SCRITCH, SCRATCH.
Only the sound of ink from the cheap ballpoint pen soaking into the paper filled the room.
Cheol-woo lightly rolled the lollipop in his mouth and drew a straight line across the ledger with a ruler.
He was in the middle of refining the notes he had scribbled yesterday into something more organized and easier to read.
"Let us see."
He drew a long horizontal line to divide the page into upper and lower sections, then drew thick vertical lines to make columns.
At the top of the left column, he wrote 'Goblin’s Abandoned Mine.' At the top of the right column, he wrote 'Sleeping Waterway.'
Below that, he steadily filled in the information for each dungeon.
-Abandoned Mine: Low-grade Mana Stones, Iron Ore, Azure Mana Iron.
-Regeneration Status: Monster group regeneration confirmed. Minerals fill in periodically.
-Waterway: Refined Mana Water, Aquatic Mana Herbs, Slime Nuclei.
-Regeneration Status: Mana Water flows in daily. Mana Herbs and Slimes vary by individual over several days.
He even carefully checked and recorded the current dungeon mana values.
Once the entries for the two places with different characteristics were arranged in the same table, the flow became clear.
The abandoned mine had a slow cycle centered around rough metals and minerals.
On the other hand, the waterway had a tight cycle centered around herbs and mana water.
Once the operating cycles of the two dungeons were clearly established, it felt as though a long-standing weight had finally lifted from his chest.
"Good. The framework is roughly set."
Just as Cheol-woo set down his pen in satisfaction.
One side of the translucent management window floating in the air began flickering faintly.
Ding.
With a light mechanical sound, the words 'New Management Item,' which had always been locked, distorted and immediately changed shape.
[Territory Management]
The item with its new label was no longer gray.
It was now glowing with a clear blue light, showing that it had been activated.
Cheol-woo narrowed his eyes and stared hard at the screen.
"What is this? Why did it suddenly open?"
He had not done anything particularly special just now.
At most, all he had done was organize the information of the two dungeons side by side in his ledger.
That might have had an effect, but the system did not kindly inform him of the unlock condition.
There was no loud fanfare or completion message either.
The lock had simply opened in silence.
"So you do not want to tell me, huh."
He did not complain and picked up his pen again.
In the corner of the ledger, he added the date, time, and a short note: 'Territory Management window activated.'
Not hastily concluding that it was because of certain data registration, and simply leaving a record instead, would reduce future headaches.
After finishing the record, Cheol-woo immediately pressed the activated [Territory Management] tab.
The window smoothly unfolded, revealing a completely new screen.
On the left was Goblin’s Abandoned Mine, and on the right was Sleeping Waterway.
Unlike before, when he had to press separate tabs to enter them one by one, he could now see the status of both dungeons at a glance.
"Oh."
Cheol-woo unconsciously let out a sound of admiration.
Production volume by resource, remaining monster regeneration time, current population, and even dungeon mana accumulated separately.
It was possible to compare them intuitively, as though he were using dual monitors.
‘Can I pull mana from the abandoned mine and use it directly in the waterway?’
He moved his eyes around, examining every corner of the screen.
Unfortunately, there was no indication anywhere that mana could be shared or used across dungeons.
When he lowered his gaze to the bottom of the screen, unfamiliar functions appeared one after another.
[Inter-Dungeon Resource Transfer] - Locked
[Ecosystem Transplantation] - Locked
[Base Designation] - Locked
The functions were tempting from their names alone, but all of them were sealed behind red locks.
It meant they were higher authorities he could not use yet.
Cheol-woo clicked his tongue in disappointment, then his gaze stopped on the bottom line.
A single button had opened by itself, as though it had popped out for this activation check.
[Item Transfer Test]
-Target: 1 single item
-Available Executions: 1
"This one is open."
It seemed like a tutorial.
It was telling him to get only a taste of how items moved between dungeons before the higher function opened.
There was even a helpful warning stating that large-scale transfers or repeated operation were not supported.
"Let us at least check whether something really moves over."
Cheol-woo rested his chin on one hand and began thinking about which item to send.
If he moved Aquatic Mana Herb to the abandoned mine, it would obviously dry out and die on the parched dirt floor.
Conversely, if he threw a sharp spear used by a goblin into the waterway, it would quickly rust and become useless.
If he moved ore or monster byproducts that might affect the ecosystem for no reason, there was no telling what side effects might occur.
"I should go with the safest option."
From the abandoned mine’s resource list, he selected one Low-grade Mana Stone that he had harvested in advance and stored in a pile near the entrance.
A single mana-infused stone would not cause any problems no matter what environment it was placed in.
The origin was the storage pile at the entrance of Goblin’s Abandoned Mine.
The destination was set as the floor just inside the entrance of Sleeping Waterway.
After finishing the settings, Cheol-woo pressed [Execute] without hesitation.
HUM.
With a short vibration, the quantity of Low-grade Mana Stones decreased by one in the Goblin’s Abandoned Mine resource list on the screen.
At the same time, the Item Transfer Test button at the bottom turned gray and closed completely.
"Is that it?"
Nothing changed in the real living room.
No brilliant pillar of light rose, and no loud sound rang out.
Cheol-woo stood from his chair and stretched lightly.
Now it was time to go and check with his own eyes.
A small blue gate formed in the middle of the living room.
