Cannot Be Bought With Money

Seoul after the rain was muggy. Siu pulled the hood of his baggy gray hoodie low over his face as he inhaled the damp air. He had no other choice after that S-rank cat burglar, Hong Yeonhwa, stole his only dress shirt last night.

His destination was smack in the middle of Gangnam—but tucked into an alley crevice invisible to ordinary eyes. Basement level one of a rundown brick building. No sign, just a faint mana lantern flickering away. It was the forbidden bookstore known only to those in the know: Owl Bookstore.

Creak—

The rusty hinges groaned as he pushed open the door, greeting him with the scent of aged paper, ink, and acrid magical dust.

"Welcome… though it's a bit early for that, young man."

In the corner of the counter, a grumpy old man with reading glasses grumbled over his newspaper. It was the owner, Park Old Man.

"I need to find something urgently."

Siu headed familiarly to the depths of the shelves. The [Ancient Magic Studies] corner, thick with a layer of dust. His fingers trailed over the spines: basics, applications, practical… and finally, in the far corner, a thick volume bound in black leather caught his eye.

Found it.

Siu's eyes sparkled. If he could just get the 'mana reflux control formula' in this book, he could dramatically improve the durability of the film that burned up while analyzing Hong Yeonhwa's flames yesterday.

"Bingo."

Siu smiled and reached for the book.

But then.

Thud.

0.1 seconds before his hand touched it.

"Hold it!"

"…Huh?"

Siu looked up. Beyond the bookshelf stood a beauty with a cold expression. Dressed sharply in a designer suit, long pink hair cascading down. 'S-rank supporter hunter Shin Seoyun?'

She was the heiress of Haesung Group, Korea's No. 2 conglomerate, and an S-rank supporter: Shin Seoyun. Behind her, four suited bodyguards stood like a screen, instantly filling the narrow bookstore aisle.

"Put that down. I reserved it first."

The sudden command carried the arrogance of someone who'd never been refused in her life.

But Siu didn't let go of the book.

"Sorry, but I picked it up first. And besides, this isn't supporter-related material for someone like you."

Siu eyed her with a look that said, Do you really need this?

"Ha."

A scoff escaped Seoyun's lips. How dare an F-rank nobody lecture an S-rank hunter—the heir to Haesung Group? With a glance, her bulky bodyguards closed in intimidatingly.

"Kid, let go while we're being nice."

"Do you even know who our lady is?"

The air grew tense, murderous. Any normal person would have trembled and fled.

But Siu just adjusted his glasses, visually estimating the guards' muscle mass. 'High density. Zero chance in a physical fight. But… narrow aisle means they can only come one at a time.'

As Siu stood firm, Seoyun irritably pulled out her wallet.

"Poor student, huh? Don't let pride get in the way."

She withdrew a thick stack of 50,000-won bills.

"Ten times the book's price. That's a few months' living expenses. Take it and scram."

"…"

"Not enough? Want more?"

The attitude that money solved everything. Siu just smirked coldly.

"I don't need money."

"What?"

"My research is urgent right now. You can't buy time with money."

Seoyun's eyebrow twitched.

That was when it happened.

"You punks!! What the hell are you doing in my store!!"

With a booming shout, Park Old Man charged from the counter. He swung his broom to chase off the hulking guards and planted himself between Siu and Seoyun.

"Think this is a marketplace?! Haggling over sacred knowledge?!"

"Old man, how much? Name your price…"

"Shut it! If money fixed it, I'd have sold it ages ago!"

Park Old Man snatched the book from their hands and smacked the cover.

"Look closely! See why it's been gathering dust in the corner unsold!"

Siu and Seoyun's gazes fell on the leather cover, dust shaken off to reveal interlocking geometric red magic circles.

"This is a [self-aware grimoire]. It swore to burn rather than fall to a foolish master. Over the last ten years, S-rank mages tried forcing it open and nearly got torched!"

Park Old Man growled.

"One chance only. Whoever unravels the seal in the next ten minutes gets it. Fail, and it'll try to burn itself—so get lost!"

"Ten minutes…"

Seoyun's eyes wavered. Truth be told, she was desperate. She'd gotten intel that this book held a clue to curing her family's hereditary 'mana reflux syndrome.' She had to crack a seal that even top mages couldn't.

"Fine. Let's do it."

Seoyun pulled a fist-sized blue gem from her pocket: [Sage's Stone (Replica)], an S-rank decryption artifact worth tens of billions.

"System, initiate forced decryption!"

Whumm—!

