“......”
My hand stopped.
I reread the sentence several times, wondering if I had seen it wrong.
But the information did not change.
It could synthesize any item.
And add a positive modifier on top of that.
‘What the hell is this?’
My heart began pounding.
If this thing worked exactly as described,
it was not mere junk.
It might even be a treasure unlike anything else in the world.
“Hey.”
THUD.
Lee Jeong-ho struck the floor with his greatsword.
“What are you staring at for so long? Don’t tell me you said you’d buy everything and now you’re picking and choosing?”
I put the basket down and made my expression as calm as possible.
“We do buy everything.”
“Then calculate it by weight.”
I looked at the rocks piled on the counter.
I could not let them do this to me again.
But I absolutely had to get my hands on the Goblin Basket.
“We don’t take stone fragments.”
“What?”
“I told you last time. We can’t purchase rocks like these.”
Lee Jeong-ho’s face twisted.
CRASH!
The display rack shook violently from his kick.
“You bought them last time!”
“In return, I’ll give you the highest price for the other items.”
“You bastard......”
His hand shot out.
I saw it clearly, yet I could not dodge.
He grabbed me by the collar and lifted me into the air.
“Urk!”
“A reject, yet you’re making people go through all this trouble.”
WHAM!
His fist buried itself in my solar plexus.
My breath stopped, and my vision flashed white.
“Cough, cough......”
My body dropped to the floor.
Rage surged up.
But I had no strength.
As I was now, I could not beat him.
Which was exactly why,
‘I have to take this basket.’
I had no intention of returning a treasure to trash like these bastards.
“Understood.”
I got back to my feet, holding back my cough.
“I’ll calculate it by weight.”
“That’s what you should’ve done from the start.”
I put everything on the scale, including the stone fragments.
“Altogether, 1 gold and 20 silver.”
“Good.”
They pocketed the money with satisfied expressions.
“See you again, reject.”
“Calling a person ‘reject’ is rude. He has a name.”
Cha Hye-ryeon added with a smile.
“See you again, Scrap Metal.”
Only after the three of them disappeared did Johnson cautiously emerge from the back of the shop, where he had been hiding.
“Ahem. You had it rough.”
‘This old geezer, seriously.’
“I heard they have been making Summoners compete against one another over achievements lately, but to think they would even do things like that. Tsk, tsk.”
I barely heard him.
My gaze was fixed solely on the Goblin Basket.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“I’ll buy those items myself.”
“What?”
“I got ripped off because I didn’t handle them properly. I’ll take responsibility.”
Normally, an employer who cared about an employee who had just been assaulted would stop him.
But Johnson was different.
“Ahem. Well, if you insist on taking responsibility. Still, I will eat a loss of 20 silver.”
As expected, he was a miser.
“Thank you.”
Even if I sold all the junk, it would not bring in 1 gold.
I did not care.
The Goblin Basket alone was more than enough.
“Then I’ll leave early today.”
“All right. You had a rough time, so take the rest of the day off.”
I swept the junk into a sack.
I casually slipped the basket in with it.
On the outside, I kept as calm as possible.
But from the moment I stepped out of the shop, my heart began pounding like crazy.
‘It can synthesize any item.’
Just how far did “any” go?
Could it turn junk into better goods?
Or even artifacts?
Then I suddenly remembered the two reject Ability Stones I had seen that morning.
Mind Split.
Forced Multiple Contract.
Each ability was excellent, but fatal penalties made them garbage no one would use.
But what if. Just what if.
I could take only the advantages from those two Ability Stones and combine them?
“......That’s insane.”
A laugh slipped out before I knew it.
One year since I fell into this world.
For the first time, a real opportunity might have appeared before me.
***
“Char. You are early today.”
As I entered Jerik Martial Arts Hall, a burly giant turned his head.
It was Jerik, the hall master and a former adventurer.
He was my benefactor, who had charged a near-beggar like me only a pittance and even given me a room when I came asking to learn martial arts.
‘Char’ was the nickname the people here had given me because they could not properly pronounce the name Cheol-woo.
“Yes. Something came up at the shop.”
“Something?”
Jerik’s gaze moved to the sack slung over my shoulder.
“Does Old Man Johnson make you work at home too?”
“Something like that.”
“That miser really works people to the bone.”
Old Man Johnson’s usual conduct made excuses easy.
“What about evening training?”
“I’ll take just today off.”
