Chapter 93
Chapter 93
Translation: godtl
"......"
A prolonged silence ensued.
And for good reason.
'These are hardly ordinary conditions.'
Orichalcum and Adamantium.
In terms of quality alone, they weren't vastly different from mithril.
'But obtaining them is like plucking stars from the sky.'
Their drop rates were incomparably rarer than something like mithril.
Take orichalcum for example.
The information window described it as a "metal of the celestial realm."
Indeed, orichalcum could only be obtained at miniscule drop rates in maps related to the celestial realm.
Naturally, their astronomical rarity made them exorbitantly expensive.
The same went for adamantium, the metal of the Demon Realm.
"Ha... You really are—"
That earlier confident demeanor of hers—where she'd said "Name anything, I'll accommodate you to the best of my ability"—had completely vanished.
"You keep exceeding my expectations every time."
Lin, who had just let out a deep sigh, had already removed her hand from the contract.
She sat back in her seat, pressing her fingers to her forehead.
"Si-mun, do you have any idea how absurd the conditions you're demanding are?"
"I don't think they're so absurd that the owner of the Black Market can't handle them. There have been several auctions for them before, haven't there?"
The Black Market where nothing in the world was unavailable.
True to its reputation,
rare items had indeed been traded there on multiple occasions.
Orichalcum and adamantium were no exception.
After all, unless you were a mega-guild like the Continent Guild or American Dream,
there was no better place to sell them at a good price than the Black Market.
"As you said, there have been instances where orichalcum and adamantium were traded through us."
Lin, as the owner of the Black Market, was well aware of this fact.
However.
"It's just that the number of such transactions can be counted on one hand."
Even in the Black Market, they were that rare.
This alone spoke volumes about the scarcity of these metals.
"They're minerals with no predictable supply timeline. And their prices are practically at the level where only nations could afford to—"
"But you're not saying it's impossible."
Si-mun smoothly cut her off with a knowing smile.
Lin blinked at him for a moment before speaking quietly.
"Si-mun, do you truly believe your Arena cure is worth that much?"
"Isn't that something you, Lin, know better than anyone?"
Si-mun answered her question with another question.
It was one of the response formats she hated most.
"......"
Her usually eloquent lips remained tightly sealed.
Because it was true.
Lin's gaze, which had been fixed on Si-mun, lowered slightly.
'An Arena disease cure. Normally, it wouldn't even require my personal involvement.'
When the Night Hunter Park Jin-uk first brought it to the auction house,
even if it was a cure for an incurable disease, it wasn't something that warranted her direct attention.
Naturally.
'Because it only cured something like Mana Sclerosis.'
Mana Sclerosis.
One of the slowest-progressing Arena diseases.
Even the Night Hunter, who had suffered from Mana Sclerosis, had only taken a temporary break from the Arena.
He never reached the point of hospitalization like other Arena disease patients.
In fact, he'd opened a private investigation office and continued using his abilities.
But.
'Its value is different now.'
With the Seongsam Guild officially distributing the cure, its worth had completely changed.
'The variety of cures alone has expanded tremendously.'
While additional Arena cures were somewhat within expected parameters,
she never imagined there would even be cures for vicious diseases like Circuit Reversal.
'Do-hu's recovery was the turning point.'
Do-hu, one of Korea's First Generation rankers.
After her return, interest in Arena disease cures exploded.
The demand for Arena Disease treatments was beyond imagination.
And on top of that—
'Kim Si-mun—that man also suffered from an Arena Disease once.'
Unlike the Iron Wood King, an illegitimate child of the Kim Clan who rose to become the current President of the Korea Awakened Association through his own abilities,
Kim Si-mun had never even gotten the chance to demonstrate his talents due to his mana disability.
Yet now, he had completely recovered from his mana disability and was emerging as South Korea's most promising talent.
What did that imply?
'His value as a player is one thing, but he's going to unleash an even greater variety of treatments.'
Just as humanity had conquered countless diseases once deemed divine punishment,
Kim Si-mun was highly likely to develop treatments for countless Arena Diseases.
No—he was already doing so.
Wasn't the Seongsam Guild already distributing treatments covering 30% of all known Arena Diseases?
Therefore—
'If we're thinking about the future, this man is an absolute must-have.'
Those who engage in business must always keep an eye on the future.
If one only focuses on the present, their enterprise will stagnate and eventually be left behind—not progress.
This was one of the few lessons left behind by her predecessor, who was likely screaming in hell right now.
Lin bit her lip slightly.
'Tch. If it weren't for the Fox Marble's warning, things wouldn't have gotten this complicated.'
From the depths of her chest—
Bzzzt.
The Fox Marble continued its persistent warning.
Had it not been for this, the moment she judged Kim Si-mun to be no pushover,
she would have immediately cast her charm on him.
