The Secret Identity and the Dusty Tome

“……A foreign identity?”

I had just witnessed the surreal landscape of the spiritual world and a magnificent underground workshop in quick succession. By now, I thought I wouldn’t be surprised by anything, but the words that came out of Seo Jian’s mouth were quite bizarre.

“What, are you suggesting I launder my identity like in a movie?”

When I asked bluntly, Seo Jian waved her hands and laughed.

“Oh, it’s nothing like that. I’m not talking about forging a passport. I mean you need a shield that even the Four Great Families can’t touch legally.”

She shifted her posture slightly and tapped the table lightly with her fingertips. Soon, she lowered her voice by a tone and smiled meaningfully.

“A practitioner belonging to the Chinese ‘Tianshan Sect’. How about that?”

The Tianshan Sect. It sounded like something out of a martial arts novel.

“I don’t even know Chinese, so there’s no way that would work……”

“It works! The Four Great Families of Korea and that side have an implicit non-aggression pact. Plus, there’s a rumor that people from the Tianshan Sect rarely go out because of confidentiality, so it’s perfect for a disguise.”

She added with a grin.

“I happen to have some connections there. You just need to disguise your identity as one of them, and for actual activities, you can use this workshop as your base. Since the Korean families can’t easily touch someone from the Tianshan Sect anyway, you can just work as you normally would, Dohyun-nim……”

I didn’t fully understand the intricate details of the spiritual world, but as I kept listening, it was strangely persuasive. Above all, it was Seo Jian’s face. She wore an expression of someone genuinely passionate about this work. The faster she spoke, the more animated her gestures became, and her eyes were filled with a kind of conviction.

For some reason, I had a gut feeling that she wasn’t the type to lie or stab me in the back.

“……Jian-ssi.”

“Yes, Dohyun-nim.”

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Yes, of course.”

I took a moment to choose my words carefully.

“If it’s such a dangerous job, why are you trying to work with me?”

Putting the story together, it meant this woman wasn’t affiliated with any family either. If things went wrong, wasn’t she taking the risk of becoming a target for the Four Great Families herself?

Seo Jian hesitated for a moment at my question. Her fingers on the table twitched lightly once. Then, she lifted the corners of her mouth slightly.

“Life is inherently high-risk, high-return.”

“…….”

“And…… I don’t really have any other options now either.”

For a moment, a shadow settled over her sparkling eyes. Unlike her face, which was trying hard to smile, her gaze seemed to hold a deep, hidden story.

Should I ask, or not? While I hesitated, she returned to her high-pitched tone as if to shake off the atmosphere.

“Anyway! You don’t need to think about it too seriously! I’ll take care of all the dangerous and annoying parts for you!”

Her beaming smile was so natural that I wondered if the strange look I had glimpsed just a moment ago was just my imagination. Well, there was no need to dig into her deep secrets. What was certain was that this woman was also betting a lot on me.

‘Yeah, that’s how it is…….’

I was slowly making up my mind. I didn’t know the basic common sense of this world, and even if I made items, I had no route to sell them. Besides, this facility. Where else could I find a setup like this? From the beginning, I had a personality that hated being tied down to anything. That was why I had played solo in games without joining any guilds.

Well, then. No need to worry further.

“Hehe. Dohyun-nim, don’t feel too burdened, just think about it enough and let me know. Well, with your skills, there would be more than one or two places trying to recruit you……”

“I’ll do it.”

“……Pardon? Do what?”

“I’m saying I’ll contract with you, Seo Jian-ssi, as my exclusive broker.”

“Really?!”

Seo Jian jumped up in surprise.

“This quickly? Really?! You’re serious?!”

Her eyes were sparkling. She seemed incredibly happy. She hurriedly pulled a bunch of keys from her suit pocket and pressed them into my hand.

“Here, these are the workshop keys! Oh, you should use the innermost room on the second floor. I’ve set up a bedroom and a shower room as well.”

Oh. If I put my mind to it, it really felt like I could take care of everything here.

