Chapter 85
Chapter 85
Mad Black Mage's Tower Strategy
Chapter 85
"Fresh, freshly harvested ten-thousand-year herb from the tower for just 100,000 won!"
"Concentration enhancement, blood circulation! A universal elixir that does everything except what it can't! Buy three bottles and get one more!"
"Moonstone brought at dawn! If you don't buy it now, its effects will diminish!"
A gigantic warehouse-style store several times the size of a soccer field.
In addition to the flow of crowds forming a sea of people, ears were becoming numb from the shouts of merchants trying to draw attention somehow.
This place was Arcadia, the wholesale market exclusively for climbers.
It was a collection of shops selling various by-products, processed goods, and souvenirs obtained from The Tower.
Though called a wholesale market exclusively for climbers, it had recently been opened to the general public as well, so now it was bustling chaotically with tourists, retailers, and merchants touting for customers.
Se-yeon looked around with sparkling eyes.
For a girl whose entire world had been the orphanage and inside The Tower, this place was truly another world.
Se-yeon was curiously looking around at people and shops for a while.
Se-yeon, who had been looking around in all directions for a while, looked at the herbs sprawled on the ground and asked.
"Won't the effects diminish if you leave these outside?"
"That's right."
Seo-jin nodded.
As Se-yeon said, most specialty products that came out of The Tower lost their mana over time.
Mana also followed the law of moving from places with high energy to places with low energy.
It was a similar principle to ice taken from a freezer melting when left at room temperature.
Of course, there were countermeasures for this, so Arcadia invested enormous Magic Stones to maintain the mana density of the entire store making it slightly higher than outside.
While it couldn't completely prevent mana loss, it could maintain it relatively longer than just leaving it alone.
Se-yeon nodded as if she understood Seo-jin's explanation.
"Magic Stones must have a different structure from other specialty products, right?"
"Right. Thanks to their stabilized structure, Magic Stones preserve their mana as long as they're not burned or broken."
This was why Magic Stones could be used as useful energy sources even outside The Tower.
Magic Stones that came out of The Tower were mainly used to power high-tech industries requiring high energy efficiency or Magitech products.
"But Seo-jin, whose gift are you buying?"
"There's someone I owe a slight debt to from before."
"Male? Female?"
"A woman. She's not a climber."
"Then why did we come here?"
"She's not completely unrelated to The Tower."
The person Seo-jin was referring to was Kim Min-young, the guide who had been with him during the tutorial test.
There was probably Nimrod's threat involved, but thanks to her keeping her mouth shut until now, he had been able to move without much difficulty.
Thanks to that, he easily evaded the Association's pursuit, and now had even reached the point of negotiating separately with the Association president.
It wasn't exactly repayment, but he planned to give her a simple gift.
While he was outside The Tower, he might as well look around the wholesale market.
'There are also things I need to look for separately.'
Seo-jin looked around and casually asked So-yul.
"What's the mana density like here?"
At Seo-jin's question, So-yul quietly closed her eyes and answered.
"It's similar to the tutorial floor. About 10 times that of the real-world atmosphere?"
"Then would it be possible to use magic here?"
Theoretically, magic use was possible as long as there was mana in the surroundings.
But So-yul shook her head.
"No, I can't. And using magic here is illegal."
This wholesale market was a space where ordinary people also entered.
If a climber used mana or employed Magitech devices, they would be arrested immediately.
"Still, it would be good to practice in advance."
It would be better if such a situation didn't arise, but if The Tower collapsed in this life as well...
She would need to learn how to use magic without The Tower's protection, that is, without the system's corrections.
Moreover, practicing magic use without system corrections was greatly helpful for improving magical abilities.
What could be solved with a calculator was only basic problems.
To advance further, the ability to understand fundamental principles and respond by applying various methods was essential.
"I'll try my best."
So-yul, who seemed to be trying to use magic afterward, looked like a strained like a puppy holding in poop.
And after wandering around for a while with Se-yeon, who was still looking around with sparkling eyes.