And then, forcing him into a slave contract would have been her usual, most optimal business practice.
'Honestly, things just had to get tangled in the worst way. When was the last time I struggled this much...?'
Pressing her temples firmly, Lin suddenly let out a soft chuckle.
'Well, I suppose I've grown complacent.'
No matter how talented he was, he was still just a Gold-rank who had debuted barely over a month ago.
Underestimating him and failing to prepare properly—it was only natural she'd end up getting played like this.
Once she cleanly admitted that, the stress clouding her mind vanished completely.
Lin raised her head and gazed at the handsome man with sharp features before her.
"You're right, Sir Si-mun."
Though it was unlike her to admit defeat so plainly—
"No matter how rare an item is, someone will eventually bring it to market. But treatments are different, aren't they?"
Why did she feel like laughing?
With a strangely refreshed expression, Lin continued.
"The value of treatments ranks higher than orichalcum or adamantium. That's why we invited you here."
Perhaps it was because of her genuine smile, so unlike the calculated ones she had shown until now?
Si-mun felt the previously oppressive atmosphere around Lin grow surprisingly comfortable.
"After all, a mineral used for equipment can't possibly carry the same weight as medicine that saves lives."
Lin spoke her mind without reservation.
And Si-mun, having lived a past life, knew full well how rare such honesty was.
As Si-mun remained silent, listening—
Swipe.
She extended her hand again, placing it over the blank space on the contract.
"Alright, Sir Si-mun. I accept the terms you proposed."
As her fingers traced the blank space—
Whooosh.
A sinister, dark-purple energy seeped out from the contract.
Watching it, Si-mun asked,
"And your conditions?"
"Just supply 30% of the volume distributed by Seongsam. But the types must be identical to what they're circulating."
"That's all?"
"Yes, that's all."
Lin's tone was decisive.
At that, one of Si-mun's eyebrows rose slightly.
'That's a far more reasonable condition than I expected.'
He had anticipated, at minimum, a demand for supply equal to Seongsam's—
or worse, a request to cut ties with Seongsam entirely and grant her exclusive distribution rights.
'Surely it's a lie that the Black Market's boss isn't greedy. Did she have some change of heart?'
The unexpectedly reasonable terms left Si-mun's mind slightly dizzy.
Had she sensed the turmoil in his thoughts?
"Hehe. I suppose such a gentle deal doesn't suit someone like me, does it?"
Lin let out her signature fox-like smile.
"If you'd prefer, I could always heap on the conditions you'd expect from me?"
Yet despite her words, Lin didn't remove her hand from the contract.
"Well then. I'd better seal the deal before you change your mind."
Si-mun chuckled and placed his hand on the contract as well.
Sssss—
A sinister, dark purple energy crept up Si-mun and Lin's arms, flowing toward their chests.
"Eek!"
As if ice had touched bare skin.
Lin flinched violently.
But unlike her—
'It's warm.'
Si-mun felt a gentle, comforting warmth instead.
Then.
[The Void-mediated contract has been established.]
A system message appeared before Si-mun.
Just as the Void energy seeping into his body shuddered—
[The Void mediating the contract is startled by the gaze fixed upon you.]
[The Constellation Black Goat frowns, lips twisting. 'Ha. That bastard Cthulhu, he was pulling this shit?' and waves a dismissive hand.]
[The encroaching Void hastily withdraws and vanishes.]
[All penalties from the contract have been nullified.]
A cascade of messages streamed into view.
Si-mun's eyes gleamed as he read them.
'Oh-ho? The contract penalties are completely gone?'
Truthfully, when Lin had brought up a Void contract, he had privately considered that he might avoid the penalties.
After all, in his past life, players backed by deities of thunder or fire had rarely suffered penalties from contracts of their respective attributes.
'Even if I've earned the Constellation's favor, I didn't expect to have a full-fledged Backing Constellation. I thought at best, the penalties might be reduced.'
But to have them entirely nullified without even being a Backing Constellation?
Si-mun glanced upward and winked.
'Thank you, Black Goat-nim.'
As if in response—
[The Constellation Black Goat gazes at you with a pleased expression.]
The Black Goat's reaction appeared instantly.
"Oh my, are you trying to pull something right now?"
"Huh?"
Had she misunderstood?
"What should I do? It's cute, but I can't just let the contract slide."
Lin giggled, watching the dark purple energy dissipate along with the contract.
Naturally, Si-mun laughed along.
"Haha! Did it seem that way?"
"Don't play innocent. I suppose the Iron Wall Saintess likes this kind of style?"
Though the meaning behind his smile was entirely different from what Lin assumed.
The Black Market.
A place where, with enough money, even the rarest items could be easily obtained.
Naturally, it was a paradise for high-ranking players.
