TC Business (2)
Hyun Si-woon was not obsessed with the exchange.
Clinging to that alone was something only amateurs did.
Anything of real value will always be recognized eventually.
So that day, he devoted himself entirely to training and hunting.
Then, at one point—
“Si-woon.”
Jang Cha-yul called out to him after finishing her schedule and washing up.
“Did you check the community? It’s pretty noisy right now.”
“Is that so?”
Hyun Si-woon answered offhandedly, as calm as if he had already expected it.
“Gather everyone.”
He first assembled the team in the rest area. Cool bottled water and Lumi’s special snacks were laid out there—extras he had bought at dawn.
“Whoa, Hyeong-nim. Training’s brutal, but the food is pure heaven.”
Hwang Dae-un mumbled around a mouthful of brownie.
This peaceful, abundant scene. Hyun Si-woon liked this moment. He sat down and finally logged into the community.
The moment the screen came up, the mailbox icon in the upper right was blinking red—a signal that dozens of messages had arrived.
‘Lesser Recovery Potion’ ×2 has been sold.
Sale proceeds (after fees) have arrived.
‘Spatial Expansion Backpack (Small)’ ×1 has been sold.
Sale proceeds (after fees) have arrived.
‘Steaming Kimchi Stew Set Meal’ ×1 has been sold.
Sale proceeds (after fees) have arrived.
……
The fee was 10%. Since TC had no decimal units, a cumulative deduction system applied. Fractional fees from each transaction piled up as “unpaid fees” in the system; the moment that total exceeded 1 TC, one TC was deducted from the settlement.
No matter how far he scrolled, the sale notifications never ended. Hyun Si-woon casually silenced the alerts and checked only the final settlement.
Food / Snacks / Water (sold out): 81 TC (90 TC − 9 TC fee)
Lesser Recovery Potion (sold out): 36 TC (40 TC − 4 TC fee)
Scroll of Cleansing Wind (5 sold): 36 TC (40 TC − 4 TC fee)
Scroll of Still Wind (5 sold): 36 TC (40 TC − 4 TC fee)
Spatial Expansion Backpack (4 sold): 180 TC (200 TC − 20 TC fee)
Hmm.
Hyun Si-woon’s brow lifted slightly.
“First off, the food and potions all sold out. But the scrolls and backpacks only sold about half.”
“They’re probably testing the waters.”
“Right. It’s still early for them to grasp the full value.”
“Still, Hyeong-nim—raking in over 300 TC while sitting around is a good sign, isn’t it?”
It was. A very good sign.
“Anyway, everyone check the free board right now. It’s chaos.”
Jang Cha-yul urged them. Hyun Si-woon immediately shifted his view to the Free Board.
Oh.
The reaction was real. The five HOT posts pinned at the top of the board were all about the items he had listed.
[HOT] Who sold the kimchi stew. Come out. I will serve you for life. (Likes: 3,125)
[HOT] Potion review. From now on the world is split between people who used this and people who didn’t. (Likes: 2,541)
[Info] Full performance breakdown of the new items currently on the exchange (Likes: 2,210)
[Chat] [Proof] Guys… I cried eating the stir-fried pork…… (Likes: 1,988)
A smirk tugged at the corner of Hyun Si-woon’s mouth.
Why do every single one of these look so clickable?
He opened the highest-liked kimchi stew post.
Who sold the kimchi stew. Come out. I will serve you for life.
Yo. It’s real.
3 TC?
I’d buy it at 30 TC.
Who the hell thought you could eat kimchi stew in this ruined world?
And it’s steaming hot. Pork and tofu inside too.
I was just drinking muddy water mixed with ghoul bile, then I ate this and the tears just poured out.
Seller-nim, where are you?
Which direction are you in?
I will bow in that direction.
Please release more stock.
I will give you my entire fortune.
Please……
And tell us how you get it too.
Did you find some hidden dungeon?
The comments were even more unhinged.
For reference, photos and videos existed inside the Climber interface. Shouting “Record” enabled filming for a set duration; shouting “Screenshot” saved an image file to the community system that could be attached when writing a post.
Hyun Si-woon immediately clicked the stir-fried pork post.
[Proof] Guys… I cried eating the stir-fried pork……
(Video file attached)
No text. Just one video sitting there.
