not yet a massive profit, but very good results for a first step.
[Beep.]
Aro's eyes drew a sparkling arc.
* * *
At the threshold of Wolyeong Bridge.
Still, in the darkness where eerie energy rippled and spirits clung thickly.
──Thud! Thud!
Seol Ha-un struck his staff a couple more times.
But the being on the bridge, as if refusing to give up, rose with crackling joints.
The vengeful spirit was resurrected.
A massive shadow flickered right before his eyes.
"──Go back. This is not your place."
A resonant voice imbued with magic power tore through the air.
Seol Ha-un's long hair blazed like a blue bonfire. Stakes of ritual spells materialized behind him.
"Go back."
A threat that if it didn't retreat, he would fire.
A human's warning to a ghost.
Crackle, crackle.
Was it the sound of grinding teeth? Or joints twisting and breaking?
Either way, the shadow slowly, slowly stepped back.
Psssssss...
Then, with a sound like grass brushing, it vanished completely.
"......"
"......"
"......"
The three people looked at Seol Ha-un.
A remarkably trustworthy human today.
To Lee Jun-ho, he seemed like a guardian deity—one that particularly resembled a lighthouse or a Jangseung.
"...Follow me."
Seol Ha-un said, gathering his magic power.
His expression wasn't good. It was his knee. He limped while smoking.
Awooooo──
An unknown beast—whether wolf or owl—howled.
The group followed Seol Ha-un with uneasy steps.
"...I hate to say this, but is Ha-un hyung really the real deal right now? They say the best thing to chase away ghosts is a ghost."
Suddenly, Kang Hyun brought it up. Very quietly. He thought he was whispering.
"I have my doubts too."
Kate also agreed as if waiting for it.
"I think he's real."
Lee Jun-ho disagreed.
"He's not the type to follow what others say easily. You just saw it."
"...Then, wait a moment."
Ahem, ahem. After clearing his throat, Kang Hyun asked, testing the waters.
"Hyung. Did you see the ghost on the bridge?"
"Yeah. I saw it."
Seol Ha-un answered as he walked.
At that moment, a strange feeling stirred inside Kate.
"...How did you endure it? It was such a powerful illusion."
"I was outside the bridge. I just endured it."
The Wolyeong Bridge reflects the precious person in your heart.
So you had a precious person too. And that person killed Percival...
Kate's reason was still sending signals that 'it's too soon to be sure,' but her emotions were much more persuasive.
Much more so.
Thud.
Seol Ha-un stopped. The group also stood. There was a sign in front of some building.
[Explorer Base Camp]
Accommodation: 1 coin
One meal: 1 coin
"Do you guys have coins?"
Kang Hyun shook his head and glanced at Lee Jun-ho. Lee Jun-ho passed it on to Kate.
"Coins... I have a little."
"Where did you get them?"
"I picked some up by chance, and there was a coin pouch among the items I bought."
Out of fear, she had bought everything she could grab.
"Let me see."
Kate took out the coin pouch from her backpack. There were exactly eight.
"Eight is exactly enough for four people's lodging and meals. Please hand them over."
"...What are you talking about."
Kate quickly put the coins back into her backpack. She didn't even know what coins were, but instinctively recognized their value.
"Then are we going to sleep outside?"
"...An opportunity to test your morals."
"What are you saying... Yes. I'll tell you. Those coins are indeed quite important currency. The residents you shouldn't make eye contact with sell precious items. The only currency you can buy them with is coins. They're loot we can take from this labyrinth."
Then she definitely shouldn't give them away.
Just as Kate was tucking the coins deep into her backpack, Seol Ha-un opened the door of the used bookstore.
A delicious smell pierced the tip of her nose.
"Ah."
Lee Jun-ho's eyes glazed over. He spoke with a half-crazed face.
"Kate. You sleep outside. Instead, I, I'll borrow two from you. I'll definitely pay you back."
"Me too."
Lee Jun-ho and Kang Hyun were already entranced. Seol Ha-un fanned the bookstore door. Whoosh, whoosh. The smell grew stronger.
Kate also swallowed her saliva.
"...Fine. You have to pay me back. Contracts are important."
"Obviously."
"Should we pinky swear?"
Just as the three people's lips were moistening with saliva, Seol Ha-un said.
"Instead. I'll waive the meal fee for one person who works with me."
Flash. All three raised their hands.
"You have to do it outside. You might encounter ghosts."
Kate and Lee Jun-ho lowered their hands, and Kang Hyun raised his even higher.
"Okay. Now, that's six coins."
Seol Ha-un held out his hand to Kate. Kate handed over only five coins.
"What about the sixth?"
"The guy I'm carrying. He can't eat."
She gestured with her eyes toward the unconscious Im Hae-joon on Kang Hyun's back.
"Calculations need to be precise."