Radiant Etherium
How radiant.
In this era, the most expensive and valuable mineral lay right before my eyes. Etherium was a crystal formed from condensed ether—a pure manifestation of energy. Its uses were vast. Depending on how it was processed, it could become a gemstone or serve as a battery substitute. In high-level dungeons, where electronic devices and regular batteries often failed, processed Etherium batteries were standard. Such equipment came at an exorbitant price. Think Etherium-powered motorcycles or drones. An Etherium-battery drone delivered immense output and endurance, and with an explosive device attached, it could even function as a bomb. Refined into liquid form, it became an excellent potion. When an Awakener consumed it, the potion boosted their ether stats and increased their total ether capacity. Effects varied wildly by type and grade, making its applications nearly limitless.
In short, Etherium was the most valuable resource of this age. Even the lowest-grade Etherium cost twice as much as gold of the same weight.
“It’s red,” Choi Yoo-ra said, eyeing the Etherium in my hand.
“Yeah. Red.”
“That’s expensive.”
“Even a newbie knows that much.”
Red Etherium increased an Awakener’s attack power and vitality. Physical damage dealers—warriors and assassins alike—coveted it above all else.
“How did you know?”
“There’s a way to know these things.” I waved my Search card. A lie, of course. I had never used the Search card to find hidden items inside objects. Discovering the Red Etherium was purely the result of experience. If you examined the jars inside the Cursed Fortress closely, you would notice their patterns were all different. Those patterns revealed which jars were traps and which concealed items.
“What about the other jars? How about this one?” Choi Yoo-ra pointed to the jar directly opposite.
“Weren’t you the one telling me not to touch anything? Calling me a crazy bastard?”
“W-well, I didn’t know it had Etherium inside.” Her voice shrank.
“Ahem.”
Captain Im’s subordinates, who had also cursed at me earlier, suddenly found other things to look at, their embarrassment plain.
“Don’t touch that one. It’s a trap.”
“Mmm.” Choi Yoo-ra licked her lips with clear regret. Seeing the Red Etherium had clearly made her want to smash every jar in sight.
“Not that one.” I kicked a jar a few meters away, shattering it.
Crash!
From the broken pieces emerged a blue Etherium this time.
“T-that’s impossible!”
“Blue?!”
Everyone gasped. Honestly, even I was a little surprised.
“Whoa, a blue one actually came out.”
Blue Etherium boosted a mage’s spell power. As rare as mages themselves, Blue Etherium was extremely precious. To trade for one Blue Etherium of the same grade, you would need roughly five Red Etherium. Five times the value.
“Hmm.” I slipped the Blue Etherium into my pocket and tossed the Red one to Choi Yoo-ra.
“You’re giving it to me?”
“You worked hard. You’ll keep working hard.”
“……Thanks.”
Choi Yoo-ra expressed her gratitude, then immediately swallowed the Red Etherium.
Shhh!
A faint red ether enveloped her. Good. That was the right call. We were still in a crisis; any means of strengthening oneself—like Etherium—should be used without hesitation.
“Whoa.”
“He’s just handing out Red Etherium for free.”
Captain Im’s men stared at Choi Yoo-ra with undisguised envy.
* * *
We passed through the drainage channel on the second underground floor of the Cursed Fortress and headed for the first underground floor.
“Don’t touch anything.”
“I know that already?!” Choi Yoo-ra snapped when I warned her.
“You look like you’re itching to smash every jar you see.”
“N-no I’m not?!”
“Sure you aren’t.”
It wasn’t just Choi Yoo-ra. Captain Im’s team also hesitated every time they passed a jar. Etherium’s value was simply that high. Even knowing the risk of traps, the temptation was hard to resist.
“Hmm.” Too quiet. There were no monsters on the second underground floor, but from the first floor onward, they should appear. This silence could only mean one thing.
Thud, thud, thud!
Multiple footsteps echoed from ahead.
“Halt! Halt!” Captain Im raised his rifle toward the darkness and shouted.
“Oh my, you’ve all worked hard.”
A man emerged from the shadows with both hands raised. He wore a snapback cap, an Under Armour tank top, tactical pants, and a plate carrier, with a thick gold chain around his neck. The classic “tattooed pig” type.
“Soldier uncles, I see. Hunter Choi Yoo-ra is here too. Nice to meet you. I’m Min Yong-nam.”
Seven hunters stood behind Min Yong-nam. Even at a glance, they looked like trouble.
