A rough piece of bone rolled across the desk.
Gray powder rustled out from between the cracks running across its coarse surface.
It was the broken horn fragment that had fallen from the dungeon boss monster's forehead—the same thing the party members had dismissed as worthless mana-depleted refuse and abandoned without a second glance.
Leaning back in his chair, Taehu smiled faintly.
"All right. Let's take another look."
The instant his fingertips touched the cold surface of the horn—
Golden text poured across Taehu's vision like a surging wave.
It was dazzling information that an ordinary appraiser could spend an entire lifetime without ever seeing.
[Ancient Ironhorn Beast Horn Fragment]
[Can Be Used as an A-rank Enhancement Material When Processed with a Specific Refining Method]
[Estimated Market Value: 80,000,000–120,000,000 won]
Taehu's eyes trembled as he read the words floating in midair.
The figure was staggering.
The Necklace of the Wind Spirit he had restored before had required him to purchase expensive materials and personally repair it. He had only been able to raise its value after investing both time and money into the restoration process.
But this was different.
'I don't have to pour my own mana into it or apply any materials myself.'
The information window was not merely providing a restoration estimate.
It was revealing the item's hidden use and the correct processing method required to bring out that value.
In other words, he could generate an enormous profit through knowledge of the refining process alone, without having to restore the item himself.
The heavy pounding of Taehu's heart echoed all the way to his ears.
'All I have to do is leave it with someone who can follow the processing method properly.'
Taehu carefully wrapped the horn fragment in cloth.
The thought of revealing its true value to the world the very next day naturally pulled the corners of his mouth upward.
The following morning.
Taehu entered an old specialized refining workshop on the outskirts of the Hunter Market.
The worn building reverberated with the sound of bellows, while acrid smoke hung heavily in the air.
"Anyone here?"
An elderly refiner who had been hammering metal farther inside wiped the sweat from his brow and turned around.
His bushy beard and face were covered in soot.
Taehu opened the bag he had brought with him and placed the cloth-wrapped object on a worktable.
"I'd like to commission a refining job."
When he pulled away the cloth and revealed the deeply cracked horn fragment, the refiner's brow furrowed.
He prodded the horn several times with his calloused fingers, then clicked his tongue.
"Where did you pick up garbage like this? Throwing it into the furnace would probably do nothing but put out the fire."
"It may look that way, but there's something useful inside if it's processed properly."
"Young people really don't know the value of money these days. You can carve away at mana-depleted refuse all you want, but all you'll get is dust. Take it somewhere else."
The refiner turned away without bothering to hide his irritation.
To a veteran who had spent his entire life handling metal and Magic Stones, the fragment was nothing more than refuse with no processing value whatsoever.
Taehu, however, was not flustered in the slightest.
Instead, he stepped closer and spoke in a calm, precise tone.
"Keep the temperature at exactly 850 degrees. When you heat the surface, mix Magic Stone powder in at a ratio of three percent and scatter it over the horn. And shave away the impurities diagonally rather than vertically."
The refiner stopped dead on his way toward the furnace.
"What?"
"And during cooling, don't use water. Let it cool gradually with air so it retains its shape. Repeat that process three times."
The refiner gave an incredulous laugh at Taehu's composed demeanor.
"Unbelievable. You must've overheard a few things somewhere and decided you know what you're talking about. At 850 degrees, with Magic Stone powder mixed in at that ratio, the entire surface will melt away! And diagonally? You're telling me to process an animal horn as if it were metal?"
The refiner continued to berate him, but Taehu simply pulled out his wallet.
"I'll pay double the processing fee in advance."
The refiner's eyebrows twitched when he saw the check Taehu placed on the table.
The money was certainly tempting, but more than that, the unusually precise refining theory the young man had just described was beginning to bother him.
It sounded absurd.
And yet, there was something about it that fit together in a strangely convincing way.
"……Don't blame me when your money goes up in smoke."
His curiosity aroused, the refiner picked up the horn fragment with a doubtful expression.
A fire was soon roaring inside the furnace.
Scorching heat began filling the workshop.
