Hudson's Miracle
"Mr. Hudson! There's something you absolutely must see!"
"…I believe I told you to knock before entering."
The manager burst through the door into Hudson's chambers in a frantic rush. Hudson furrowed his brow and scolded the man.
"I—I'm sorry! But the Talisman you specifically instructed us to watch for—!"
"A Talisman?"
At that single word, Hudson's irritation vanished in an instant. His eyes lit with keen interest as he regarded the manager. For the man to barge in this flustered, it had to be an ultra-rare Talisman.
The Philosopher's Stone? Lu's Solar Jewel? Surely not the Breath of Cindra?
Any one of those three was a Talisman he would pay a fortune to acquire — and all of them were virtually impossible to obtain.
Then the manager produced the Talisman from a jewel case, and Hudson froze.
"This is…?"
"Aren't you pleased? It's the Fairy Queen's Tear!"
"…Who brought this?"
The Fairy Queen's Tear. Another of the Talismans he had ordered his people to secure on sight — and another that was nearly impossible to find. After all, the Fairy Queen's Tear was an item carried only by the vanishingly rare Fairy Queen's Knights.
Finding such a knight was hard enough. Killing one required at least three powerhouses who had reached Level 10. Warriors of that caliber? Even here in Arcana, you could count them on one hand. Level 10 earned you the title of Sacred Blood, a mark of honor that commanded respect wherever you went — a level Hudson himself still yearned for and had yet to reach.
"At first I thought some beggar had wandered in, but he put this Tear up as collateral."
"Then he must be in a VIP suite right now."
"Yes, sir."
Hudson settled back against his chair. When he touched the Fairy Queen's Tear the manager handed him—
Observer's Hand (Lv. 8) analyzes the item.
A parchment unfurled before his eyes.
(Raid) (Immortal)
A crystallization of the Fairy Queen's first tear.
Allows equipment to break past its stat limit restrictions.
Even if the unrestricted equipment is destroyed, the Tear remains intact. However, to use it again, the Tear's Revival quest must be completed.
"This is exactly what I've been looking for…"
He wanted it. He wanted it so badly it made him dizzy. But he couldn't simply seize collateral as his own. This casino operated under Hudson's name and was funded by his vast fortune, yet it remained under the heavy scrutiny of the City Council. No business in Arcana ran free of the Council's surveillance and oversight. If word got out that he'd embezzled or unlawfully seized property, they would come for him — detain him, or kill him.
And more than that—
Someone who can put up the Fairy Queen's Tear as collateral without a second thought.
To casually offer something of that value, the man had to be at least Level 10 — or a Transcendent. If he were a known Transcendent, the manager would have recognized him. Hudson had made sure every famous Transcendent's name was memorized.
So not a Transcendent, then? Level 10, or weaker, who happened to come by the Tear by chance? In that case, killing him and taking it was an option. Dispose of him quietly enough and the Council would never know.
But what if he was strong enough that a quiet kill was impossible? Or what if he was just one member of an alliance, a guild, a party?
Five stars did fall not long ago.
News that Wilhelm, a five-star Transcendent, had clashed with a Demon King and died had spread not just through Arcana but across the entire world. There were only thirty-two Goddess Stars capable of granting transcendence, and the Sacred Blood competed fiercely over them. Wilhelm had simply been a madman who held five of them.
Even that Wilhelm had died to a Demon King and lost every treasure he possessed. The stars had fallen across the continent, and with them, a number of Immortal-grade Talismans had been buried at random. The Fairy Queen's Tear was one of those Immortal Talismans. So yes — it was entirely possible someone had stumbled upon it by chance.
A Player? Or an unknown hermit NPC?
His mind raced. An unknown Player with no name or face was someone to be wary of. In Pangenia, revealing one's identity to another Player was taboo — death here carried over into reality. Hermit NPCs were equally dangerous. The Abyss of Pangenia was full of powerhouses no one could predict, and the Players who had died at their hands were beyond counting. Some of them even hunted Players professionally, calling them "sinners." That was why Players did everything they could to hide what they were.
"Did he seem strong?"
"…Hard to say. But he stayed composed even when the guards tried to remove him. No sign of fear when they pressured him, either."
Most of the guards were Level 6 — free knights Hudson had hired at great expense. Remaining unfazed under the pressure of so many of them meant the man was Level 8 at minimum.
