Behemoth's Blood
"Now then—we just watched an item that stunned the whole room go under the hammer, didn't we? This next one is every bit as fine… no. It's rare!"
At the auctioneer's words, every player's gaze snapped to a single point.
"What is that?"
"Doesn't look like equipment."
"A potion?"
A dark crimson liquid filled a clear flask about halfway. It looked like a potion, and yet the light it threw was black. The auctioneer shared the item's information.
◈ Option: A flask containing the blood of Behemoth, a being of myth.
A Legendary-grade item. And yet the option alone told them nothing about what it was for.
"Behemoth's Blood? What's a Behemoth?"
"So we're just supposed to use the blood?"
"Legendary grade and that's supposed to be enough?"
"There are tons of items like that. Looks like it might be something, but nobody knows what it does…"
"Is it just for display? Bet some other freaks will snap that up."
"There are people who buy anything, so long as you call it rare…"
Most of the players were lukewarm. Legendary or not, an item with no known use was hard to get excited about. Someone, however, opened the bidding at once.
"Ten million points."
It was the woman who had bought Yujun's item only moments ago. Her eyes burned as they fixed on Behemoth's Blood.
"…That woman. She bought that thing and still has money left?"
"She's insane. Completely insane. There's a limit to throwing money around."
She was not the only one in the bidding.
"Twenty million."
Yujun had joined the fight. The woman who had purchased his item whipped her head around.
"Trying to check me?"
"No. I want that item too."
"Give it up."
"I intend to have it."
Yujun said it in the lowest voice he could manage. He knew exactly what Behemoth's Blood was for. Mix it with one particular material, and it became an item that permanently increased mana—and he already had that material.
I can't let this go. Even if it takes everything I have.
The woman bidding against him was thinking the same thing.
"Thirty million!"
"Forty million."
"Fifty million!"
"One hundred million."
Yujun spoke with an easy confidence, careful not to let his nerves show—as if money were the least of his concerns. In truth, if the bid climbed past the seven hundred ten million points he had just received, Behemoth's Blood would be beyond his reach. This was a battle of nerves. The woman opened her mouth.
"You're picking a fight, is that it? I'm trying to show you some respect."
"I have no wish to compete with anyone. I only need that item."
Do Jiyun, the woman known as the Fire Empress, bit down hard on her lip.
Does he even know what that is?
Behemoth's Blood. One of the very few items capable of permanently raising mana—and by a considerable amount. She had been a top-ranker back in War of the Gods, and because she knew that, she could not let the item go.
If I'd known it would come to this, I would have sold more of my items first.
She had bought a shield she liked, and her points had thinned considerably because of it.
That man must have taken in seven hundred million… If he doesn't fold, I'm finished.
She did not have that kind of money on hand.
"Two hundred seventy million."
The number jumped. Do Jiyun put up everything she had, hoping the Wandering Knight would take the hint and drop out. Behemoth's Blood was worth staking one's entire fortune on. Across from her, the Wandering Knight smiled. Her bluff had not landed.
"So that's all you have."
"…"
"Two hundred eighty million points."
Do Jiyun clenched her teeth. He was unbearably smug.
"Do you even know how it's used?"
"Who can say."
"Is that a yes, or a no?"
"Should I tell you?"
"Now, now, let's not do this here… Is there anyone else who wants this peerless, extraordinary item?"
The man handling the sale of Behemoth's Blood said it with a beaming smile.
"Nobody, you idiot! What's peerless about it? Tell us what it does before you try to sell it!"
At the player's shout, the consignment seller shook his head.
"I don't know either. If I did, I would have explained it already."
"Then why are those two trying to pay that much for it?"
"Haha, indeed. Doesn't that simply mean the item is that hard to obtain?"
"Hah. This is maddening."
"How are ordinary people like us supposed to understand the rich? Collector's greed, nothing more."
In the end, the Wandering Knight took Behemoth's Blood for two hundred eighty million points. Do Jiyun, beaten in the bidding, twisted her face—though the mask kept anyone from seeing it. Truly, almost no one knew what Behemoth's Blood was used for. Only the users who had stayed until the servers finally shut down might have known. Lost in thought for a long while, Do Jiyun's expression hardened.
Someone who played War of the Gods. And for a long time.
The auction roared on around her while she sank into her own thoughts.
Not BestSwordOfJoseon. That one's way of speaking is strange from the first word.
Next was HongdaePartyJoSeop.
That clown? No. Absolutely not.
Do Jiyun already knew who HongdaePartyJoSeop was. She had even met him in person. So the Wandering Knight was not him.
And there was OnlyIDontHaveACat.
Could it be that user? She couldn't be sure. She simply didn't know much about them. The one who had been close to OnlyIDontHaveACat was No-Pay Casual Gamer. The two had always gone around together, raising their levels and hunting items.
