Chapter 100
Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Items (2)
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The Broker stood in front of a building in Seoul's Gangnam district.
What came into view was a modest sign reading Jang In-hyeok's Workshop.
But this building was far from the property of an ordinary person.
This was the personal workshop of Jang In-hyeok, Korea's—no, Asia's—foremost equipment specialist.
Jang In-hyeok.
Korea's one and only equipment crafting Meister.
A single word of appraisal from him could send an item's value soaring to the heavens or plummeting to the earth.
He rarely even bothered to look at items.
Only guilds with A-rank Hunters could barely snag a reservation slot at the very end.
This time, it had been possible thanks to the A-rank statuses of Jeong Man-ho and Kim Han-byeol.
The Broker confirmed the reservation and stepped inside.
A short while later, a middle-aged man with sharp features appeared.
It was Jang In-hyeok.
He scanned the Broker from head to toe, then spoke in a curt voice.
"Appraisal request, huh. Well, where's the item?"
Without a word, the Broker placed the prepared case on the table.
Jang In-hyeok checked the documents first, without even opening the case.
"Maker's anonymous...?"
Jang In-hyeok's brow furrowed ever so slightly.
"I don't do anonymous. Items where the maker's name and affiliation aren't disclosed are 99% trash not worth looking at."
His voice dripped with blatant disdain.
The Broker didn't bat an eye.
His pickiness and sharp tongue were already infamous in the industry.
There were even vicious rumors that he'd smash subpar items brought by amateurs right in front of them.
As if he'd anticipated it, the Broker spoke up.
"That's why I wired twenty times the fee."
"You trying to buy me off with money right now? Insulting me?"
But it was too much money to turn down.
Grumbling, Jang In-hyeok approached the case anyway.
"Fine. Let's see just how amazing this thing is."
He opened the lid, revealing a white shield.
A shield whose materials were clearly discernible.
Jang In-hyeok snorted.
"Hmph, looks decent enough on the outside."
He carefully lifted the shield with gloved hands.
Then placed it straight onto the appraisal machine.
"Material analysis first... Hmm?"
When the results appeared on the monitor, his expression shifted subtly for the first time.
"Dragon bone? The material purity is top-grade... Must've cost a fortune."
The Broker just smiled without replying.
Jang In-hyeok grumbled on, still unimpressed.
"Hmph, don't mistake that for praise. You think slapping expensive materials together makes good gear? The combination of materials is what matters."
Equipment crafting was much like cooking.
Just cramming in pricey ingredients didn't guarantee a gourmet meal.
The ingredients had to harmonize, and above all, the chef's skill was key.
'Is some big corporation trying to launch a new brand? Hah, as if.'
He despised those clueless upstarts who insisted on flashy materials and wasted precious resources.
This field wasn't so easy that you could brute-force it with capital.
Jang In-hyeok examined the monitor's graph more closely.
"Now, let's check the material fusion rate."
It was a test to see how solidly and harmoniously the materials from different sources had bonded.
A test that weeded out gear brute-forced with cash.
Eight out of ten failed here.
"What? Fusion rate 99%?"
Jang In-hyeok double- and triple-checked the monitor in disbelief.
The metal and bone had fused almost perfectly into one substance.
Something impossible to achieve artificially.
"Ha, a Tower drop item. And one that could only come from the 40th floor or higher."
The first thought that crossed his mind was that it was a Tower drop.
But he knew every Tower drop item released so far.
There was no way an unknown item existed.
"Found a new hidden piece, I see. Congrats."
Jang In-hyeok concluded as much and sneered at the Broker.
The Broker replied nonchalantly.
"It's a crafted item, as stated. We've already made ten of them."
"Yeah, sure it is."
"Well, believe it or not, I just need the certificate."
"Don't worry. I'll appraise it fair and square. But you might want to keep in mind how pissed I am right now."
The Broker just shrugged without responding.
Jang In-hyeok's lip twitched as he moved to the next step.
He'd taken the money, so he had to do the job.
Besides, he was inwardly curious about this novel item's performance.
Next up: magic resistance test.
Jang In-hyeok shoved magic stones into the machine.
Rustle, rustle, rustle.
Several kilograms poured from the bag, priming the mana cannon.
"Starting with B-rank output."
Boom!
A flash with B-rank destructive power burst from the mana cannon.
Naturally, the shield didn't budge.
"Hmm."
He upped the level one notch.
Equivalent to an A-rank mage's full-power spell.
Kwaaaang-!
The shield remained unscratched.
Jang In-hyeok's face stiffened slightly.