Blue light poured from the gem, enveloping the book. But it didn't budge. Instead, it spat red light, repelling her mana.

"Kuh…!"

Cold sweat beaded on Seoyun's forehead. As expected, no dice. Not even a billion-won artifact could open it. The seal was a 'variable cipher' that shifted structure constantly.

Time ticked away, smoke starting to rise from the cover.

"Damn…!"

Then, rustling from the side. Seoyun glanced over—Siu was rummaging in his pocket. 'What can that beggar even do? Giving up?'

Instead of leaving, Siu went to the stationery corner by the counter.

"Excuse me, boss. Mind if I use one sheet of oil paper?"

"…What? 500 won."

Siu paid with coins from his pocket, grabbed a translucent sheet, and pulled a [Artificial Tears ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠(Disposable Eye Drops)] from his bag—the kind he used for dry eyes.

"What are you doing?"

Seoyun asked incredulously. Oil paper and eye drops? When an S-rank artifact failed? Was he joking?

"Be quiet. You're breaking my focus."

Ignoring her, Siu squatted on the floor and opened his notebook. His eyes weren't on the 'lock'—but the faint mana [patterns] leaking beyond it.

'This isn't a lock. It's a distorted mirror. Force it, and it shatters. So… don't pierce it. Refract through.'

Siu laid the oil paper over his notebook. Then dripped three drops of eye drops at precise intervals.

Plip. Plip. Plip.

The clear liquid soaked in, spreading. He gripped a ballpoint pen and drew lines like doodling.

Combining the liquid's refractive index and paper's translucency—an engineering design for a magical 'filter.'

Scratch, scratch, scratch.

Swift, precise strokes. As complex equations filled the paper, it began ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to glow faintly blue.

"Done."

Siu stood with his completed [D-rank See-Through Overlay Scroll]. The book was overheating, on the verge of igniting. Seoyun had stepped back in despair.

"Move. It's gonna blow."

Siu shoved Seoyun aside and approached the book. He slapped the finished oil paper scroll on the cover like a sticker.

"Synchronize."

Whumm—!

A miracle occurred. The book, which rebelled against force, went docile the moment the scroll touched it. Like an X-ray, text from inside 'floated up' onto the oil paper.

"Wh-what is this…?"

Seoyun's eyes went wide. He hadn't opened the book. He'd optically extracted and projected only its 'information' into the air.

Thousands of characters and magic circles unfolded like a hologram.

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

Siu adjusted his glasses. His pupils moved mechanically fast, scraping the floating info into his brain.

In just 10 seconds, Siu had backed up the entire book in his head.

He peeled off the scroll without regret.

Pop.

The floating text vanished, the book slamming shut again. The red-hot heat cooled as if by magic.

"Here."

Siu tossed the book to Seoyun. She caught it reflexively.

"You… read it all? You broke the seal?"

"No. It's locked again."

Siu packed his notebook and pen, saying indifferently, "I don't need the shell. Got what I needed in my head. Keep the book—use it as a decoration or pillow."

"Wha…?"

Seoyun stared blankly at him. This man had just discarded a book worth tens of billions because he'd 'skimmed the contents.' As if what he wanted was knowledge, not a lump of paper.

"Wait! Stop right there!"

Seoyun shouted desperately. Siu was already heading for the door.

"How do I open it?! If you saw the contents, you know how! I'll pay anything…!"

Siu paused and turned. He pulled the now-empty [Artificial Tears vial] from his pocket and tossed it to one of her bodyguards.

"Oh, careful—forcing it open will make it explode."

Seoyun snatched the plastic vial from the guard. The label was crammed with tiny, intricate equations in Siu's handwriting.

"That's the cipher decryption code I just cracked. Plug it in, and it'll open. This one's on the house."

Tinkle—

Siu exited coolly. Seoyun was left alone in the middle of the bookstore, clutching the sealed grimoire and a grubby empty vial.

"…"

Korea's top conglomerate heiress, holding a used plastic bottle like treasure.

But she knew. The equations on this 'trash' were the answer her family's mages hadn't solved in ten years.

"…That lunatic."

Seoyun's hands trembled. Not anger. It was the thrill of witnessing overwhelming talent—and a fierce desire to claim that man, lest she regret it forever.

"Manager Kim."

"Yes, miss."

"Background check on that guy. Now."

Seoyun gripped the vial tightly.

"Cost doesn't matter. I need to make him mine."

If money couldn't buy him, she'd buy the whole environment he lived in and lock him down.

Following Baek Seol and Hong Yeonhwa, now vast [capital] itself began chasing Siu.