Chapter 211
Chapter 211
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Hunter Supporters - Justice Guild Bulletin Board
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The first merch sale, which had devoured all my time for a while, finally wrapped up without a hitch.
"Ah, not exactly without a hitch?"
There'd been plenty of complaints that the initial stock was way too low.
So we'd decided to open pre-orders for round two starting tomorrow.
The plan was to safely run it through five rounds, then switch to permanent stock.
It was a decision based on expectations of steady demand.
"Whew, what a rush."
The thrill of that first merch success still hadn't worn off.
Money was nice, sure, but the joy of seeing our popularity in hard numbers was even bigger.
The sweet taste of dragging the Justice Guild—once the nation's punching bag—all the way here.
I wanted to bask in this achievement lazily for a few more days, but as always, there was work to do.
I hustled from morning and arrived at Jamsil Maestro Tower.
Heading down to the basement where Sugar Workshop was, my mask-clad face felt stifling.
Too many people recognizing me these days, so I had no choice but to use an item that erased my presence.
Couldn't have Sugar Workshop—Jeong Je-hwa's hideout—getting famous because of me.
"Boss, I'm here."
I whipped off the stuffy mask the moment I stepped into the workshop and called out.
"Come on in, Nayeo-ju. Shall we head to the back?"
Jeong Je-hwa, who'd been waiting by the entrance, draped an arm around my shoulders and led me to the studio.
"Y-yeah. Why so rushed today, Boss?"
"Couldn't wait to show you."
Jeong Je-hwa was totally buzzing as he said it.
He'd told me over the phone not to get my hopes up.
Was his excitement rubbing off? My heart suddenly started pounding too.
"Wanna open this?"
Jeong Je-hwa handed me a thin, elongated box.
No time to ask what it was.
I popped the lid right away.
"A bracelet?"
What he'd given me was a gray thread bracelet.
"Don't tell me this is the Dark Addiction scanner?"
"Yep, though it's still a prototype with a long way to go."
"How's it work?"
As I asked, Jeong Je-hwa slipped it onto my wrist.
"Once you wear it, the color changes based on the wearer's Dark Addiction level..."
He trailed off, tilting his head.
"Weird. Why isn't it reacting...?"
"Hmm, wanna try it on yourself, Boss?"
I had a hunch, so I took it off and put it on his wrist.
And sure enough.
The moment the clasp clicked shut, the gray thread turned green.
"So it's not the bracelet—it's me."
"Nayeo-ju, you're... not addicted to the darkness at all?"
"Probably."
"How...?"
Jeong Je-hwa looked baffled.
'Probably 'cause I'm a possessor.'
I'd vaguely suspected it for a while.
The fact that darkness didn't affect me.
My status window never mentioned a Dark Addiction rate, and dungeon crawls never left me off my game from that alone.
"Maybe I have some kind of darkness purification ability? Could be auto-cleansing all the time."
I spun a plausible stand-in for the truth, and Jeong Je-hwa nodded faintly.
But he didn't seem fully convinced, frowning slightly as he fiddled with the bracelet.
"So what's the green mean?"
"Oh. It shows status with green, orange, red based on addiction rate."
"Ooh, so it successfully detected Dark Addiction?"
"For now. Reliability on accuracy is still iffy."
"Then green should mean under 30% to be spot-on, right?"
"Exactly."
"Hold on a sec."
I pulled up Jeong Je-hwa's status window and checked his Dark Addiction rate.
"Hmm. You're at 44%."
"A bit off, as expected. I'll tweak it."
"Still, didn't expect a prototype this fast."
I figured it'd take at least a season.
"Genius really is something else."
"Still a ways off. We nailed detection, but..."
Jeong Je-hwa grumbled, staring down at the bracelet.
"The numbers are off, and it's basically just color-coding what you could guess from an Awakener's condition anyway."
That's creators for you.
The second he spotted a flaw in his own creation, his broad shoulders slumped.
He'd been so hyped just moments ago.
I gave that wide back a gentle pat.
"The numbers are an easy fix with calibration. Just having a visual indicator like this will wake up a ton of hunters. Lets 'em realize it's not just fatigue piling up."
"You think?"
"Yeah. And you're not stopping here, right, Boss? Feels like you've got plans to keep improving it."
His back twitched once.
Then he shot me a look like How'd you know?
"You know my personality, and now I know yours. No need to be surprised over this."
"......Besides color-coding, I'm prepping a scanner for precise numbers too. Gonna need a lot of your help, of course."
"Obviously. It's my commission—happy to pitch in as much as needed."
He gave a faint smile at that.
"So scanner stuff's done? Then check this out."
I pulled the deity statue from my sub-space and set it before Jeong Je-hwa.
It was that thing I'd picked up as a bonus ages ago at the Garak-dong flea market with Im Cheong-su.
On the way out after buying it, I'd bumped into Sama Young.
"A stone statue."
Jeong Je-hwa picked it up matter-of-factly.
It was hefty and chunky, but looked kinda cute in his hands.
"C-grade deity statue, huh. Remember that rabbit figurine you bought your first time here?"
"Of course. Gave one to everyone on Team 1."
"Seems like the same type. Slightly boosts the owner's Luck stat. Not much since it's C-grade. But..."
He trailed off.
"Mind if I analyze it closer?"
"Go for it."
I answered quick.
Then held my breath, waiting quietly so as not to disturb.
The system has special weight to certain words.
Especially 'deity' or 'blessing'—they carry heft.
But all I knew from Sejong's Curtain was that much.
The exact 'blessing' this statue held required top-tier creator analysis skills like Jeong Je-hwa's.
"Lemme try my skill. Feels like there's more to it..."
As he peered closer at the statue,
"Ugh!"
His huge frame stiffened suddenly, and he dropped the statue, slowly toppling sideways.
"Boss!"
I rushed over in shock to check on him when an ear-splitting alarm blared.
BEEP— BEEP— BEEP—
"The thread bracelet..."
The one still on Jeong Je-hwa's wrist was flashing bright red amid the piercing beeps.