"Eight hundred and fifty degrees. Fine. Let's see what happens when we use your brilliant method."
Following Taehu's instructions, the refiner mixed the Magic Stone powder in the exact ratio and scattered it into the furnace.
HISSS!
The flames surged violently and licked across the surface of the horn fragment.
Taehu quietly watched the process with his arms crossed.
He had no doubts about the refining method revealed by the golden information window.
After some time had passed, the horn's dull, cracked outer shell began flaking away inside the flames like a creature shedding its skin.
When the refiner raised his tongs and shaved away the impurities at an angle, a smooth surface hidden underneath gradually began to emerge.
Then came the final cooling process.
As the heat was slowly dispersed with a current of air, the airflow inside the furnace suddenly surged.
HUMMMMM!
A powerful wave of mana burst outward through the dry air.
The ash-covered horn fragment had transformed into a radiant silver mass.
The flow of mana running across its surface was clear and pristine.
The refiner, who had been complaining moments earlier, could no longer close his mouth.
CLANG!
The tongs slipped from his hand and clattered across the floor, but he did not even notice.
As though entranced, the refiner lifted the silver mass from the furnace and cradled it in both hands.
"H-How…… How is this possible?"
His voice trembled.
He had spent his entire life hammering metal before a furnace and processing monster materials, yet he had never seen anything so extraordinary.
A piece of garbage he had declared unfit even for fuel had been transformed after only a few processing steps into a top-grade A-rank Enhancement Material.
"Good heavens, look at this mana purity. Something like this was hidden beneath that shell? You're telling me the cutting angle and the Magic Stone ratio brought this out?"
Unable to contain his excitement, the refiner whipped his head around toward Taehu.
The dismissive look with which he had treated Taehu as a nuisance only moments ago was completely gone.
Veins stood out across his face.
"Hey! Young man!"
"Looks like the refining went well."
Taehu approached and held out his hand, but the refiner clutched the silver material tightly and took half a step backward.
"Sell this to me! Right now!"
"Pardon?"
"I said I'll buy it! I'll pay top price, so don't even think about taking it anywhere else!"
Watching the refiner bargain so desperately that spittle flew from his mouth, Taehu celebrated inwardly.
It was exactly the reaction he had expected.
Naturally, a refiner would want to keep such a rare processed material in his own workshop.
But Taehu showed none of his satisfaction.
Instead, he touched his brow as though troubled.
"I'm not sure. I was planning to put it up for auction. Demand for Enhancement Materials is fairly high, isn't it?"
"Why waste time and lose money to auction fees when you can make a clean deal right here? Ninety million won. How about it?"
It was slightly above the lower end of the estimated market value.
Taehu said nothing as he idly handled the empty bag on the table.
"Ninety million won... I think I'd rather take it with me."
The moment he pretended to open the zipper, the refiner hurriedly waved his hands.
"Wait, wait! Fine! Ninety-five million! Ninety-five million won! I'll transfer it to you right here, right now! I can't go any higher than that!"
The refiner's expression as he shouted between heavy breaths was desperation itself.
Taehu decided not to push any further.
Dragging negotiations out was not his style, and ninety-five million won was more than satisfactory.
"All right. It's yours for that price."
The moment Taehu nodded, the refiner breathed a sigh of relief and immediately pulled out his phone.
A short while later—
BUZZ.
Taehu felt his phone vibrate inside his pants pocket.
He turned on the screen, and a notification from his banking application appeared.
His balance was filled with a long string of zeros.
Taehu tightened his grip around the phone.
An exhilarating shiver ran down his spine.
He did not need to personally acquire restoration materials or stain his hands repairing every item.
Simply identifying the true value of something others had thrown away and possessing the knowledge to handle it correctly was enough to create enormous wealth.
'This is my ability.'
Taehu glanced once at the refiner, who stood before the furnace in a daze while caressing the silver Enhancement Material.
Then he turned away without the slightest reluctance.
When Taehu stepped outside the workshop, a refreshing breeze brushed across his face.
Even the acrid smell of smoke seemed sweet.
A deep smile spread across Taehu's lips.