On the bus to Namdaemun.
I checked Fire's Status Window.
| ❰Fire(EX) Lv. 2❱
❰Possessed Skill: Hellfire(EX)❱
❰Hunger: (620/2,000)❱
……A new skill will be unlocked upon reaching Lv. 5
| ……Lee Chanyoung will unlock a new skill upon reaching 2,000 Hunger |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
'I guess the conditions stay the same, and it progresses according to his Hunger.'
I had heard that the harder a condition was to fulfill, the greater the reward.
Apparently, other growth requirements besides Mana Stones would eventually be added as well.
That was still far in the future, so there was no need to worry about it yet.
What I needed to worry about right now was Namdaemun.
I had heard it was a rather inconvenient place for beginners.
There were plenty of merchants who overcharged customers, and when you tried to sell something, they would ruthlessly lowball you.
Going to an official shop would have been much safer, but—
'It takes too long.'
Just selling something took several days at minimum.
The procedure for purchasing Mana Stones was troublesome as well.
I had no choice but to put up with Namdaemun.
I took out my phone to read the guidebook when something began squirming inside my clothes.
-Waaah!
| [Fire(EX) complains that he is uncomfortable!] |
| ---------------------------------------------- |
It was Fire.
With his arms crossed, he popped his head out and glared sharply at me.
Apparently, he hated being stuffed in there so much that he even started pounding my chest with his fists.
Ow! That hurts, you little bastard.
For such a tiny thing, his punches packed quite a sting.
He was supposedly the King of Fire Spirits, yet his behavior could not have been more childish.
I had hidden him inside my clothes because I did not want to attract unnecessary attention.
Spirits were visible to everyone.
A peculiar humanoid Spirit would draw even more attention.
But Fire apparently hated the arrangement.
"Hey, stay still."
-Waaah!
| [Fire(EX) says he is so uncomfortable that he feels like he is going to die!] |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
"I told you I'm going to get you better Mana Stones. Should I not? If you come out, it'll all be for nothing. No Mana Stones, no nothing."
-Waaah.
| [Fire(EX) asks whether you are almost there.] |
| --------------------------------------------- |
"Yeah. We're almost there, so just eat your Mana Stones and endure it a little longer."
I barely managed to strike a deal with him.
I was already exhausted.
Apparently, he would continue growing larger as he leveled up.
If he got any bigger than this...
Handling him was going to become a serious problem.
I stuffed Fire back inside my clothes and continued reading the guidebook.
Although Namdaemun was inconvenient for beginners, there were still honest and popular shops.
One place in particular handled both Mana Stones and monster byproducts.
'Jinhee Trading Company.'
According to the guide, it was the most honest shop around and always offered fair prices.
Rather than ripping customers off, the owner was supposedly more likely to give them a little extra.
Naturally, the shop had plenty of regular customers.
'Then that's where I'll go.'
-This stop is Namdaemun.
I arrived at Namdaemun.
It looked completely different from how it had five years ago.
Mana Stones, items, monster byproducts—
The market's former appearance had vanished without a trace.
Instead, the entire area was now packed with goods obtained from Towers and Gates.
"Seventy thousand won for an F-Rank Mana Stone? Come on, that's way too expensive. Can't you lower the price a little?"
"Hey! If you're not buying, don't touch it. Lower the price? I'll lower your head from your shoulders!"
At least it was still as rough as ever.
There was no point looking at the shops near the entrance.
I headed straight inside.
"Turn right here, then left after three blocks. Then straight ahead. Here it is."
《Jinhee Trading Company》
The sign made it obvious enough, but the real proof was the crowd surrounding the place.
"Wow! Are you sure you can pay this much? I'm the seller, and even I'm getting worried for you."
"The condition is fantastic. Another good purchase today!"
"Goodness, ma'am. Stop giving me extra. At this rate, you're going to run your own shop out of business. You've got to make a living too!"
Every imaginable dialect in South Korea seemed to be coming from the crowd.
At this rate, I would hear Jeju dialect next.
"If you give away this much, will you have anything left?"
"...It really happened."
It was exactly as the guidebook and reviews had described.
The place was packed with people.
Once the crowd thinned somewhat, my turn finally came.
The owner was a kindly looking elderly woman.
Apparently, she had named the shop after her daughter and prided herself on always doing business honestly.
"You're a young man I've never seen before. What brings you here?"
"I'd like to sell some monster byproducts and buy a few Mana Stones."
"Then you've come to the right place. Let's see what you've got."
"They're Goblin byproducts, but there's quite a lot of them. Do you have somewhere spacious?"
"Of course. Over there."
She led me to a large area containing an enormous scale.
Apparently, low-value materials from monsters like Goblins were priced by the kilogram.
I opened my Inventory and dumped everything out.