“T-then, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so may I go for a moment? If anything comes up, I’ll contact you right away!”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

She bowed and walked out with quick steps.

Click, thud.

The heavy iron door closed. And immediately after.

The sound of Seo Jian jumping up and down and cheering quietly on the other side of the iron door came through clearly. Perhaps because my spiritual power had increased, my perception seemed to be better.

“Ahem.”

If she were a veteran broker, this wouldn’t be her first contract. She seemed quite excited. I let out a small chuckle and stood up. I glanced at the tools neatly arranged on the new workbench. I wanted to check them all out.

……That’s for tomorrow.

Fatigue washed over me suddenly. Well, that was to be expected. Too many things had happened today.

‘Innermost room on the second floor, she said.’

As I climbed the narrow stairs on one wall, a long hallway revealed itself. Doors were lined up neatly on both sides.

“……This doesn’t look like a space made for one person to live in.”

Well, that was something to think about later. I walked to the end of the hallway and turned the doorknob. A room much cleaner than I expected caught my eye. Soft indirect lighting, neatly arranged bedding, and even a small wardrobe on one wall. Without even looking around, I collapsed onto the bed.

Floomp—

“…….”

It was so soft, so plush. I felt my whole body sinking into it.

“……So this is what an expensive bed feels like.”

I had work to do tomorrow, too. So, I closed my eyes.

Daylight was breaking through the cracks in the window. Looking down outside the window, the streets of the Goblin Market were starting to bustle with life again. A faint light, like the dawn, was spreading throughout the entire underground space. There were no lights visible on the ceiling anywhere. It seemed to be a spiritual design that drew in natural light from the outside. Even though it was underground, it was quite bright and pleasant, like a morning on the surface.

“Shall I get up now?”

I took a quick shower and put on a loose black t-shirt from the new clothes hanging in the wardrobe. First, I had things to do. I went down to the first floor of the workshop and looked around the studio once more.

Looking at it again.

‘Just looking at this setup makes me feel satisfied.’

The gleaming furnace and anvil, and the high-end tools filling the walls. There wasn’t a single flaw to be found. I also peeked into the materials room, which I hadn’t been able to check yesterday.

“……Huh.”

My jaw dropped on its own. Special alloy ingots were stacked neatly by grade, and next to them were hides and bones of beasts I had never seen before, and even rolls of unknown, tough fabrics packed tightly.

I felt full even without eating. I cut a piece of the tough black fabric I saw to a suitable size. I tied it in a way that could lightly cover my face.

“This should be enough.”

I muttered, looking at my half-covered face in the mirror. Since I was supposed to be laundering my identity, it wouldn’t be good to walk ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around with my bare face exposed.

“Now, shall I head out?”

I stopped just as I was about to turn away.

“Oh right, I almost forgot.”

I put the black silk pouch that Seo Jian had tied for me, the Eokjebu, back around my neck. Only after confirming the energy settling down did I step out of the iron door.

The streets of the Goblin Market I faced again were still complicated. The paths were too confusing. I was bad at finding my way to begin with, but since internet maps didn’t work here, I had to rely solely on my memory. After wandering around similar alleys several times, I finally managed to get out to the main street lined with shops.

“……Ah, here it is.”

Among the bizarre stalls, a piece of state-of-the-art equipment stood out. I had just glanced at it yesterday because I was too distracted. This is really an ATM, isn’t it?

Well, come to think of it, this spiritual world would eventually be a world that runs on money, so it wasn’t strange that something like this existed. I peered at the small nameplate stuck on top of the machine.

‘……The name is quite literal.’

A Goblin ATM. And since there was even a branch, it meant there was a main office somewhere and branches in other places. I thought that perhaps this hidden world might be rooted in various places across the country.

I opened my wallet and took out the envelope of reward money I had received from the Cheonhwadang General Manager yesterday. Come to think of it, I had asked Seo Jian earlier if this was money I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could just use.

I took out my phone and checked the message window.

‘……Comfortable, my foot.’

I stood in front of the machine and peered at the screen. Currency options were lined up neatly at the top of the screen. Starting with Korean Won, then Dollars, Yuan, Yen. And even currencies written in characters I had never heard of.

