The Champion's Corpse
Seoul, Jongno District.
Gold and silver shop street.
Kim Hwang-je returned here with Poyu perched on his head.
Poyu was fast asleep, drooling and purring. The baby drool carried a sweet scent, and the fairy dragon's saliva diluted the presence of the souls within Kim Hwang-je's body with its magical power.
Thanks to yesterday's attack by the deep-sea giant, hunters were running around frantically. Last night had been an exhausting ordeal for every hunter and government official alike.
Because of Poyu, the Lost Association looked far more vivid than it had the day before. Kim Hwang-je didn't know it, but the gold, gems in his possession, and the dragon on his head were all living sources of anti-demonic power. They could laugh off even a high-ranking archmage's curse.
Hum—
Thanks to that, the shabby entrance of the Lost Association now looked like a grand hotel from the outside.
When he stepped through the automatic doors, Jung Da-yeon was waiting for him at the entrance. She smiled and bowed politely.
"Your Majesty, you've arrived? You've become quite famous."
"Y-Your Majesty?"
Embarrassed, Kim Hwang-je's face flushed slightly. Unlike before, the mages sipping coffee in the hall didn't shoot him hostile glances. Instead, they stole curious looks at him.
Yesterday he had broken through their barrier. Today he had come with a black card, visiting smoothly.
"Welcome, valued customer. Thank you for visiting the Lost Association again. This way, please?"
Jung Da-yeon still looked elegant in her white blouse. She guided him to the VIP room. Instead of summoning tea with magic like last time, she performed a localized summoning directly onto the table—a fairly advanced spell. She smiled brightly, dimples showing.
'How about that? I can do this much too.'
But Kim Hwang-je, who knew nothing about magic, didn't understand the significance at all.
"Ahem… ahem. Sorry for showing off."
Seeing his indifferent expression, Jung Da-yeon deflated and cleared her throat as she sat down.
'As expected, he doesn't even flinch. I practiced in secret too…'
Still, this Jung Da-yeon wasn't one to give up easily.
"What brings you here today?"
"You said you'd sell the gold for me when I get more, right?"
"Yes. Our association has been aggressively expanding its business in Korea recently. We have a policy of purchasing any items we need."
"Then… do you also buy boss monster corpses?"
"Of course."
Jung Da-yeon had her own concerns.
'That should have looked confident, right? I absolutely can't back down.'
The man before her was likely connected to Korea's mage towers, or perhaps an ancient being who had been hiding in Korea for a long time. Either way, after selling the anti-demonic gold, he had suddenly become famous online. Perhaps Korea's ancient secret societies were beginning to move with him at the center?
She felt a flicker of anticipation. If she could buy from him, building a relationship would be far more profitable.
But Kim Hwang-je didn't reveal all his cards. Instead, he asked something unexpected.
"By the way, could I buy a blast furnace? Does Lost handle those too?"
"…A blast furnace?"
"Yes."
What on earth did he mean by asking if he could obtain a blast furnace? Surely he didn't mean that kind of blast furnace. Was it a dungeon name? An item name?
Jung Da-yeon repeated the word several times in her head.
'What is this? Is he testing me?'
What kind of hunter asked for a blast furnace? Obviously, something like that belonged at a steel mill. Pohang had the world's largest facility!
So naturally, whether mage, mage tower, or hunter—if they needed iron, the proper way was to cooperate with existing corporations. Building even one steel mill through a consortium between Korea and other nations required at least 1.5 billion dollars.
"Pardon? Is that not possible?"
Kim Hwang-je's expression didn't change at all. This man truly wanted a blast furnace… or rather, a steel mill.
"It doesn't have to be huge. No need for something the size of Gwangyang Steel Mill."
"Hmm…"
'Of course not!'
While Jung Da-yeon screamed internally, Kim Hwang-je's eyes sparkled as he continued.
"I want the latest technology compressed into something small but sturdy that can keep producing steel. I'd like to set it up simply on about a 5km site."
"…Wow."
Jung Da-yeon was genuinely impressed. She hadn't expected him to demand something like this.
Of course, on his way here, Kim Hwang-je had carefully examined the empty lot behind the royal palace. If they cut down the trees, there would be plenty of space to build a steel mill. He had also asked Gemini for a meeting through Poyu on the way over. When he asked if she could just buy steel for him, Gemini had shaken her head.
Kim Hwang-je's thinking had been correct. She had said that to slay powerful monsters, magical treatment while the metal was still molten was necessary.
Seeing his thoughtful expression, Jung Da-yeon bit her lower lip.
"…You're giving me quite the difficult test."
"In exchange, I'll sell you these items. First, this… and…"
From the pouch he pulled out, the same anti-demonic gold as before spilled forth. Seeing the gold made her heart waver. High-quality anti-demonic gold like this was an essential catalyst for all protective equipment. Moreover, because it required magical treatment, it traded for more than twice the price of gold, which had already skyrocketed due to the monster crisis.
Considering the price she would pay Kim Hwang-je, her margin wouldn't be large, but nothing was better for pioneering sales channels while starting business in Korea.
