Supply Without Demand (Or So It Seemed)

The comment section went up in flames in an instant.

I lightly ignored the color-less someone's wail of despair and kept the conversation going with the paddak.

"…Huh?"

Goosebumps shot across my whole body at the paddak's words.

Does that mean I almost died like that just now?

I was still scooping up good information from the gallery when—

A system window appeared before my eyes.

"Huh?"

Out of nowhere, it wanted me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to pick a name.

For someone who had even half-assed their swordsmanship gallery premium nick as "WokeUpAsATSGirl," naming things was way too hard a task.

"Hmm."

Just as I was agonizing over what name would even work, one premium nickname from the swordsmanship gallery floated into my mind.

"…GeniusBeautifulGirlSwordswoman?"

"Hell yeah."

Broadcasting the swordsmanship gallery's beloved premium nick "GeniusBeautifulGirlSwordswoman" to the entire world.

This was going to be a lifelong achievement.

Gotta brag about this in the gallery.

The system kept droning ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on about boring rewards after that, but I lightly ignored it and opened the gallery.

While we were busy praising Swordswoman's greatness—

Ding!

The system interrupted me.

"Whoa."

An absurdly cool flame-shaped sword settled into my hand.

Just looking at it, the drip was overflowing.

And it's A-class?

I'd figured they'd toss me some low-tier B-class trash at best. Instead I'd pulled a jackpot even among A-class gear.

Weapons jumped as much as double in price at the same grade, so—

This has to be worth at least a few hundred million, right?

With that kind of money, I could move to one of the safer districts in Hwaseong City, even if nowhere else.

But.

The good stuff should be used by me.

I couldn't throw away the future for a quick payday.

I was going to keep getting stronger from here on out. If this was a solid weapon, it was better to just use it.

Better ask the gallery.

"Huh?"

Most of the comments were just telling me not to use it because it was garbage.

"Hmm…"

Okay. Message received.

Sssss…

Following the paddak's instructions, I let a bit of aura seep into the A-class weapon.

With a longsword I could just shove it in roughly, but—

Crack, crack-crack!

The aura was gradually pushed out, then vanished in an instant.

So that's what she meant.

The sword's material was rejecting my aura.

If I was only going to fight by reinforcing my body, it wouldn't matter, but…

I can't throw away a broken skill like that.

Aura Imbuement was a broken technique that could turn even a normal longsword into a legendary demon blade.

Giving that up over a single weapon didn't make any financial sense.

"Hmm."

A Mithril sword, huh.

It was such a cliché fantasy material that it didn't feel cool at all.

So a scrub like me was supposed to stick with a Mithril sword.

Guess I don't have a choice.

I swallowed my disappointment and closed the gallery.

I'd done everything I needed to. Time to go home.

I gathered the magic stones from the tutorial rewards and the A-class weapon and headed back.

The moment I got home, I sat down at the computer.

Let's check Mithril sword prices.

I searched the internet and looked at the listings.

Selling the A-class weapon would leave me with plenty of cash anyway. I was already daydreaming about what to do with the leftover money after buying a Mithril sword when—

"…?"

I froze in sheer disbelief.

No way—A-class weapons usually didn't even hit a billion. Was this for real?

Nah. There's no way.

I dug through every site I could find, researching Mithril sword market prices.

But contrary to my hopes, reality was brutal.

Not only was the price insane—there was basically no inventory at all.

Looking into it further, both demand and supply had completely died out.

On top of being ridiculously expensive, even if you had the money, getting one was practically impossible.

…Maybe the System Exchange has one?

The system that unlocked once you cleared the Tower tutorial.

If there was a Mithril sword anywhere, it would be on that exchange.

System.

The moment I called it in my mind, a blue window appeared in midair.

The system UI was loaded with every kind of feature, but I went straight to the exchange.

Holding onto hope, I searched for a Mithril sword.

"What."

A devastating screen greeted me.

…I'll just have to get a Mithril sword slowly, then.

I accepted reality and decided to give up fast.

You shouldn't obsess over things you can't obtain.

Getting an endgame weapon from the very start was absurd to begin with.

Even looking at the swordsmanship gallery, most people only got Mithril swords once they were around Sword Master level.

I was being way too greedy for freebies.

Mm-hmm. This was absolutely not me rationalizing because I was disappointed.

Of course I couldn't get a Mithril sword!

For now, let's deal with the A-class weapon first.