"How much could there possibly be for you to need a scale this—"
CLATTER!
The owner's mouth fell open.
An amount of materials that would normally come from a guild or a company was pouring out of a single person's Inventory.
Of course she was surprised.
Still, perhaps this was not entirely unheard of, because she quickly regained her composure and calculated the price.
"146.6 kilograms in total. Normally, I'd pay ten thousand won per kilogram, but since you've brought so much, I'll make it an even 1.5 million won."
"That works for me."
According to what I had researched, the going rate was around 9,600 won per kilogram.
I had been worried she might offer less than that.
Since she had given me a good price, I had no reason to complain.
A bundle of cash was placed in my hands.
A full 1.5 million won.
How long had it been since I had held this much money at once?
Whenever I worked a part-time job, nearly all of my earnings disappeared into expenses, leaving me with only a few tens of thousands of won.
Of course, I had absolutely no intention of spending this money on entertainment.
'I need to invest it.'
Now that I had sold all the monster byproducts, it was time for the Mana Stones.
"How much are the Mana Stones?"
"F-Rank is fifty thousand, E-Rank is one hundred thousand, and D-Rank is three hundred thousand."
Those prices were terrifying.
They were still cheaper than the shops I had passed earlier, though.
'I can't buy that many.'
I should not spend everything.
I would leave 300,000 won untouched.
I had already quit my part-time job, so I wanted some money left for living expenses or in case I spotted something worthwhile in Namdaemun.
Apparently, people with a good eye occasionally stumbled across valuable finds here.
"Nine E-Rank and one D-Rank, please."
She placed them neatly inside a paper bag and handed it to me.
A business card was tucked inside as well.
"You seem pretty capable, young man. Call ahead next time, and I'll give you an even better price."
"I will. Thank you."
Now I understood why every strategy guide and review recommended this shop.
I had finished everything I needed to do.
I was about to head straight home when I decided to look around Namdaemun first.
I had not visited since it changed, and as I had just thought, there was always a chance I might discover something useful.
-Waaah!
| [Fire(EX) pesters you to hurry up and give him the Mana Stones!] |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
But first, I gave Fire his Mana Stones.
He had been making his discomfort obvious the entire time, but his crumpled expression immediately disappeared.
Looking as innocent as an angel, he devoured the D-Rank Mana Stone.
He seemed to savor it, but it still did not take him long to finish.
Three hundred thousand won vanished in an instant.
Still, judging by his expression, it seemed to have been worth the money.
F-Rank and E-Rank Mana Stones could not even compare.
My regret lasted only for a moment.
| ❰Hunger: (1,030/2,000)❱ |
| ----------------------- |
'Oh, it increased by 100.'
Now I had an extremely clear reason to climb the Tower.
I should consider entering Gates as well.
'At this rate, I'll spend money faster than I can earn it.'
His expensive tastes were the problem.
Then again, he possessed a correspondingly absurd skill.
I stuffed Fire back inside my clothes and began exploring Namdaemun.
"Wow! There are so many items too."
The deeper I went, the more it felt like an entirely different world.
Armor and weapons were only the beginning. There were accessories and all sorts of bizarre things as well.
Things like a Minotaur's nipple.
Why the hell would anyone even sell something like that?
Great. Now my eyes were contaminated.
Countless shops entered my field of vision.
For some reason, however, my attention was drawn toward an antique shop.
There was a reason.
An old jewelry box—
'It's glowing?'
And brilliantly at that.
Was this because my skill had been enhanced?
As I approached, it became even clearer.
| [You have discovered an Unknown Jewelry Box.]
| [Perhaps a good reward awaits if you clear the trial contained within?] |
| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
More importantly, Fire was going wild.
-Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!
| [Fire(EX) says something delicious smells like it is coming from over there!]
| [Fire(EX) shouts that you should buy it quickly before someone else takes it!] |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
"All right. Calm down."
What incredible luck!
Before anyone else could take it, I hurriedly went to find the shop owner.
Back home.
I placed my remaining 250,000 won on the table.
"How does an old jewelry box without even a decoration on it cost fifty thousand won?"
I had been ripped off.
The owner must have thought he had found an easy mark when some young man showed interest in it.
I would have liked to haggle the price down as much as possible, but—
'Someone else could've taken it.'
I had no regrets.
Whatever came out of this would surely be worth far more than the fifty thousand won I had invested.
Rather than entering immediately, I decided to rest first.
I could recover my stamina and obtain my next skill while I was at it.
The trial might involve something other than simply defeating monsters.
There was no downside to obtaining another skill beforehand.