“You?”
Jerik narrowed his eyes.
I had never missed training in half a year even when I was sick, so his suspicion was understandable.
I tapped the sack.
“I need to sort through some goods.”
“......All right. But tomorrow, double.”
“Yes.”
Avoiding Jerik’s eyes, I entered the small room attached to one corner of the martial arts hall.
It was a rented room without even a proper lock, but it was the first space I had obtained for myself since falling into this world.
CLICK.
As soon as I closed the door, I set the sack down on the floor.
CLATTER.
Broken bone knives, goblin tableware, leather scraps, shriveled mushrooms, and pebbles spilled out.
And among them,
the shabby bamboo basket appeared.
[Goblin Basket]
[A basket capable of synthesizing any item.]
[Synthesized items have a high chance of receiving a positive modifier.]
No matter how many times I checked, the description remained the same.
“Any items......”
If it truly worked as described, it was an incredible object.
But I could not blindly trust the System’s explanation.
My trait did not even have a grade. It was Ungraded.
And the item I had found through that trait was also Ungraded.
‘Let’s experiment first.’
I picked up the least valuable item.
[Labyrinth Pebble]
[Hard.]
I put two pebbles into the basket.
TAP. TAP.
And waited.
“......”
Nothing happened.
Five seconds.
Ten seconds.
Then,
FLASH.
A small light flashed through the gaps in the bamboo weave.
“It worked!”
I hurriedly opened the lid.
Only one pebble remained inside the basket.
[Labyrinth Pebble]
[Hard.]
“......What?”
Two had become one, but the description was the same.
“Did one just disappear?”
Disappointment rose, but at least it proved that the basket was no ordinary object.
This time, I put the freshly made pebble and a new pebble into it.
FLASH.
They became one again.
[Labyrinth Pebble]
[Hard.]
No change.
I put in another pebble.
FLASH.
[Labyrinth Pebble]
[Hard.]
“Let’s see which of us gives up first.”
Close to half the junk I had brought was pebbles.
I kept putting stones in without pause.
FLASH.
Another flash.
The pebbles continued merging into one, but there was no noticeable change.
‘Maybe it got a little smoother.’
There was a good chance I was imagining it.
Then, after I had combined more than ten pebbles,
FLASH.
[Labyrinth Pebble]
[Very hard.]
“Oh.”
One word had changed.
But that one word mattered.
Repeated synthesis raised the quality.
I immediately found something else.
A bone spoon smaller than my palm and a bone fork with its tip broken off.
I put the two into the basket.
FLASH.
[Goblin-Style Spork]
A strange utensil emerged, with fork tines attached to the end of a spoon.
“It can combine them like this too?”
It was not simply that one of the two items remained.
If the items had similar purposes, their functions themselves could be combined.
This time, I put in two broken bone knives.
One had an intact handle, while the other had a relatively intact blade.
FLASH.
[Goblin Bone Knife]
[An intact bone knife. Relatively sharp.]
Only the intact parts of the handle and blade had been combined.
The old leather scraps were the same.
The torn portions disappeared, and the more I synthesized them, the tougher the leather became.
‘Does it preserve the advantages?’
I tried putting the junk I had brought into the basket in every combination I could think of.
Dried mushrooms could be combined with one another.
But a mushroom that had not fully dried and still had some life left in it could not be synthesized.
Items made from the same material reacted with a high probability, while items made from different materials did not react.
Even if they looked similar, they would not synthesize if their uses or compositions were too different.
After dozens of experiments, I had figured out the rough rules.
First.
Only items with similar materials or compositions could be synthesized.
Second.
Living creatures could not be synthesized.
Third.
Repeated Synthesis repaired damaged parts or improved quality.
Fourth.
Items with similar functions could sometimes have their respective advantages combined.
“So it isn’t something that spits out an artifact just because I throw junk into it.”
That was a little disappointing.
But not enough to be truly disappointed.
The ability to turn ten pieces of trash into one intact item was valuable enough on its own.
More importantly,
‘Functions and advantages can be combined.’
I thought of the two Ability Stones I had seen that morning.
[Mind Split]
Divides consciousness into five, but causes multiple personalities to manifest.
[Forced Multiple Contract]
Allows contracts with four lowest-grade spirits, but imposes a severe penalty on all other mana usage.
Both abilities had clear advantages and disadvantages.