Cheol-woo stepped into the gate as he was, dressed comfortably in a tracksuit.
Since he was only going to glance at the waterway entrance, he did not need heavy armor or foul-smelling boots.
RUSHHH.
With the cool sound of water, the damp air unique to the waterway rushed over him.
The first thing he saw was the dry stone floor near the entrance, where the water did not reach.
Cheol-woo searched the floor thoroughly.
Before long, he saw a small stone lying there alone.
"It really came over."
He crouched down and picked up the stone.
It was a roughly cut Low-grade Mana Stone.
When he held it up to the light, he saw a small chip on one corner.
Its appearance matched exactly with the mana stone he had enlarged using the magnifying function in the management window moments ago.
"Wow. Damn."
A hollow laugh burst from Cheol-woo’s mouth.
He had not connected the two gates into one, nor had he put it in his bag, taken it out into reality, and carried it back in.
With just one operation in the status window, a mana stone that had been tucked away in a corner of the abandoned mine had dropped onto the entrance of the waterway.
A single item had easily crossed from one dungeon to another.
‘What happens later when that Resource Transfer function opens?’
Just imagining it made a calculator spin wildly in his head.
The locked Inter-Dungeon Resource Transfer function was clearly a higher authority meant for large-scale, repeated, and even automated operation.
If that opened, it would mean he could pour iron ore mined from the abandoned mine into a warehouse in another dungeon all at once, without painstakingly moving it by truck.
The memory of walking until his back felt like it would snap while carrying a heavy backpack during his porter days passed through his mind.
"So this is the power of a dungeon owner."
Cheol-woo lightly tossed the mana stone in his hand upward and caught it.
For now, he had no idea how to unlock those higher functions.
At present, he had to limit himself to this one-time verification and be quietly satisfied.
He shoved the mana stone into his pocket and turned away without hesitation.
After returning to his studio, Cheol-woo began preparing for serious work.
He now had the foundation to examine both dungeons as a single territory.
However, the target that would immediately fatten his wallet and directly translate into profit was the Refined Mana Water from the waterway.
He rummaged through the kitchen cupboard and took out three clean glass jars.
They were transparent sealed jars used for storing fruit syrup from the mart.
He scrubbed the jars with hot water and dried them completely.
"I am only getting it appraised, so there is no need to scoop up a ridiculous amount."
As long as the sample was solid, the transaction would follow on its own.
While the jars dried, Cheol-woo hummed as he turned on his laptop and opened an internet window.
Into the search bar, he entered keywords one after another, such as 'potion ingredient purchasing,' 'basic alchemical solution shop,' and 'mana water appraisal conditions.'
Tap. Tap, tap.
Rolling the mouse wheel, he checked the websites of the businesses that poured onto the screen one by one.
There were several fairly famous pharmaceutical companies operated directly by major guilds.
They were the largest and most stable trading partners, but the moment Cheol-woo read their purchasing methods, he mercilessly closed the windows.
"Shameless bastards. Exclusive supply contracts and guaranteed minimum volume? Are they joking?"
If he got involved with such places, things would be convenient at first, but they would not end well.
The obvious tactic of large corporations was to impose heavy penalties if he failed to supply hundreds of liters every month without fail, or to slash the price when circumstances changed.
From the beginning, the terms were full of clauses that used excuses like public interest and stable supply to pass every risk and loss onto individual producers.
Cheol-woo snorted and moved to another page.
"It is not as if I am desperate."
He was not in a position where he had to beg others to please buy his goods like everyone else.
All he had to do was anonymously toss them the amount he wanted, when he wanted, take the money, and leave.
He absolutely hated the idea of being tied down by a scrap of contract and forced to squeeze resources out of his territory.
As he busily moved the mouse, Cheol-woo’s gaze stopped on a small shop banner in one corner of the screen.
[Silver Moon Alchemy Workshop]
-Appraisal of rare materials and basic solutions welcome.
-No questions asked about source.
-No complicated supply contracts required. Same-day cash purchase principle.
"Oh-ho."
His hand on the mouse stopped.
The website design was tacky beyond belief, but the conditions displayed were exactly what Cheol-woo was looking for.
It did not force fixed deliveries like a large trading partner, and if the goods were good, it would pay the market price on the spot.
It seemed the cumbersome identity checks and contract paperwork were minimized as well.
"I should test this place first tomorrow."
He quickly wrote down the workshop’s address and business hours in his notepad.
Then he gathered the completely dry glass jars and brought them to one side of the living room.
Now all he had to do was enter Sleeping Waterway again and neatly scoop up the clear Refined Mana Water flowing from the crack in the wall.
‘It feels like just yesterday that I was loitering around the board, asking if there were any porter jobs.’
With light steps, Cheol-woo reached into the air again.
Through the activated Territory Management window, he opened the door to Sleeping Waterway once more.
Instead of a fishy water smell, the damp sewer pipe waiting for him seemed to carry the distinct scent of money.
Like someone going to retrieve emergency funds secretly hidden away from everyone else, a deep smile hung on Cheol-woo’s lips.
Now that his heart felt secure, even the clinking sound of the empty glass jars knocking together sounded cheerful.
"Now, let us touch some money."
Tucking the empty glass jars firmly under his arm, Cheol-woo hummed and stepped lightly beyond the gate.