The Black Shop

With that final message, I left the tenth floor.

When I opened my eyes, I was standing in the same spot where I'd pushed open the door. The moment I stepped back out, I would never be able to enter the tower again.

Let's check the Necklace of Trials first.

I'd obtained the necklace in my previous life too. Since it was the reward for clearing the Red Door, though, its effects back then had been different.

"Whoa..."

Once I confirmed the effects, I couldn't help but marvel. An item that raised unique stats? I had never even heard of equipment like that. The Red Door's reward only boosted the three basic stats by +3, and its EXP gain bonus was a mere 10%. On top of that, both of this necklace's effects worked as passive possession effects. It really is a legendary item.

The wear restriction read Black Trainee. I already met that condition as well.

I opened my status window.

The achievement that had once read Black Challenger had been changed to Black Trainee. My status window had changed quite a bit from before I entered the tower, too. Mana had reached 50, and my list of achievements had grown considerably.

I really have changed a lot.

Just as I was thoroughly satisfied with my rewards, another system message appeared.

Along with the system message, a shop window popped up.

Of the four categories, the items I needed to buy were in Consumable Items. That was the message I was checking when,

"What the hell is this..."

A shop that only unlocked with 100,000 Tower Coins left over. And almost nothing in it could actually be bought for 100,000 points. Of course, I wasn't saying the other things were worthless.

If you were going to do this, why set the entry bar at 100,000 points?!

This was hope torture, plain and simple. It was clearly designed to torment me by parading pastries I could never afford to eat.

Still, might as well take a look.

The Black Shop had opened at 100,000 points, which meant there had to be at least something in it I could buy.

Maybe I'll even walk away with exactly what I need.

I began digging through the shop, compiling a list of everything within my budget.

"That should be about it."

I reviewed the list I'd put together.

Those five were everything I could actually afford with my points.

Crimson Blood and the Ring of the Vast Sea are out, for starters.

I didn't use water magic, so the ring was useless to me. And I had no intention of changing my race, so the blood was out as well.

The Lower Elixir isn't something I need right now, either. Cross it off.

Having it on hand would definitely help someday. But now wasn't the time. Nothing catastrophic enough to justify burning an elixir was going to happen in this level range.

That leaves the boots and the armor...

Both were things I desperately needed at the moment. Footwear that would strengthen my footwork, or armor that would keep my body safe — that was the question.

Hmm.

I deliberated for a while before making my choice.

"Dad, that guy isn't showing up, you know."

"Who are you talking about?"

Jung Chul-in answered his son's question with a dismissive grunt. Rustle! Clang!

"You know, the guy you were so generous to a while back. It's already been three months."

"Oh, that fella?"

Jung Chul-in paused to think before recalling the man his son meant. The man who had shown him a C-rank awakener's license.

No way. Absolutely not.

The man himself hadn't seemed to notice, but the aura he gave off could never have belonged to a C-rank.

S-rank. No, higher than that.

Jung Chul-in had met plenty of S-rank awakeners over the years. But none of them had been stronger than that man.

"What sort of business could he be tangled up in, I wonder..."

"Dad?"

His son's voice pulled Jung Chul-in out of his private thoughts.

"So? What about the man?"

"You gave him such a generous deal. Maybe he's gone to a different dismantling shop?"

"Not a chance."

That was never a man who would take his business elsewhere. That was exactly why Jung Chul-in had been so generous in the first place.

"He's probably stockpiling like he did before and coming back with a bigger haul."

"I hope you're right..."

But his son couldn't quite shake off his unease.

And this is why I'm not sure whether the boy can actually take over the shop...

Jung Chul-in let out a silent sigh as he studied his son. Just then, an employee pushed open the door and stepped in.

"Boss, we've got a customer?"

"A customer?"

There were no appointments today. So there shouldn't have been any customer at all.

"We don't have anything booked today, do we?"

"Ah, that C-rank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you personally brought in last time, boss."

Jung Chul-in broke into a wide grin.

"Son, what did I tell you?"

"He really came..."

The son just stood there, scratching his head.

"Could you bring him back here for me?"

"Yes, sir."

Jung Chul-in immediately stripped off his dismantling gear and got ready to receive his guest.

What monster will he bring this time?

That customer's monsters were a genuine pleasure to dismantle. Han Jin was a customer cut perfectly to the measure of Jung Chul-in's dismantler's pride.

This place is still as bustling as ever.

After leaving the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tower of Trials and heading up to Seoul, I made my way to the dismantling ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shop. The corpses I'd gathered in the tower needed dismantling.

Should I really entrust him with the Demon Slime dissection?

The man was the finest dismantler I knew. But the Demon Slime was a monster even he had never handled before, so I had to present the offer carefully.

The dismantling process is tricky.

Even in my previous life, the only person who ever succeeded in dismantling a Demon Slime was him.

I suppose there's nothing to do but hand it over.

I was still mulling it over when I arrived at the boss's office.

"You can go on in."

"Thank you."

I pushed the door open and found the man and his son inside.

"Well, well, if it isn't my regular."

The old man greeted me with a booming voice. When our eyes met, I bowed my head in greeting. He answered with a nod of his own.

"So what monster have you dragged in for me this time?"

"Haha, not that much, really."

With that, the man and I moved to the workshop.

"Take it all out here."

At his word, I pulled the monster corpses out of my inventory one by one, everything except the Demon Slime. Goblins and kobolds, plus the byproducts of the Desert Stone Turtle.

"This—!"

The man's eyes gleamed the moment he laid eyes on the Stone Turtle's byproducts. Since Desert Stone Turtles were so massive, there was a limit to what could be hauled back. What I'd brought was the turtle's shell.

There's more where that came from, but...

I'd have a use for the rest later. The man moved to start pricing the haul on the spot, but I stopped him.

"Keep what you're about to see confidential."

Both of them nodded. The old man was famously tight-lipped, and his son was probably just as discreet.

I slowly drew the Demon Slime's corpse out of my inventory.

It's causing a fuss even in death.

The stench was bad enough, but it was also venting some strange gas. The old man noticed at once and fetched a sealed container. I hurriedly packed the Demon Slime inside it.

"And what is this one supposed to be?"

"A Demon Slime."

"Demon Slime?"

The man mulled over the monster's name for a moment, then furrowed his brow.

"Never heard of it."

"I'd expect not."

I affirmed his words as I handed the Demon Slime over to him.

"Would you take on the dismantling?"

"Hmph, you even have to ask."

The old man accepted my proposal without a moment's hesitation.

"Come back in about a week."

"Will do."

With those last words, the man immediately set to work. I, in turn, left the shop right away and headed for home.

"It'll be fine, right?"

Standing in front of the front door, an odd anxiety crept over me. A son who'd been out of contact for three whole months, suddenly walking back in.

If I were her, I'd start with a beating.

Mother's hand was fierce. Awakeners generally built up a resistance to pain, but no amount of resistance could keep out Mother's palm. It pierced through every defense.

I'm a dead man.

My expression darkened. Suddenly, I didn't want to go inside at all. Just then, I sensed movement behind me. I turned my head, and there stood Sunha.

"Oppa?"

"Haha."

I gave an awkward laugh and waved a hand at her. Sunha flung open the front door, shoved me inside, and bellowed into the house:

"Oppa's home!"

"Hey! Jin Sunha!"

I panicked and tried to hush her, but Mother was already standing right behind me.

"Jin?"

"Haha."

I let out another awkward laugh as I looked at her.

"I-I'm home?"

SLAP!