Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Persephone's Ruby
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"Where are the fangs?"
"Young-jin, Min-ho, look at this! It's completely empty inside!"
Shim Young-jin's group rummaged through the Cerberus's corpse.
But not a single thing worth any decent money remained.
The hide was the only thing left, and it was already in tatters from the fight.
"You said your name was Lee Do-jae?"
Deok-hoon asked Do-jae, who was staring into the empty air.
He might have thought Do-jae was just dazed from exhaustion, but he was wrong.
Do-jae was looking at the 'spoils' stored in his Subspace.
"Yes, that's right."
Do-jae replied, releasing his Golem Armor.
The stones that had enveloped him fell powerlessly to the floor.
"I'm clearly your senior here, so it's okay if I speak casually, right?"
His interest piqued, Deok-hoon dropped the formalities to build a sense of closeness.
"Of course."
"This is quite fascinating."
Deok-hoon, his expression brightening, picked up one of the fallen stone fragments.
With a slight squeeze, it crumbled and scattered like dust.
"Just an ordinary stone."
"Yes."
"Doesn't seem to be specially treated, either. Just the kind of rock you see everywhere in dungeons."
"That's right."
"Don't be so guarded. I didn't come here to pick a fight."
Deok-hoon smiled.
Do-jae obediently relaxed his guard.
Deok-hoon was an A-rank hunter.
If he'd decided to overpower Do-jae, it would have been over already.
"To be clear, as I've already said, I won't be touching any of the spoils."
"I don't really care about that. It's pocket change to me. Young-jin might be a little upset, though."
"Then what can I help you with?"
"Why, do you have a guilty conscience?"
Do-jae had nothing to feel guilty about, but he couldn't help but feel intimidated.
His life experiences were naturally ingrained in his demeanor.
He was, after all, Lee Do-jae, who had always survived by reading the room.
"Sigh... Are you curious about my ability? Or do you want to ask why I'm an F-rank?"
"Haha. Aren't you overestimating yourself a bit? And even if I did ask, would you answer honestly?"
Deok-hoon was right.
He had been forced to reveal his ability, but there was no need to explain it in detail.
Especially not in the hunter community.
With dungeons—places perfectly suited for crime—there was nothing more foolish than bragging about oneself to other hunters.
"Then what is it?"
"It's nothing much."
Deok-hoon took a small piece of paper from his wallet and handed it over.
It was a business card.
"Have you ever thought about working for our guild?"
Stunned by the sudden recruitment offer, Do-jae stared blankly at the card.
The sleek logo of the Manseong Guild and the title of Vice Guild Master were engraved next to Deok-hoon's name.
A direct offer from the Vice Guild Master of an elite guild where even the lowest-ranking members were C-rank hunters or higher.
"Why me...?"
"Why else would I be here? He didn't say it outright, but he wanted me to get his friends into the guild. I came thinking I'd take one of them anyway, but you caught my eye more than they did."
Deok-hoon nodded, urging him on.
There were plenty of hunters like Shim Young-jin or Kim Jun-soo.
Even a healer like Sung Min-ho was not someone a major guild like Manseong would miss.
But Deok-hoon thought Do-jae was different.
His instincts were telling him not to let Do-jae go.
*Nod, nod—.*
Deok-hoon kept nodding.
In the end, Do-jae took the business card.
"I'll think about it."
"Hahaha. You'll 'think about' joining Manseong? You've got guts."
"That wasn't my intention."
"No, that's even better. And you know what? I have good instincts. I feel like there's something more to you."
With those words, Deok-hoon left.
Though he hadn't shown any flashy techniques or immense destructive power, Do-jae felt a sense of acknowledgment and smiled faintly.
***
"Ah, Uncle!"
"I'll be calling your mom, so don't you dare say anything foolish."
"Oh, come on! That's too harsh!"
"Quiet."
After leaving the dungeon.
A commotion had broken out.
"Hey, I worked hard! Do you know how much money I spent trying to impress you? You can't do this to me!"
"Are you sick or something, with all this whining? Enough. Don't call me for things like this anymore. I'm leaving."
Shim Young-jin had asked him to let them into the guild.
But when Song Deok-hoon flatly refused, he started throwing a tantrum.
Manseong's work team had arrived to neutralize the dungeon, and Deok-hoon, thoroughly embarrassed by the scene, scowled and walked off somewhere. Shim Young-jin and his friends scurried after him.
*They're just like kids.*
I watched them go and let out a small chuckle.
*Thanks to them, I got something good out of this. Now they even seem kind of cute.*
Shim Young-jin's group, which I hadn't thought much of at first, now actually looked endearing.
Hadn't I been the one to ultimately profit from their attempts to impress Deok-hoon?
The level up, the title, the offer from Manseong.
And on top of that, this.
*It was called Persephone's Ruby, I think.*
The red gem resting in his palm.
A beautiful jewel that seemed to shimmer with crimson flames.
Its official name was Cerberus's Gallstone.
That's what was written in the Subspace.
But people, captivated by the gem's hellfire-like splendor, had named it after Persephone, the wife of Hades and queen of the underworld.