It was even possible to select mysterious currency units like [Jeongeun] and [Yeongseok].

‘Let’s see… Ah, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here it is.’

[Korean Won (KRW) Transfer]

I took out half of the reward money from the envelope. My hands trembled slightly.

‘……This will really work, right?’

I doubted if something would go wrong for no reason. I imagined alarm bells ringing, a “abnormal transaction detected” message appearing, and staff rushing out. Useless imaginations flashed through my head. Well, what could I do? I had no choice but to try it once.

I carefully pushed the stack of bills into the cash slot.

Whirrr—

The machine swallowed the bills for a long time, and soon it displayed a normal screen.

‘……It works?’

It was a familiar bank transfer screen. As soon as I finished the deposit by pressing my account number, the phone in my pocket vibrated briefly.

Buzz—

“…….”

I stared blankly at the screen for a moment. Two and a half million won. This was only half of the reward money I received yesterday. So, I had received a huge sum of five million won as a reward at once. Where do these people get so much money? When I opened the envelope in the morning, my hands were shaking.

‘……Well. Good things are good.’

I was about to turn off the screen, but instead, I opened the transfer app. After sending money home, I immediately opened the message app. Tap. Tap.

I stared at the chat window for a moment, then moved my fingers again.

I chuckled. Now that I’d played the role of a big brother, I had real work to do. I had seen a place while passing through this market alley yesterday.

‘Ah, found it.’

An old wooden building. An aged plaque with [Mansangseogak] written in calligraphy was hanging at the entrance. As I stepped inside, the thick scent of ink, old mold, and a subtle incense smell pierced my nose. All kinds of books, from hardcovers to old ancient books, were covered in dust on the dense bookshelves that seemed to reach the ceiling.

At the counter, an old, skinny man wearing magnifying glasses was dozing off with a long pipe in his mouth. I quietly started scanning the bookshelves. What I needed right now was basic knowledge of this world. No matter how much skill I had built up in the game, if I didn’t even know the names of the materials used in this neighborhood or the theory of their properties, I was only half-baked.

But the more I looked around the shelves, the more subtle it felt. Books that looked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠new and books bound in yellowish paper were mixed together ruthlessly. ‘……He doesn’t organize the books at all. No wonder he’s not getting any customers.’

Well, at least the variety is good. I walked slowly between the shelves and picked up books as I grabbed them.

[Understanding Yin-Yang and the Five Elements]

[Introduction to Elementary Spiritualism]

[Practical Seal Theory - Basic Edition]

[You Can Make It Too! Become a Talisman King Starting Today.]

“Hmm, this should be enough to sort out the terminology.”

The last book I picked up didn’t look trustworthy from the cover, but for a beginner, sometimes things like this were helpful. I was about to head to the counter with the books tucked under my arm.

‘Hmm?’

In the corner of the store. A pile of bargain books, thrown away haphazardly and covered in dust, caught my eye. A pile of ancient books and junk that someone had stacked as if to discard. But in that pile, there was something that strangely drew my attention.

No, rather than drawing my attention…… it was closer to thirst. A primal impulse that I couldn’t help but reach out for immediately.

‘……What is this?’

My footsteps headed that way on their own. I crouched down and peered at the pile. Most were miscellaneous books with tattered covers.

[Introduction to Triad Formation], [100 Talismans That Don’t Sell Well], [Exorcist Certification Exam Workbook]…… They were all books that looked like they had been sitting for 30 years, yellowed and covered in dust. But in the middle of it. There was one book buried deep, crushed between other books.

I knew it instinctively. That’s it.

This attraction was clearly flowing from that book.

As I lifted the books stacked on top one by one, a gap the width of a finger appeared between the pile. I squeezed through and reached out. Scratch. Dust particles scraped across the back of my hand.

The surface I touched felt different from the other books. Old, but with a strangely smooth texture. As if the leather that had endured long years was waiting for my touch.

Without hesitation, I pulled it out in one go.

And at that moment.

Whoooooosh—!