And two women were currently navigating its depths.
Or rather—
"Mal-suk-ah, look over there! An S-rank pet! It's adorable!"
"Plate armor is fine, but the design doesn't suit me. It looks too bulky."
"This one's pretty. Right? You should try it on too."
"That potion earlier—for an A-grade, the effects were underwhelming, no? Oppa's were way better."
It would be more accurate to say one woman was rampaging through it.
"Mal-suk-ah, what about this one?"
"It's the same as before."
"The design's the same, but the colors are slightly different. Doesn't this suit me better?"
"Dunno. Just buy whatever."
"Whaaat~."
Lee Yu-jeong roamed the Black Market as if it were her own home.
Despite her epithet, the Iron Wall Saintess, she was—
"Oh my! Isn't that the armor set made by that famous European blacksmith? It's brand new!"
"Do they have any blunt weapons? The bigger, the better."
—meticulously inspecting every item in sight.
One had to remember this was the heart of the Black Market: the auction house.
The surrounding shops boasted exorbitant prices, but...
"I'll take this! And this too!"
"Hey, miss, you got the money for all this? You know cards don't work here—"
"Here."
Before Lee Yu-jeong—the sole heiress of Korea's top conglomerate, former master of the Seongsam Guild (one of the nation's finest guilds), and a Ranker—no obstacle could stand.
Watching Yu-jeong casually spend hundreds of millions like pocket change, Go Mal-suk let out a deep sigh.
Ugh. I'm gonna die for real.
Just how much is she planning to buy?!
Even with her combat-class stamina, keeping up with Yu-jeong's endless shopping spree was exhausting.
Especially since—
Is it because she's a Ranker? Damn, her inventory's ridiculously huge!
Just the items she'd bought so far looked like they weighed at least a ton.
Was it because she was a Ranker?
Yu-jeong's inventory kept swallowing items without end.
Dammit! I should've realized when those bastards made comments about "women and their shopping"!
Kim Si-hyeok and Park Jin-uk, who'd casually passed Yu-jeong off to her, chattering about how women loved shopping together—those two had known exactly what they were doing.
After another thirty minutes of this—
"Whew! I'm exhausted! Mal-suk, wanna grab something to eat over there?"
Yu-jeong finally said the words Mal-suk had been waiting for.
"Gotta recharge if we're gonna keep going."
Along with the words she didn't want to hear.
"Yeah. I'm fucking starving."
But at the mention of a break, Mal-suk immediately dashed toward a nearby bench.
Then—
"Hey, hey! What the—"
"Piss off, punk!"
She shoved aside a robed figure who'd taken up one side of the market and plopped down in their spot.
"This bitch crazy! Hey, you— Huh?!"
Then—
"GYAAAH!"
Yu-jeong, following behind, grabbed the robed figure lunging at Mal-suk and effortlessly flung them aside.
"Wh—what the hell?! She just tossed that guy like it was nothing?!"
"Definitely high-level. Let's just back off."
The surrounding crowd quickly realized these two women weren't to be trifled with and scattered.
In the Galaxy Agora, this would've caused quite a commotion.
But this was the Black Market.
Even as someone went flying through the air, not a single person batted an eye.
Yu-jeong dusted off her hands and asked,
"Mal-suk, what do you wanna eat?"
"Anything. Preferably meat."
"Meat? Isn't that a bit heavy for a snack?"
"Hey, after all that walking, we deserve meat."
"Hmm... I'm craving something sweet."
"Then get dessert too. Actually, just buy everything. You're good at that."
"That kinda sounds like an insult, but... fair point."
With a nod, Yu-jeong disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Or more accurately—
"Eek! What the—?!"
"Whoa, how is she this strong?!"
"Is she an ogre or someth— GACK!"
—she bulldozed through like a human wrecking ball.
The guy who'd called her an ogre was last seen airborne from a single punch.
Now that's my kind of woman.
True to the Black Market's unspoken rule where strength was law, Yu-jeong plowed through anything in her way without hesitation.
Mal-suk watched her with deep satisfaction.
Some time passed.
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
Then, from the direction Yu-jeong had gone, the sea of people abruptly parted.
Through the gap walked Yu-jeong, hood pulled low, alongside a strikingly handsome middle-aged man.
All eyes turned toward them.
"Wait... is that—?"
"Why would he be in a place like this?"
"Must be new to the Black Market. Used to come here often in his younger days."
"Saw him once ten years ago—still looks the same."
Of course they'd react.
"Never dreamed I'd see you in a place like this."
"Likewise. Is this your companion?"
The tall, sharp-featured man was none other than—
"That's right. Mal-suk! Over here!"
—the master of the Myth Guild, one of Korea's 1st Generation Rankers.
"...Mal-suk?"
The Iron Blood himself, Go Chang-jin.