"Hmm, not bad."
Seo-jin found something useful in the Magitech device corner where companies were gathered.
A mana density control mask developed by Hanseong.
It was an item mainly used in mana-related research facilities outside The Tower or at mana disaster sites.
It seemed like it would be helpful for Min-young, who went in and out of The Tower several times a day.
Long-term exposure to mana density changes wasn't good for the body.
The main unit was expensive, but since only the filter needed to be replaced, the burden would be light.
So-yul also looked around the store and purchased a device she liked.
"Ah, I should give this to my sister."
What So-yul chose was a sleep mask with a steam function, a Magitech device that used Magic Stones instead of electricity and water.
Ordinary people wouldn't dare use expensive Magic Stones as consumables, but it wouldn't be a problem for Han Seo-hee.
"Please come again!"
Seo-jin and So-yul came out with the clerk's farewell.
But Se-yeon was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did she go?"
"......"
After looking around briefly to find Se-yeon, they soon found Se-yeon standing in front of the food corner.
It was a common snack bar selling Tteokbokki, fried food, Sundae, and such.
The difference from ordinary snack bars was that it used crops grown in The Tower.
'Could it be that she's never eaten this before?'
If so, it would be good to try it once.
Seo-jin had also been craving snack food. There were soup restaurants in The Tower but no snack bars.
So-yul brought Se-yeon to sit down and ordered as if familiar.
"Boss! Spicy level 4 Tteokbokki, assorted fried food, and Sundae please! Add cheese! And two large Cool-pis!"
***
Se-yeon, who was eating the spicy Tteokbokki smoothly as if it was nothing even though it was her first time.
With her cheeks puffed out, she looked like a squirrel with its mouth full of food.
"UHOOOK."
On the other hand, So-yul writhed in pain all over her body and gulped down Cool-pis every time she ate a piece of Tteokbokki.
For someone who had boldly ordered spicy level 4, she was incredibly weak, but perhaps due to addiction, she didn't stop her hands even while trembling in pain.
Seo-jin ate a few pieces of Tteokbokki and then turned his hand to the Sundae. He didn't have the confidence to eat more.
'A person can't be fine after eating something like this.'
Even if he was okay now, he would definitely suffer going in and out of the bathroom later.
After a simple meal.
Seo-jin parted ways with the two who said they would shop among themselves and headed to an antique shop.
Just because they were antiques from The Tower didn't mean he could have high expectations.
If items made it out to markets outside The Tower, most of them were either impractical or had weak effects.
If the items traded inside The Tower were like prescription medicines from hospitals, the ones sold here were at best health functional food level.
So he shouldn't expect any great magical effects.
The fact that it was opened to ordinary people meant that the handled items were that safe.
So if there was a high quality item he could obtain from this market here.
'It would be information.'
This antique shop was where information that no one could recognize the true value of and couldn't find its proper owner gathered.
JJALLANG-.
"Welcome."
When he opened the door, along with the sound of wind chimes, faint dust smell and old paper smell stung his nose.
Then a middle-aged man who had been dozing greeted Seo-jin.
Seo-jin looked over the dusty interior of the shop and recalled memories from before his regression.
***
'Hyung-nim, I found the whereabouts of the map.'
'What map?'
'A treasure map, what else. It's someone from the Red Dragon Gate, and he got it from an antique shop in Korea?'
Nam-gung Cheon took out his terminal and showed a photo of the treasure map taken from a distance.
'S-grade artifact. It's called Jangbo Map with the location of Mysterious Spirit Turtle Shell (Hyeonryeong Guigap) marked on it?'
'Then that map?'
'Why go through the trouble ourselves? When that guy finds the treasure, we'll just rob him of it.'
'......'
At that time, he didn't pay any more attention to the movements of the map and Mysterious Spirit Turtle Shell.
To manifest the effects of Mysterious Spirit Turtle Shell, internal energy in the lower Dantian was essential, so Seo-jin, being a black mage, thought it was something he would never use in his lifetime.