'Hmm. I want to help, but suddenly building something like a blast furnace is impossible. I'm already overwhelmed with business expansion, lobbying the government, sourcing corporations… it's too much work. I'm sorry, but I'll have to refuse.'
As if sensing her thoughts, Kim Hwang-je pulled out another pouch filled with gems.
Jung Da-yeon's expression changed dramatically.
"This is… magic stones! This many?!"
She stood up, unable to hide her excitement.
"You're saying you'll sell these?!"
"Yes. I will."
With this much, who cared about a blast furnace? She would have been willing to build an airport and fill it with planes if he asked.
Even at a glance, the magical patterns shining brilliantly inside the gems were rotating while drawing no fewer than sixty-four circles. No existing mage tower could produce gems of this quality. Refining something like this was impossible on Earth. Perhaps only by taking a spaceship near the sun… or deep underground…
While Jung Da-yeon pondered the gems, Kim Hwang-je delivered his final blow.
"Oh, and one more thing. I'll sell you the corpse of the Creide Scarab Champion."
"…What?!"
Jung Da-yeon's scream echoed beyond the VIP room. The mages who had been chatting over tea outside dropped their cups and stared toward the VIP room.
* * *
Deep within the Lost Association.
Walking through the underground corridor lined with sterile white plastic, Jung Da-yeon chattered away like a cheerful bird, clearly in a good mood. Even the butler who had followed her since childhood smiled warmly at her bouncy steps. Her short hair swayed pleasantly, and her dimples sparkled.
"The Creide Scarab Champion. A calamity-class monster. Previous auction prices started at 200 million."
"Won?"
"Ah, dollars. Sorry. All auctions are conducted in dollars."
She smiled brightly as she walked deeper inside. She kept up her PR, showing Kim Hwang-je all sorts of tools and magical facilities.
"So our yield is currently the highest in East Asia. If you entrust it to us, you can expect at least 1.5 times the previous highest auction price from the Seoul Mage Tower. I promise. Since this is Lost's first auction in Korea, we'll definitely be able to attach a premium."
But everything she said as they walked the white corridor went in Kim Hwang-je's right ear and out the left. His mind was completely occupied by numbers. Overwhelming numbers.
200 million dollars?
1.5 times? If things went well, 300 million dollars?
Roughly calculating the exchange rate… 300 billion…
300,000,000,000 won?
Kim Hwang-je chuckled at the absurd amount. Well, his ability let him demand 130 million won for a single sword swing as king. Without this kind of money, he might go bankrupt quickly. And then there were the food costs to supply the royal castle. And the military funds needed for defense work from now on.
Anyway, more money was always better. Besides, what was the big deal about swinging a sword ten thousand times in an hour of fighting? Masters could swing their swords a hundred times in a minute without breaking a sweat. That alone would be a hundred billion won.
'He laughed…?'
But that laugh struck Jung Da-yeon as a kind of provocation. She steeled herself and led Kim Hwang-je to a massive workshop.
A pristine white space that looked like it could assemble cars in the middle. Its scale was no smaller than an American aircraft manufacturing plant. Countless monster corpses were organized by section, with artisans carefully dismantling the special ones around them.
"How is something like this possible in Jongno?"
"We dug deep underground."
Jung Da-yeon didn't want to reveal more secrets. She pointed at a cylindrical mass of flesh that looked as majestic as a Boeing 747 from afar.
"Look at that shin."
"The shin?"
"That's the shin of the deep-sea giant you scolded yesterday. In Korea, only ten companies were allowed to claim the spoils. And one of them is us. It shows the government's trust in our technology."
She spoke proudly. The shin alone seemed at least sixty meters long. Countless people swarmed over it like ants, dismantling it with complex tools. It looked like ants clinging to a cicada.
"Impressive, isn't it?"
"Whoa."
Seeing his genuinely surprised reaction, Jung Da-yeon puffed out her chest. Yes, this was exactly the reaction she wanted.
"Oh, Kim Hwang-je's spoils are also stored in the lost item storage. If you entrust them to us, we'll sell them for you."
"I'd appreciate that."
She gestured at the large empty lot.
"Well, I've shown you enough of our facilities. Why don't you make your decision? If you have the work done elsewhere, you won't get this level of yield. Our auctions are also transparent and fair. We'll offer the lowest commission. So…"
She spun around to face Kim Hwang-je and patted his head. It was a woman's ultimate weapon!
"…Why don't you send someone to retrieve the items and settle the price here?"
"Ah, there's no need to send anyone. I'll take it out right here."
"Pardon? Take it out?"
Kim Hwang-je pulled the Scarab Champion's corpse from his trade window and dropped it onto the empty lot.
Thud!
The Scarab Champion's body fell from thin air. Its joints and legs were made of gems, its two wings that had trembled and made noise were woven from metal, and its terrifying teeth grew in circles all the way down its throat.
"The corpse… is this clean?"
"Surprising, right? I was the same."
Kim Hwang-je spoke casually. Since the insect had been encased in concrete and hardened, it was practically brand new. The soldiers had popped its eyes, but everything else was clean. That was his simple assessment.