If the basket also worked on Ability Stones,
the ability to divide consciousness and the ability to contract with multiple spirits might be combined.
There was also a chance that their fatal penalties could be removed or weakened.
“Crazy.”
I could not even begin to imagine what kind of ability might result.
I wanted to run straight back to the general store.
But I barely managed to stop myself.
‘If I go back now and ask for those Ability Stones, he’ll get suspicious.’
I had appraised garbage no one would buy, only to suddenly say I wanted to buy it on the very same day.
Johnson might be blinded by money, but he was not a fool.
Especially since he knew I could see the hidden information in Ability Stones.
‘I’ll buy them tomorrow.’
No one could ever learn the true nature of this basket.
Not even Jerik, my benefactor.
Even if he would never betray me, it would all be over if a single careless word leaked outside.
In this world, the fact that a powerless person possessed a treasure was practically a crime in itself.
“Phew......”
My hands trembled no matter how much I tried to suppress my anticipation.
It was the first time since I had fallen into this world.
It felt as though a path I could never have reached through my efforts alone had suddenly appeared before me.
KNOCK KNOCK.
“Char.”
Jerik’s voice came from outside the door.
“Evening training is starting.”
“I told you I’m taking today off.”
“I know.”
“Then why......”
“You sounded too excited. I figured you would get into trouble if you rested.”
He was exactly right.
I looked at the basket and the junk for a moment, then quickly covered them with a cloth.
“I’m coming.”
Maybe working my body hard would calm this excitement down.
The next day.
I arrived at the general store earlier than usual.
“The sun must be rising in the west today.”
Johnson glanced at me through his monocle.
“Now you’re complaining even when I come early?”
“It is ominous when you come early.”
I ignored him and started cleaning and arranging the displays.
But my mind was entirely occupied by the two Ability Stones sitting on one side of the display case.
Time passed without a single customer.
Lunch came and went.
Only when the sun began to sink in the west did I cautiously speak up.
“Boss.”
“What?”
“Sell me those Ability Stones.”
Johnson’s hand stopped.
“What?”
“The two reject Ability Stones I appraised yesterday.”
The old man’s eyes sharpened.
“Why?”
It was the question I had expected.
“After what those bastards did to me yesterday, I changed my mind.”
I pressed the bruise still lingering on my solar plexus.
The pain meant I did not even have to pretend to be angry.
“At this rate, I’ll spend my whole life being treated like a reject and die that way. Even if there are side effects, I’m going to get stronger.”
“......You are sure about what you appraised, are you not?”
“Are you doubting me now?”
When I raised my voice, Johnson subtly averted his gaze.
“No, it is just that you suddenly said you wanted to buy them.”
“If you don’t trust me, take them to the Magic Tower and have them appraised again.”
“That costs money......”
“Forget it. I’ll get something somewhere else.”
I took off my apron and threw it onto the counter.
“And I quit, effective today.”
“What?”
“How am I supposed to work for an employer who doesn’t even trust his employee’s appraisal?”
“No, wait! If you suddenly quit, how am I supposed to find a replacement?!”
Panic appeared on Johnson’s face.
Apparently, he had only now remembered that I was an employee who worked for cheap, could appraise miscellaneous goods, and quietly watched the shop even when there were no customers.
“I will sell them. I will sell them!”
“Give them to me at cost.”
“That is a bit......”
“Then I quit.”
“1 gold for both!”
Johnson shouted in a panic.
That was half of six months’ wages.
It was expensive for garbage Ability Stones.
But a normal low-grade Ability Stone cost more than ten times that much.
“I’ll buy them.”
I took out the money I had saved and placed it on the counter.
CLINK.
The coins disappeared, and the two Ability Stones entered my hands.
Half of all my savings was gone.
I had no regrets.
Not yet.
“I’ll leave early today.”
“You are coming tomorrow, right?”
“Probably.”
“What do you mean, probably?! I will raise your pay, so you had better come!”
Instead of answering, I pocketed the Ability Stones and left the shop.
The moment I entered a deserted alley, I pulled the Goblin Basket from inside my clothes.
Then I put the two Ability Stones inside.
TAP. TAP.
‘Synthesize.’
Junk items had reacted within ten seconds.
I slowed my steps and stared down at the basket.
Ten seconds.
Twenty seconds.
One minute.
No light appeared.
‘Does it need more time?’
Considering the difference in value between junk items and Ability Stones, that was possible.