Moreover, not only the person who went to find the treasure, but also the whereabouts of the map became unclear.
Seo-jin remembered that incident and the rough shape of the map in the photo.
Seo-jin racked his memory and asked the shop owner if there was anything similar.
"I'm looking for something. A scroll decorated with black silk. The rod part has a black turtle carved on it."
"Turtle... ah, you mean that thing?"
The shop owner approached the bookshelf and rummaged around, then dusted off a scroll covered in white dust and handed it to Seo-jin.
A scroll wrapped in black silk.
The rod part had a black turtle carved on it.
It was exactly the item Seo-jin had been looking for.
The shop owner handed over the scroll and added.
"This may look like this, but it's an item discovered in the upper floors of The Tower. It's an item containing mysteries that don't exist in this world, so I should receive at least three, no, four sheets."
The shop owner requested about 40 million won.
Seo-jin unrolled the scroll and ran his finger over its interior while looking at it.
While it didn't contain any particular mana, it was structured so that a hidden map would be revealed when a specific mana pattern was injected.
'It's definitely genuine.'
Seo-jin said to the shop owner.
"It seems too expensive. It looks luxurious and nice, but I don't feel any mana. Does it have any value other than as decoration?"
The shop owner glared at Seo-jin for a moment and clicked his tongue.
"......A climber. Tsk. Just give me one sheet."
It seemed he had been thinking of ripping off what he thought was an ordinary customer without discerning eyes, but it was impossible with Seo-jin.
Moreover, the price the shop owner quoted was for when this map was just a simple decoration.
S-grade protective artifacts were precious items worth at least several billion.
To obtain a map that opened quests related to it for 10 million won. It was profit close to getting it for free.
"Good."
***
That night.
"HUUU."
Han Seo-hee stood alone in her dark office with only moonlight streaming in, looking out the window.
A brief moment of leisure before leaving work after handling business all night.
The Seoul night scenery she always saw seemed somehow unfamiliar today.
The appearance of a sleepless city built with the achievements of civilization under the bright moon.
The appearance of Arcadia, the massive warehouse-style wholesale market, also came into view.
Were So-yul and that person having fun?
Han Seo-hee, who thought of the two people for a moment, took out the medicinal cigarette Seo-jin had left behind.
Since cigarettes seemed less harmful to the body than harsh substances, Han Seo-hee put the cigarette in her mouth.
She was somewhat sentimentally moved and awkwardly lit it and took a puff, but...
"KEHEK! KEK!"
Since it was her first time with cigarettes, there was an immediate reaction.
It didn't have a disgusting smell, but when the smoke entered her lungs, a natural rejection reaction occurred.
However, after several coughs, she calmed her breathing and took a deep breath.
"HAA-."
She felt as if a refreshing sensation spread from her lungs throughout her entire body.
It wasn't just a feeling - there was definitely a sensation as if her body had become lighter.
Han Seo-hee inhaled smoke once more and placed her hand on her chest to feel her heart beating.
THUMP- THUMP-.
The twisted blood vessels due to Mana Fighting Technique. She had suffered quite a bit from the resulting arrhythmia and seizure effects.
'It was real......'
The medicinal cigarette he had given her definitely had effects.
Of course, it wasn't that she hadn't believed in its efficacy.
It was a gift from the rumored rising star, and her younger sister had testified to its effects.
But actually experiencing it was a different feeling.
"......"
This medicinal cigarette didn't just mean therapeutic effects.
It was a kind of hope that her damaged body could someday be healed, and minimum proof of trust with the rising star.
If the Association had continued to pursue the rising star at the organizational level, she wouldn't have received such a gift.
Han Seo-hee savored the peace that had come after a long time and held her breath until just before the filter burned.
A subtle fragrance spreading through the office.
It was like the scent of burning herbs or the fragrance that came when brewing herbal medicine.
Han Seo-hee rubbed out the cigarette with only the filter remaining in the ashtray and smiled slightly.
'I think I'll become a regular user.'