Determined, he cranked the machine's output lever to max.
Energy on par with low-end S-rank Hunters.
"Let's see you withstand this."
Kwaaaaaaaa-!!!
A deafening roar shook the entire appraisal room as the flash erupted.
The Broker instinctively shielded his eyes.
A moment later, the light faded and the smoke cleared.
"What the...!"
Jang In-hyeok couldn't believe his eyes.
The shield was intact.
No, more than intact.
As if it had absorbed the immense mana just now, the patterns on its surface glowed brightly.
"This... this insane..."
A curse slipped from Jang In-hyeok's mouth.
He hurriedly prepared the final test.
Physical durability measurement.
A massive compressor slowly descended toward the shield.
"50 tons of pressure... holding. 100 tons... 150 tons...!"
The numbers climbed.
Jang In-hyeok's voice grew louder with them.
The shield didn't even flinch, as if mocking the pressure.
Finally, the maximum reading.
"200 tons! 200 tons? It's completely nuts!"
His reason shattered at last.
Jang In-hyeok paced around the shield like a madman, muttering.
"It defies the laws of physics entirely! You still gonna claim this is crafted?"
"Just write up the certificate."
"Of course I will. I'm jealous. You hit the jackpot. Which floor did you snag this from? Hardly anyone in Korea's cleared past 40."
Jang In-hyeok sneered coldly.
"It is a crafted item."
"Can't tell me, huh? Hmph. Got it. So just spit out the certificate for the cash..."
"Why won't you believe it?"
"Hah, then definitely introduce me to whoever made it. I'll become their apprentice!"
"That sounds fun. Remember you said that."
"Want me to put it in writing?"
"Sure, that'd be great."
"Hmph, think I won't? You're toying with me to the end!"
Jang In-hyeok suddenly fumed and started scrawling his signature on the paper.
"Here! Bring that so-called maker next time. See if you don't!"
The Broker just lifted the corner of his mouth silently.
Jang In-hyeok grumbled for a good while longer before finally completing the certificate.
A perfect report with every metric rated S-grade.
The Broker picked up the paper with a satisfied expression.
***
I lay on the sofa munching snacks as the Broker relayed every reaction over the phone.
His voice carried a glee he couldn't quite hide.
Honestly, it was the first time the old man seemed this happy.
[Anyway, that Jang In-hyeok Meister really wants to meet the maker. Said he'd become an apprentice and all.]
"Geez, this is a one-man lineage. Even if he joins, I couldn't teach him."
[Meet him sometime later. He even signed a contract.]
"He won't back out later, will he?"
[A guy like that will keep his word out of pride alone. No need to actually take him as an apprentice, but we can collaborate in various ways.]
I chuckled, brushing off snack crumbs.
Everything was going smoothly, just as planned.
But we'd barely cleared the first hurdle.
Plenty left to do.
"Yep, good call not making a weapon."
I hung up and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.
It really had been a stroke of luck.
That what I'd made was a shield, not a weapon.
If I'd crafted a cannon with S-rank attack power?
Forget selling it—there'd be restrictions on even making it.
"Who'd sit idly by if you could mass-produce nukes at home?"
Not just the government—every shady organization abroad would come after me.
And post-sale troubles too.
I didn't want some rich lunatic causing havoc with my weapon. That'd be a nightmare.
But a shield? No such issues.
Purely defensive gear.
Sure, its defense was off the charts, but it couldn't threaten anyone.
Who the hell attacks with a shield?
"Ah, shit, why do I feel like someone might?"
I shook my head to dispel the ominous thought.
No way such weirdos existed. They had to not exist.
Time to move to the next phase.
Brand promotion.
Promotion required caution.
What I was building was a luxury brand of sorts.
SNS or TV ads wouldn't fit at all.
"I told him to invite only VIPs to a showcase or preview party..."
That process demanded tons of prep.
Like packaging the brand's worldview and symbolism.
Impossible for me, of course.
The Broker was hustling on that front, rounding up contacts.
Not that the old man knew squat about design or art, or had any connections there.
But we had the ironclad guarantee of overwhelming product quality and capital now.
Enough to build connections and prep the showcase.
"I've got my own role to play."
What I could do.
Invite the guests.
No matter how stellar my products or how slick a top designer's packaging, it'd still be an unknown brand.
Who'd care about invites from such a no-name to VIPs?
But I had my own network.
The best connections no one else had.
The Wizard Gallery.
I logged into the Wizard Gallery and posted.
[Title: Quitting Hunter Life. Dumping All My Gear]