Clinging to that hopeful thought, I walked all the way back to the martial arts hall.
But the basket never lit up.
“Char. What is with that expression?”
Jerik asked at the entrance of the martial arts hall.
“It’s nothing.”
“Did someone beat you up again?”
“I said it’s nothing.”
After entering my room, I set the basket down on the floor.
The two Ability Stones were unchanged.
‘Don’t tell me items containing mana can’t be synthesized?’
Anxiety slowly crept up inside me.
One hour.
Two hours.
Nothing happened.
“......Does it only work on junk?”
The strength left my legs.
THUD.
Half of all my savings.
It was not just the money I had lost.
The time I had spent earning that money had vanished along with it.
It would now take at least several more months before I could get a normal Ability Stone.
“Fuck......”
More than the thought that the basket was not a treasure, what hurt was the fact that I had let myself cling to false hope again.
An Ungraded trait.
An Ungraded basket.
Common sense said I should never have expected anything from the start.
‘My money......’
Money mattered.
I had learned that painfully from a very young age.
Without money, people did not merely fail to do the things they wanted to do.
They could not even do the things they had to do.
My parents were the ones who had taught me that.
With their lives.
And now I had practically thrown away money as precious as those lives into thin air.
“......Damn it.”
Just as the lament escaped me,
BANG BANG.
“Char! Get out here! Time to train!”
Jerik pounded on the door.
“I’m taking today off.”
“You rested yesterday.”
“I don’t feel well.”
BANG!
The door flew open.
Jerik stepped into the room and looked down at me.
“A sound mind dwells in a sound body.”
“My mind is sound.”
“Do not say that with such a rotten look on your face.”
Jerik grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me straight out.
“Training.”
“Wait. It’s already night. There isn’t any training now, is there?!”
“Starting today, there is a special class.”
“There wasn’t any class like that!”
“I just made it.”
Before I could resist, I was dragged to the middle of the training grounds.
“Start with running!”
“Yes, sir!”
The boys and young men began running all at once.
I reluctantly followed after them.
At first, all I could think about was the money I had lost and the basket.
But after running for more than an hour, I had no room left to think.
“Your footwork is falling apart!”
THWACK!
A pebble Jerik threw struck me in the forehead.
“Ugh!”
“Focus!”
‘I'm already ruined because of a damn pebble, and now you’re throwing rocks at me too?’
I cursed him inwardly and kept running.
The moment the running ended, I was handed an iron training spear.
“Intensive class, to your position!”
The intensive class consisted of me alone.
“How many things do you have to do?”
“Two!”
“Say them!”
“Thrust and evade!”
“Perfect just those, and you will survive on the lower floors of the Labyrinth. Begin!”
“Yes, sir!”
I thrust the heavy iron spear straight ahead.
SWISH.
I put all my weight into the thrust in a single step.
TAP-TAP.
Then retreated diagonally in two steps.
It was a movement I had repeated thousands of times over the past half year.
But today, I could not concentrate.
‘My money.’
I thrust the spear.
‘Half my savings.’
I retreated.
‘I have to work another three months.’
THWACK!
This time, a pebble struck my temple.
“Char! Watch the spear tip!”
“Yes!”
I gritted my teeth.
Right.
Let’s chalk it up to one stupid mistake.
I had fallen into this world with nothing and survived by begging.
I had learned the language in a city where I could not even communicate, found a job, and trained every single day for half a year without missing one.
If losing a few months’ worth of money was enough to make me give up, I would have died long ago.
‘I can save it again.’
I thrust the spear.
‘I can still use the basket to synthesize junk.’
I retreated.
‘I’ll find a way to enter the Labyrinth even without an Ability Stone.’
I thrust again.
SWISH.
Little by little, the distracting thoughts disappeared from my mind.
Feet.
Waist.
Shoulder.
Arm.
Spear tip.
I saw only a single point.
I drove strength into my supporting leg.
Twisted my waist.
And drove the spear forward not with my arm, but with my entire body.
FWOOM!
Blue light flashed from the perfectly extended spear tip.
[Mana 1 has been generated.]
[You have acquired the Mana Skill ‘Thrust.’]
“......What?”
In that instant, strength left my body as though something had drained out of me.
The iron spear slipped from my hand.
“Mana after half a year......”
I heard Jerik’s astonished voice.
“Well done, Char.”
With those words, my vision went black.