Level 8 at the absolute lowest.
After a long stretch of deliberation, Hudson rose from his seat.
"We're going to the VIP suite. I need to meet him myself."
And so, here he was — face to face with the man who had turned the entire casino upside down.
Ha. Still no idea.
Even meeting him in person, Hudson still couldn't read him. A muscular man, and a sun-bronzed beauty of a woman beside him. Hudson's eyes flicked to the gold piled high on the roulette table. Before coming down, he'd been told the man had turned 250 gold into over a million in profit. That was impossible unless the god of gambling himself had descended.
Does he have something like the Golden Hand?
The Golden Hand — a talent every famous gambler possessed. But if the man had the Golden Hand, the dealer would have sorted him out already. The dealer was a Golden Hand holder himself.
Pure luck? Impossible.
He had walked in knowing this would happen. The phrase Grace of Gold flickered through Hudson's mind for a moment, but that made no sense either. Grace of Gold was a well-known Hidden Trait — but the talents required to awaken it were so numerous and so useless that nobody ever picked it.
Just what was this man?
"A pleasure to meet you. I'm Hudson, the owner of this casino. If it's not too much trouble, would you care to join me for a cup of tea?"
Hudson extended his hand.
"Sure."
The man clasped it without hesitation. This was Hudson's final gambit to read him — and Hudson let out a small breath of relief. He possessed the skill Observer's Hand, which analyzed everything he touched in exhaustive detail. No matter how high someone's magic resistance, he should at least be able to read their level…
…I feel nothing. I see nothing.
He couldn't read him at all. That meant either absurdly high magic resistance, or something that nullified the skill outright. Either way, this was not a man to take lightly. Hudson swallowed hard.
"Haha. Shall we head upstairs together?"
Hudson forced an awkward smile.
Observer's Hand has been nullified by Giant's Magic Resistance.
I allowed myself a small smile.
Definitely a Player.
Just as I thought. Hudson was a Player. Observer's Hand was one of the class-linked skills that appeared when a Great Merchant raised the lowest-tier observation skill all the way to Level 10. On top of that, you needed both the Sense and Meticulousness talents to unlock it — a skill no one but a gamer who'd actually played the game could possess.
He followed the talent tech tree from my guide exactly.
Of course I knew all this — because I'd built that tree myself. Before the homepage disappeared, I had posted countless tech trees on the strategy boards. Hudson was clearly a Player who had chosen Great Merchant from the start and raised it along that exact path.
And the fact that he'd bothered to use Observer's Hand meant—
He can't see my level. He can't read me at all.
That settled it. Even among Players, levels didn't float above people's heads the way they did for me. The reason I could see other people's levels had to be the effect of one of my unknown Hidden Traits — Great Sage, Glutton, or Heavenly Realm.
"I'll get straight to the point. Sell me the item you put up as collateral."
Hudson cut right to it.
"How much are you offering?"
"Two million gold. I believe that's more than generous."
Two million gold. He certainly had deep pockets. The Fairy Queen's Tear was Immortal-grade and reusable, but its only function was removing equipment's stat limit restrictions — which meant that outside a tiny handful of people who actually needed it, demand was low relative to its reputation.
So I cut right to it as well.
"Ten million gold."
Hudson's eyebrows shot up.
"…Ten million gold could buy you five mansions in Arcana's First District. Do you truly believe this collateral is worth that much?"
The annual revenue of a typical Great Merchant hovered around ten million gold. Magnates who actually held that much in liquid assets were few and far between. Naturally, it was a crushing sum even for Hudson. No matter how much money the casino brought in, not all of it was his. Lobbying the City Council alone ate more than half his net profit, and after taxes and various other deductions, what remained was pocket change.
"I may not have it — but you do, don't you?"
Still, he didn't claim he couldn't afford it. Of course he was desperate for it. He'd go into debt to buy it — or try to kill me for it.
"I merely intended to add it to my personal collection."
"Don't you need to hit Level 10 to join the City Council?"
"…!!!"
Hudson's eyes bulged. How did he know that?
Hudson had been stuck at Level 9 for over a year. Becoming a city councilor of Arcana required reaching Level 10. There was only one reason for the stagnation.
Because he can't hunt alone.