I did not have to wait long.
| [Hunger has reached 2,000!]
| [Fire(EX)'s Level increases by 1!] |
| ---------------------------------- |
| ❰Fire(EX) Lv. 3❱
❰Possessed Skill: Hellfire(EX)❱
❰Hunger: (0/4,000)❱
……A new skill will be unlocked upon reaching Lv. 5
| ……Lee Chanyoung will unlock a new skill upon reaching 4,000 Hunger |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
"F-Four thousand?"
-So our prediction was correct. Congratulations.
"Thaaanks for the congratulations, Clone."
-You're very welcome.
I could not believe my prediction had actually come true.
I did not merely need to consider entering Gates anymore.
I absolutely had to start entering them.
It was too late to go today, so I would research them properly first.
| <Nature's Eyes(C)>
| Description: Everything that exists in nature becomes your eyes. |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------- |
"Another Passive Skill! I really lucked out with this Trait."
-Waaah!
| [Fire(EX) boasts that it is mostly thanks to him.] |
| -------------------------------------------------- |
"Yeah, yeah. It's thanks to you."
I had obtained another useful skill.
All preparations were complete.
The method of entering was the same as always.
"Begin trial."
Then, yes.
My vision turned black before gradually returning from the center.
It was neither a forest nor the sky.
Instead, I found myself standing in a vast field.
Wind swept across the grass.
There was none of the distinctive rancid stench of Goblins.
Only the scent of grass filled my lungs.
"There's nothing here. Just grass and wind. You see the same thing, right?"
-Waaah.
| [Fire(EX) says it looks the same to him.] |
| ----------------------------------------- |
As I stood there tilting my head in confusion, the details of the trial finally appeared.
| [You have arrived at the trial of the Unknown Jewelry Box.]
[Defeat 1 Golden Centipede.]
| [Golden Centipede: 0/1] |
| ----------------------- |
"Another monster-hunting trial!"
Double lucky.
If there was only one monster, this would be easy.
Straight to Hellfire.
| [Fire(EX)'s possessed skill, 'Hellfire(EX),' activates.] |
| -------------------------------------------------------- |
KABOOOOOOOM!
ROAR!
"Ah, bringing earplugs makes this so much more comfortable."
That should have been the end of it.
There was no need to see anything else, so I tried to leave while checking the reward—
"Hm? It didn't work?"
-Waaah?
| [Fire(EX) asks why the monster wasn't defeated.] |
| ------------------------------------------------ |
"I don't know either."
There was no response.
I considered firing off another Hellfire, but stopped myself.
There was only one monster, and I had acted without thinking.
'If defeating a monster is the objective but there's only one of them, there can be special conditions. Sometimes you have to find a hidden monster or perform a specific action before it appears.'
I should search first.
If it was a centipede, there was a good chance it was underground.
If I could not see it anywhere across this vast plain, that was probably the answer.
Nature's Eyes immediately proved its worth.
A faint brown landscape appeared through my left eye.
The earth.
When I focused more carefully, I spotted something yellow as well.
More precisely, something enormous and golden.
It was exactly what I had been searching for.
About ten meters ahead of me and roughly thirty meters underground?
It was considerably deep.
That was probably why Hellfire had failed to reach it.
But now that I had found it, that no longer mattered.
"You can do it again, right? Concentrate the power this time?"
-Waaah. Waaah.
| [Fire(EX) demands jokbal.]
| [Fire(EX) says he won't do it unless you buy him some.] |
| ------------------------------------------------------- |
"Fine. I'll buy you jokbal. And chicken too."
-Waaah?
| [Fire(EX) asks what that is.] |
| ----------------------------- |
"It's something delicious. Just don't be too shocked when you taste it."
The promise of even tastier food finally got Fire moving.
You're a Spirit. Why are you so obsessed with my food instead of just eating Mana Stones?
Still, there was no questioning his ability.
The Hellfire that had previously spread across a vast area narrowed, concentrating its destructive power.
Then Hellfire was unleashed repeatedly.
| [Fire(EX)'s possessed skill, 'Hellfire(EX),' activates.]
| [Fire(EX)'s possessed skill, 'Hellfire(EX),' activates.] |
| -------------------------------------------------------- |
KABOOOOOOOM!
KABOOOOOOOM!
Even though it had burrowed deep underground, the Golden Centipede could not withstand the attacks.
As a result—
| [You have cleared the trial of the Unknown Jewelry Box!]
| [Golden Centipede: 1/1] |
| ----------------------- |
| [Golden Centipede Carapace × 1 has been awarded!]
[Lowest-Rank Mana Stone(F) × 405 acquired!]
[Low-Rank Mana Stone(E) × 74 acquired!]
[Lower-Intermediate-Rank Mana Stone(D) × 32 acquired!]
| [Intermediate-Rank Mana Stone(C) × 1 acquired!] |
| ----------------------------------------------- |
Mana Stones poured out in abundance.