No-Pay Casual Gamer… If I assume it's him, it actually makes sense.
If he had stayed hidden and built his strength, he would look exactly like that, wouldn't he? Do Jiyun let out a deep sigh.
Losing Behemoth's Blood is an enormous loss… And whoever sold it is a complete fool. If they knew what it did, they never would have brought it to the auction.
Nothing else of note came up after that, and the auction petered out. Do Jiyun looked around. The Wandering Knight was making to leave the hall. She rushed after him and caught his arm.
"What do you think you're doing?"
The Wandering Knight turned, his voice cold.
"I'm sorry for grabbing you. There's something I want to ask."
He stared at her and said nothing.
"You… are you No-Pay Casual Gamer?"
"What are you talking about. I'm the Wandering Knight. Not some meaningless name like that."
Do Jiyun narrowed her eyes. He had answered smoothly, but she had seen him flinch, just barely. That alone was not enough to be certain he was No-Pay Casual Gamer himself. Even so—
At the very least, he's someone who knows No-Pay Casual Gamer.
Having gained that much, Do Jiyun finally smiled, bright and easy.
"I'm sorry for losing my temper earlier."
"An apology?"
"Yes. I let the item blind me. I'll apologize for what happened."
"It's fine. I wasn't bothered to begin with."
"…"
At the Wandering Knight's chilly reply, Do Jiyun forced a smile.
"Would you be willing to exchange messenger contacts?"
"…Why would you suddenly want that?"
"Thanks to you I got a Legendary shield, and more than anything, I'd like to get to know you."
"This isn't an attempt to uncover who I am?"
"Then you'd be able to learn who I am as well."
"I'm not particularly curious."
With only that, the Wandering Knight left. Do Jiyun tried to follow, but he was already gone.
"…What? Not a Wandering Knight—a Ghost Knight?"
Had he used something like a teleport skill? She had lost him with her own eyes, so he had definitely used that kind of skill.
Ridiculously prickly, though.
She was guild master of Shinjeon Guild, one of the Four Great Guilds. She held information on just about every player of any fame. No one who might be the Wandering Knight was among them.
He's either No-Pay Casual Gamer, or someone connected to him. No question. I need to get back and look into it.
Do Jiyun hurried out of the Black Market and headed for the residential district, where the guild headquarters stood.
Yujun couldn't keep the smile off his face.
Luck like this actually exists?
Was it the Ring of Fortune? He had never imagined that on his very first day at the Black Market he would walk away with an item this precious. Behemoth's Blood. Once the auction ended, Yujun exchanged his wooden token for a gold one. In a single moment, he had become a VVIP of the Black Market.
Good thing I came.
He decided he would have to stop by often. The first visit had been more than satisfying. Leaving the Black Market, he returned to the residential district for the time being. He needed to use Behemoth's Blood somewhere as safe as he could make it.
That woman might come after me.
That woman was Pink Pinkku Rabbit. Yujun had realized the Rabbit Queen's identity earlier—more precisely, the moment she looked at him and asked if he was No-Pay Casual Gamer.
She even used Rabbit Queen as an alias, so… yeah. Pretty much certain.
Her voice, too, was exactly the same as when he had heard it online. And if she was Pink Pinkku Rabbit, she would have seized the information first and climbed to the top ranks. She would have received privileges from the operators, just as he had. In any case, she had chilled him to the bone.
Still, she didn't find me out.
She hadn't asked like someone certain of who he was. He had pitched his voice as low as it would go, and there was almost nothing left to suspect.
I don't know whether that woman becomes an enemy or not. Best if I keep the fact that I'm No-Pay Casual Gamer hidden as long as I can.
Back in the residential district in no time, Yujun dropped onto the bed and took out the flask of Behemoth's Blood. The blood was dark crimson and thick. From his inventory he drew a leather pouch, then undid the tightly bound wrapping. Inside, a mound of blue-tinged powder had piled up.
Grade: None
Option: Removes all poisons.
Behemoth's Blood carried a powerful poison. Drunk as it was, the toxin was strong enough to kill even a player on the spot. There was, however, an item that neutralized it—this very Laminet Pollen. The pollen did more than cancel poison. When it met Behemoth's Blood, it amplified the mana within the blood as well. In short, it was the perfect match.
First he took out another flask and poured half the Behemoth's Blood into it. What he had obtained was enough to make two mana-enhancement items. After that, there was no point in hesitating. Yujun measured out a portion of the pollen and added it to the bottle.
Glug. Blub.
The blood began to boil and bubble. Then its color started shifting toward blue, thinning until it looked nearly transparent.
"Done!"
Yujun immediately checked the information on the recolored Behemoth's Blood.