But for Jung Da-yeon, it was a shock. Normally, slaying a calamity-class monster was a nightmarish bloodbath. The standard strategy involved blocking paths with government thermobaric bombs, pouring bunker busters until they were exhausted, then having the best hunters in full special gear carve it up in a wheel formation.
But this… this was…
Wasn't it as clean as an insect collector pinning a cicada?
Yet that wasn't all.
'Moreover, this place has large-scale summoning spell restriction magic. How did he break through this space?'
The trade window existed inside Kim Hwang-je's body, so it was different from summoning from external space. But Jung Da-yeon, who couldn't know that, felt dizzy. As she staggered, the butler beside her quickly caught her.
"It's incredible. So this is how it comes out."
"Right? It's amazing."
Not realizing there was another meaning, Kim Hwang-je smiled confidently. Jung Da-yeon looked at him with her turquoise eyes, then examined the scarab from various angles.
Her pupils suddenly widened.
"Moreover, this item isn't a simple champion. This is a contaminated entity."
"A contaminated entity?"
"Wait a moment…"
Jung Da-yeon went to a nearby spot and pointed at the head. The hard head was made of bone and metal that wouldn't budge even under tank cannon fire.
"I'll look inside. Is that all right?"
"Yes."
At Jung Da-yeon's gesture, people rushed over and used a special magical cutter to incise the skull. Sparks flew tremendously as they created a square opening to peer inside.
Jung Da-yeon pointed inside the opened lid.
"Look, there's no brain."
Where a normal creature's brain should have been, there was only a small tumor-like lump instead. Jung Da-yeon put on gloves, grabbed the dead tumor, and pulled it out. Immediately, people swarmed in and sealed it in a box marked with "emergency seal" tape and magic circles. Their attitude was as if handling an ampoule of a weapon of mass destruction.
"No brain, huh?"
"No brain…"
Jung Da-yeon fell into deep thought as she looked at the tumor.
"These are things you only see in the subordinates of the Contamination Lords. It's a cursed tumor that replaces the brain. Information the public doesn't know. About the true enemy causing this monster wave…"
'Information the public doesn't know? As expected, they've been hiding a lot.'
Kim Hwang-je thought quietly. So hunters and high-ranking officials knew a bit about the cause of the world's current state? But why didn't they tell the world? Because knowing wouldn't help?
Then she spoke.
"Where did you get this? Why did you bring it to us? What do you want from us?"
"I don't want anything else. As long as I can sell this and turn it into money, that's enough."
Kim Hwang-je answered honestly. He had a kingdom to feed.
'You expect me to believe that?'
Jung Da-yeon shook her head helplessly. She was already grateful that he had brought such an item; pressing further would be rude. She had already decided to continue the transaction no matter what.
"Understood. But the deep-sea giant attack yesterday might have the Contamination Lord behind it. Would it be all right if we sell it at auction?"
"I'll leave it to you."
Kim Hwang-je nodded. Jung Da-yeon turned around. The white-haired butler who had caught her earlier stood there. His sharp eyes, pomade-slicked hair parted neatly, and lion-like beard showed the charm of a middle-aged man.
"Butler. You heard the transaction details earlier, right?"
"Of course. Young lady, I've already sent people to the steel mill. We'll prepare a plan to relocate the blast furnace."
"Please go prepare it yourself."
"Yes, young lady."
The butler bowed and disappeared again.
"And Mr. Hwang-je. Be careful."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
"Howlers are targeting the deep-sea giant. They might come after you soon too."
Jung Da-yeon glanced at her watch. It was already approaching evening. She had spent the entire afternoon showing him the facilities while Kim Hwang-je seemed half out of his mind.
"If possible, would you like to have dinner together? I have more to discuss on this topic."
She tried once more. Jung Da-yeon gently brushed back her black hair. A silver earring sparkled between the strands of her short hair. It was her own ultimate weapon.
She intended to enter the tiger's den if possible to learn the tiger's identity. What exactly was this man trying to sell these items for?
But Kim Hwang-je wore a troubled expression.
"Um, I don't have time for that… I need to go register."
Jung Da-yeon stared at Kim Hwang-je with a dazed expression, as if she had been struck on the head with a hammer.
"Register?"
"Yes. Sorry. They said I have to register at the district office by today."
Kim Hwang-je looked at his watch helplessly. Jung Jin-woo had warned him yesterday. If he didn't register as a hunter at the district office by today, officials would come. And now there was only an hour left before closing.
* * *
Jung Da-yeon stared blankly as Kim Hwang-je got into a taxi and left.
"The witch, Jung Da-yeon. Rejected in one stroke. How unexpected? This is a first, isn't it? And he says he has to go to the district office?"
Ghost appeared from somewhere and laughed. Jung Da-yeon glared at him with her turquoise eyes. Should she change her approach?
"Shut up, Ghost. You were hiding in fear again today…"
"Assassins don't fight head-on."
"You just can't."
Despite Jung Da-yeon's sarcasm, he laughed while watching Kim Hwang-je leave.
"Thanks to him, things won't be boring from now on."
"Tch."
"Ugh!"
Jung Da-yeon kicked Ghost's shin for no reason.