*Not a bad name at all.*
He had only heard about it from other hunters; this was the first time he'd seen it. Now that he was looking at it himself, he thought it was a well-chosen name.
"Subspace."
He placed Persephone's Ruby back into the Subspace and picked up his smartphone.
He opened the dedicated Hunternet app.
'Boss Choi' would give him a good price for most miscellaneous items, but he didn't deal in luxury goods like this.
Which meant he had to find another way to sell it.
Being exclusive to hunters, Hunternet had a marketplace that dealt in everything that came out of dungeons.
- Search: Perse...
Just typing 'Perse' brought up Persephone's Ruby in the related search terms.
He tapped it, and a list of related posts appeared.
He checked a few of the most recent posts.
- [Buying] Looking for a raw Persephone's Ruby.
- Selling a 3-carat Persephone's Ruby ring.
- Persephone's Ruby necklace (Cartienco brand). In-person trade only.
He tapped on a post with an attached photo that looked similar in size to the one he had.
"Gasp."
The asking price made his breath catch in his throat.
A number was written there with so many zeros he couldn't count them all at a glance.
*One, two, three, four...*
900,000,000.
A whopping 900 million.
He checked the other posts.
*550 million, 230 million, 5.7 billion?*
Do-jae's eyes widened when he saw the last post.
5.7 billion for a single ring.
It was certainly large, and it must have been crafted by a master artisan, as it exuded a sense of luxury incomparable to the raw stone.
*This is a jackpot, isn't it?*
He turned off his smartphone.
A thousand different thoughts flooded his mind.
Every single one was exciting and joyful.
*The first thing I need to do is...*
There was no need to even think about it.
My brother's surgery and treatment costs.
That top priority remained unchanged.
*And with the money left over, I'll get a house.*
A home to live in with my brother after he's fully recovered.
I'll fry up the pork cutlets my brother loves, and I'll make a savory soybean paste stew for myself.
*Let's go.*
My steps were lighter than ever as I headed for the marketplace.
***
"Young man, what about this one?"
"Hmm... It's not bad."
Do-jae meticulously inspected the place.
Two bedrooms, a living room that doubled as a kitchen, and one bathroom.
It was a newly built apartment, only about three years old.
"There's a big supermarket nearby and lots of convenience stores, so it's a great place to live. And with the school so close, the neighborhood is very quiet."
Do-jae walked toward the balcony.
Through the veranda window, an elementary school was visible.
It was close enough for a child to walk there in about ten minutes.
Moreover, the school had been relocated when the apartment complex was built, so it was exceptionally clean.
"The boiler was replaced this year, and the plumbing... well, what's there to say? It's perfect."
Do-jae's gaze shifted to a corner.
There sat a brand-new white boiler, some of the protective plastic still on it.
"Will it be cleaned?"
"The first tenant was a very neat person, so they kept it clean. The landlord will take care of everything from the floors to the wallpaper and a full cleaning, so you can move in right away."
Just as the middle-aged woman—the real estate agent—had said, the inside of the apartment was immaculate.
It was also the very first building in the complex and south-facing, so it got plenty of sunlight.
Opening a window, he could feel a breeze, a sign of good ventilation.
"Of all the places I've seen so far, I like this one the best."
"Right? I was saving this one, but since you said you'd be living with your brother, I thought it was sweet, so I decided to show it to you. I wouldn't have shown it to anyone else."
"Thank you. I'll take this one."
"Good, you made the right choice. No matter how much money you offer, it's hard to find a place like this anywhere else. You know?"
The woman went outside first.
It was to prepare the necessary documents for the contract.
Do-jae, however, stayed behind for a moment to look around the apartment by himself.
*I'll make this my room.*
Do-jae opened the door to the room near the entrance.
Directly ahead was a double-paned window set high on the wall, about chest level.
And when he opened it, the sprawling grounds of a university hospital came into view.
Various specialized hospitals were clustered together.
His brother was in a building located near a small park on the campus.
*It's about a five-minute drive, I think.*
For a moment, Do-jae gazed at the university hospital.
A whirlwind of emotions passed through him.
After a while, he left the room and moved to the one next door.
*This would be better as my brother's room.*
He looked at the inner room.
The two rooms were about the same size.
This one just had a larger window and access to the veranda.
Do-jae wanted to give his brother the sunnier main bedroom.
And most importantly, the university hospital wasn't visible from this direction.
*I'll have to buy all new furniture, too.*
Do-jae had been living alone in an old studio apartment.
He didn't have any real furniture to speak of, but more importantly, because it was a semi-basement, most of his belongings were rusted or had mold stains.
He didn't want to show things like that to his brother.
Kids these days, even when they're young, know what's what.
He planned to buy everything new when he moved.
*Should I have looked for a bigger place to fit the Metallic Hero display case? No. I can just put it in the living room.*
There was no need to put it in his brother's room.
Do-jae had already become a fan of Metallic Hero himself, and good things should be shared between brothers, right?
*Crack—.*
Do-jae stretched, interlocking his fingers and pushing his hands forward.
Then he looked around the house he would soon be living in with a pleased expression.