Hudson had grown through money — the classic "power-leveling" approach. He'd hired mercenaries, bought free knights, and farmed monsters in bulk to rocket up to Level 9. The problem came after that. To reach 10, he had to cross the threshold alone. But while his level was high, his stats were abysmal. Low stats meant he couldn't equip good gear no matter how fine it was. Quality equipment almost always carried minimum stat requirements — simply holding it didn't unlock its performance. Low stats, unusable gear, and worthless combat skills meant solo hunting was impossible.
That was why he needed a Talisman. Especially one like the Fairy Queen's Tear, which could lift even stat restrictions — it was desperately, desperately important to him.
But the shock passed quickly. Hudson forced himself to assess the situation with cold clarity.
"…Who sent you?"
I couldn't help but smirk at his reaction.
"I'm a Star Engraver. If someone sent me, it would be a star."
"Spare me the lies—"
"Would you believe me if I showed you a Star Guardian?"
I pulled a book from my coat. Hudson's eyes went wide again.
"A—a Teleport Book?"
"Even if your eyes are knotholes, you should be able to tell a Star Guardian when you see one. Here."
I hadn't come to meet Hudson unprepared. The Teleport Book. The reason I hadn't put this up as collateral was simple.
…In case I need to run.
A contingency for the worst-case scenario. If Isabella held out for thirty seconds, I could escape to the Sanctuary through this portal book. But things were going better than expected — I probably wouldn't need it for fleeing.
Whoooosh—!
The Teleport Book rose into the air and opened a portal for thirty seconds. A blue-light portal — and through it, the Sanctuary beyond.
And then—
"Hup! A Mythic Species…!"
Beyond the blue portal, the silhouette of a colossal serpent burned itself into Hudson's mind. Not an ordinary snake — an imugi on the cusp of becoming a dragon. A Mythic Species. One of the Star Guardians that existed solely to protect the stars!
It worked.
Of course, Dramut was bound to guard the star's resting place and couldn't leave the Sanctuary. But it was perfect for putting the fear of god into Hudson. A warning shot — a reminder not to get any clever ideas. It landed exactly as intended.
"…A S-Star Engraver… why me? I haven't even earned the qualification yet."
Star Engravers were beings sought out by those who had reached Level 10 and earned the right to find a star. They hid their identities, making them nearly impossible to find — and even if you found one, claiming a star was harder still.
"You've earned the qualification. I came looking for you."
Occasionally, though, a Star Engraver sought out a Sacred Blood first. Or a special event could bring them together even before Level 10. And no one in this world had dealt with more Star Engravers than I had. Most of them offered their target the one thing they needed most — then attached an extremely difficult condition.
Hudson swallowed hard, his eyes gleaming.
Luck that surpassed the Golden Hand. A state that even the Great Merchant's special skill, Observer's Hand, couldn't pierce. He knew exactly what Hudson needed most — and he'd even shown him a Star Guardian.
He was a Star Engraver. Without a doubt. One of the most enigmatic beings in this world. And even if he wasn't, he was a Transcendent at minimum — and Transcendents were monsters who forged paths where none existed.
Either way, this man would show him the surest road to Level 10. This was an opportunity. A once-in-a-lifetime chance!
"W-what do you need me to do? No — never mind. I'll do anything. Just give me the order!"
Evening. A restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere. Beneath the soft, dim lighting, a woman sat alone, staring at her phone.
It's already been ten minutes.
She was Kim Hana. She'd rushed over straight from work still in her semi-formal attire, and even so, she was drawing every eye in the room. Her expression darkened. She'd hurried here for fear of being late — and yet ten minutes past the appointed time, the person she was meeting was nowhere to be seen.
This was the first man who had ever made her wait like this. Still, this was a meeting to express her gratitude.
Fine. Just a little longer.
Another ten minutes passed.
"Miss, would you like to order?"
"Just some water… I'm sorry. My companion is running a bit late."
"Of course, take your time."
She was starting to feel the staff's eyes on her. Kim Hana gulped her water and fretted. No text, no call — this late? Had he forgotten? Should she call him?
No. That would bruise her pride somehow.
While she deliberated, another ten minutes slipped by. Kim Hana let out a sigh.
"…Sorry I'm late."
A voice from behind her. Park Hyunmyung sat down across from her with an apologetic look, and Kim Hana forced a smile.
"It's fine. I just got here myself. What would you like to eat?"
…Yeah. I should just eat quickly and go home.