“Hey, Jong-seok, what are you doing? Offer our hardworking public servants some drinks.”
“Yes, hyung-nim. Oh, thank you for your service.”
The smallest hunter rummaged through his backpack and handed us canned drinks.
‘That’s…’
I caught a glimpse of something inside the bag as the cans came out.
Captain Im lowered his rifle.
“I’m Captain Im Mu-seong from the Defense Strategy Department. Feel free to call me Captain Im.”
“Yes, yes. Min Yong-nam here.” The tattooed pig grinned broadly. “Running into people doing national work down here is reassuring. Haha.”
“What brings you here?”
“We were hunting on the first floor when a sudden eruption forced us underground.”
“I see.”
“And you, soldiers?”
With a low hum, a disc sliced across the tattooed pig’s neck.
Thud. Roll……
His head hit the floor.
Whoosh!
Thud!
His body collapsed in a fountain of blood.
“……!”
Everyone froze.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Captain Im roared at me. “Killing someone without warning—”
I answered with bullets.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
The Bren 2 spat fire.
“You crazy bastard!”
“Aagh!”
Min Yong-nam’s group screamed under the sudden hail of gunfire.
“Cha Eun-seong, you insane fuck!” Choi Yoo-ra cursed even as she swung her chains at the remaining men.
Ten seconds. That was all it took for us to wipe them out.
“What in the world was that?!” Captain Im grabbed me by the collar. “Let go.”
“Why did you kill them?! Why?!”
“I said let go.”
Our eyes met. Captain Im flinched and trembled.
“Check that bastard’s backpack.”
“What……?”
“The one who handed us the drinks.”
“Confirm it.”
One of Captain Im’s men searched the backpack.
“T-Team leader.”
Several clown masks spilled out.
“……Wreckers.”
Captain Im slowly released my collar. Anyone carrying masks in their bag was a Wrecker, no question.
“How did you know?”
“I saw it when they pulled out the drinks.”
“Ah, right.”
“You could tell at a glance they weren’t good people. You just couldn’t attack first because you’re soldiers.”
“……”
Captain Im didn’t answer. He had probably suspected as much, but military protocol had kept him cautious.
“I’m truly sorry for the misunderstanding. And… if something like this happens again, please give us a heads-up.”
“Understood.”
“Then……”
“Let’s loot and move on.”
We had taken down enemies. Time to collect what we could.
* * *
Looting was practically mandatory after fights between Awakeners. Stripping the dead of equipment and belongings was standard.
“There’s quite a lot here.”
Choi Yoo-ra upended the Wreckers’ bags, spilling items across the floor. They had been hunting for a while; various material items poured out. Monsters usually dissolved into Etherium upon death, but occasionally dropped hides, bones, or other materials. These were extremely valuable—monster remains often contained mysterious powers that became useful after processing.
Looting wasn’t limited to materials. A translucent orb floated above the tattooed pig’s corpse. Such orbs were almost always Runes. Runes were mysterious stones containing skills or stat boosts. Monsters dropped them at very low rates, usually related to their own abilities. Awakeners absorbed Runes to gain the power within.
“Never seen one before.”
The Rune the tattooed pig dropped looked valuable. I didn’t know every Rune by heart, but this one stood out.
Luck Rune ★★★
Item Acquisition Rate +15% when defeating monsters (Passive)
Even if it didn’t help in direct combat, it would be useful for farming. Fifteen percent wasn’t a negligible boost.
I reached for the Luck Rune.
Shhh. A card slipped from my deck and absorbed it.
“W-what was that?”
Ignoring Captain Im’s startled question, I examined the card.
Luck Magic Card ★★★
Luck +25% (Passive)
Luck +20~120% (When card is activated)
The card depicted a goddess with her eyes blindfolded, rolling dice. Previously it had absorbed the Wreckers’ spirit swords; now it had taken a Rune as well.
“U-uh, Eun-seong-nim. Just now……”
“One moment.”
I pushed ether into the card, ignoring Captain Im. The card vanished, and the blindfolded goddess appeared. Not only her eyes were covered—her vital areas were wrapped in bandages too—but the sight felt sacred rather than provocative.
— May fortune be with you.
The goddess’s voice echoed in my mind.
Clack, clack.
She rolled the dice in her hands and placed two into mine. I opened my palm carefully.
The result: 6 and 6. Total 12.
Luck increased by 120% for 5 minutes!
The goddess smiled and kissed my forehead before disappearing.