In the video, a Climber was truly weeping as he shoveled stir-fried pork into his mouth. The camera lingered on his trembling hands, the steaming white rice, and the glossy, glistening pork.
“Hic…! It’s real… It’s real stir-fried pork. Mom!”
Even while crying he never stopped moving the spoon. All the pain and grief of the ruined world seemed to melt into that single meal.
The comments exploded.
As expected. Food mattered most.
No wonder Rankers sell samgyeopsal for 50 TC.
The remaining posts were similar—testimonies to the astonishing performance of the Lesser Recovery Potion, and a “New Item Full Breakdown” thread crawling with wild speculation about the seller’s identity. Clearly a high-floor Climber. Must have found some insane hidden route. Maybe it was even EndSeeker.
Hyun Si-woon closed the community window with a satisfied smile. Market response confirmed. Time to prepare the next stage.
“We’ve tested the waters. Now we sell for real—but first, let’s set a few rules.”
“Rules?”
Jang Cha-yul asked. Hyun Si-woon nodded.
“Dumping unlimited supply isn’t smart. If supply is infinite, value collapses. We need to keep scarcity while steadily farming TC. Anyone got good ideas?”
At their leader’s words, everyone fell into serious thought. Surprisingly, the first to speak was the usually quiet Kang Si-a.
“What about building a brand?”
“A brand?”
“Yes. Right now we’re selling anonymously, but we plant the idea that ‘this seller is trustworthy’ and ‘this seller’s goods are always the best.’ For when we start selling unique items later, too.”
“Oh.”
Hyun Si-woon’s eyes lit up.
“That’s good.”
The discussion continued. In the end they settled on a few concrete sales strategies.
The brand would be the phrase ★Wandering Merchant★ placed at the front of every listing. That would be their signature from now on.
They would also raise the price of combat rations and snacks—to 5 TC. Quantity limited to one hundred per day.
Hwang Dae-un insisted they should charge 10 TC, but they partially accepted Baek Do-hee’s opinion that it was a bit much.
Hyun Si-woon spoke.
“At 10 TC it would still sell. But then it becomes food only wealthy high-floor Climbers can eat—their private luxury. At 5 TC? Low-floor Climbers who hunt hard for a day or two can buy it once. It becomes hope. A goal.”
What they were after wasn’t simply earning TC.
It was market dominance.
Right now the majority of Climbers still couldn’t stably earn TC. Hyun Si-woon’s judgment was that making this food feel like a necessity mattered more than short-term profit.
“As expected of Hyeong-nim.”
“Damn……”
Hwang Dae-un and Baek Yeon-ho nodded vigorously in agreement.
On the other hand, they decided to raise the potion price to 10 TC.
“This one we approach purely through practicality and survival value. And the people buying it are likely decently high-floor Climbers.”
Once you cleared Floor 2, gathering 10 TC became easy. Why sell cheap to those people? This too—one hundred per day.
As for the two scrolls, they still hadn’t sold out, so there was no solid information yet. They would take the existing listings down, reprice them at 10 TC, and watch the reaction a little longer.
“Now for the most important one.”
Hyun Si-woon’s gaze turned to the empty air of his virtual interface.
“The Spatial Expansion Backpack.”
Silence fell. Everyone knew the value of this item. Even when listed at 50 TC, nearly half had sold—and that was while buyers still didn’t fully understand its performance.
Now that review posts had already gone up, the pre-sale discount period was over.
Hwang Dae-un spoke carefully.
“Hyeong-nim… honestly, shouldn’t this be at least 200 TC?”
“200 TC? Hey, you’re lowballing it. It’s a permanent rare item. Minimum 300 TC.”
Baek Yeon-ho shot back. A heated debate broke out among the teammates. Opinions even reached 500 TC.
Hyun Si-woon, who had been watching quietly, raised a hand and stopped the discussion.
“Good points, all of you. But we need to think bigger.”
“Sir?”
“This backpack isn’t just a high-ticket product. It’s going to become the signature item of us—the Wandering Merchant. In other words, a luxury good.”
“A luxury good…?”
Kang Si-a tilted her head. Hyun Si-woon nodded.
“Right. Something not just anyone can own, yet something everyone craves. Just wearing this backpack will become a symbol that proves a Climber’s level and wealth.”
“……?!”
The members stared at Hyun Si-woon with wide eyes—the look of people wondering what strategy would come out of their shrewd leader’s mouth next.