Since I couldn't use it anyway, selling it off quickly would put my mind at ease.

I searched for A-class weapons with options similar to mine.

Most of them were trading around 8 million gold.

One gold was roughly a hundred won, so… about 800 million won.

And I still can't buy a Mithril sword with that?

A completely useless decorative sword → no listings, 1.4 billion.

An insanely cool A-class weapon → a mere 800 million.

What a dirty world.

I grumbled about this unfair state of affairs even as I listed the weapon on the exchange auction house.

At that price it would sell itself.

I was just thinking about browsing the gallery a bit while waiting for it to go through when—

Ding-a-ling!

A system alarm rang out.

Someone had seen the auction listing and sent a private message.

Maybe they wanted to buy it out immediately.

…But.

With a name like HwaseongIsGood, were they someone living in Hwaseong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠City?

A weird sense of kinship made me accept the message request.

"Swordswoman?"

They suddenly brought up Swordswoman, so for a second I wondered if they were from the swordsmanship gallery too.

…Oh right, my name is Swordswoman now.

I realized that quickly and refocused on the messages.

I couldn't smear Swordswoman's name. I decided to match her speech style as closely as possible.

"This bastard?"

Did they seriously think they could get an A-class weapon for a measly 4 million gold plus some junk items?

I wanted to boot them immediately, but… right now I was borrowing the name of the "swordsmanship gallery's supreme beloved premium nick, Swordswoman."

Even if the other person was a villain, I had to be polite.

"Huk!"

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was so shocked I spat out something vulgar.

No—more than that. A Mithril sword.

That's more expensive than an A-class weapon, and they're offering it?

Modern society still had some warmth left in it after all…!

My faith in humanity was about to gush forth when—

They seemed to have misunderstood and decided they'd already been rejected.

I sent the message in a panic, but there was no reply for dozens of seconds—maybe they'd already left.

"This can't be…"

I was just about to scream at the hopeless situation when—

A reply packed with disbelief arrived.

A desk in an office buried under stacks of documents.

The red-haired woman sitting there yawned as if exhausted.

"Hwaaam…!"

S-class hunter Kwon Do-hwa.

Guildmaster of Hwaseong City's autonomous guild, Hwasan, she was browsing the exchange as usual.

Anything good…?

Even a B-class weapon would do—she just wanted a decent listing.

We're way too short on gear.

Lately Hwaseong had been overflowing with high-tier monsters that had crossed over from Suwon.

In just one month, five A-class weapons had been destroyed.

The budget's getting wiped out…

She was scanning the exchange with a vacant expression when—

She had found an incredible listing.

Solid specs even among A-class, plus unique options specialized for the fire attribute.

This matches me insanely well.

For someone whose every attack was fire-attribute despite being a swordsman, this weapon was far too perfect.

She absolutely had to buy it.

…I don't have the gold.

The money she could freely use on a personal basis right now was only 4 million gold.

Just barely enough to match the starting bid.

That'll never be enough.

Even if she tried to use guild funds, the paperwork would take long enough for the auction to end for sure.

And skipping the procedures would make it embezzlement.

"Ugh…! I really want this one…!"

As her head started to throb, the Mithril sword stashed in the corner of her office caught her eye.

"…."

A Mithril sword she'd once commissioned as a joke from a blacksmith friend.

Back then she'd been operating solo and had money to burn, so she'd spent it without thinking.

Now, that 1-billion-won hole in her finances ached to the bone.

Then… maybe I can somehow trade with this?

By common sense, it was impossible.

A Mithril sword was "worth" a billion, but in practice there was no one buying or selling them at all.

No blacksmiths even took commissions for them anymore—essentially expensive trash.

They'll reject me, of course, but…

Clutching at straws, she sent a message.

And then.

Just as expected, rejected.

They're calling me crazy.

From the other person's perspective, that was fair. Making this kind of offer didn't make any sense.

She was about to apologize and close the system when—

"Eh, eh…?"

The words were so completely unexpected that her brain locked up.

And then an actual private trade request came through.

Even looking at the system, she couldn't make sense of it.

This… isn't a scam, right…?

No matter how many times she double-checked, it was the same item from the auction house.

Gulp.

She swallowed hard and carefully pressed the trade button.

A longsword shaped as if sculpted from roaring flames settled into her hand.

"…Huh?"

For a long while, Kwon Do-hwa stayed frozen, unable to move.