Hunter-only Trading Post.
This was a place where people sold the rewards they obtained from the Tower.
Many rewards obtained from the Tower were unusual resources that did not exist on Earth.
For example, there were the most commonly found Magic Stones.
They were ores that possessed powerful energy rivaling nuclear fusion reactions.
Beyond the First Tier, there were floors devoted solely to mining Magic Stones.
High-quality Magic Stones produced there were traded at high prices.
That was why floors containing Magic Stone mines received challengers every time.
Simply being able to mine Magic Stones could feed an entire nation.
It was only natural.
Of course, if Hunters only obtained Magic Stones, there would be no need for dedicated Trading Posts.
There was something more important than Magic Stones.
It was the rewards Hunters received for setting records.
Rewards were always random.
No one knew what would appear for each Hunter.
That was why Hunters needed to determine the value of their rewards.
Helping them do so was the Hunter-only Trading Post established by the government.
All Hunter Trading Posts were public institutions managed by the state.
The country directly managed them so that Hunters would not be cheated out of money and lose their motivation to climb.
The intention was good, but since the country ran them.
The influence of government departments was inevitable.
Like today.
‘Record every Hunter who comes to sell something for the first time. Good grief.’
A woman named Oh Na-ri arrived at the Hunter-only Trading Post early in the morning.
As a professional, she was greeting customers with a businesslike smile.
Hunter Trading Posts both bought and sold goods.
That was why Hunters never stopped coming through their doors.
With Hunters flooding in every day.
The order given to Oh Na-ri, an employee, was simply more work for no reason.
‘What trouble is it this time?’
There had even been a directive that failing to record them properly would result in a salary cut.
With no other choice, she was recording every Hunter who came in for the first time that day.
“Next person, please?”
The line was long.
Just as she urged them forward, hoping to finish quickly and go have lunch.
Step—
A man walked up to her.
A moment later.
Oh Na-ri’s eyes slowly widened.
“......Wow.”
An exclamation slipped from her lips without her thinking.
Before her stood the peak of visual beauty.
Glossy jet-black hair tied behind his head.
Gem-like crimson eyes.
A tall stature and a perfectly proportioned build that suited anything he wore.
A beauty that no person could help but be captivated by.
Oh Na-ri looked up at him with unfocused eyes.
It was the first time in her life that she had admired someone simply for their appearance.
“I would like to sell something.”
Oh Na-ri flinched.
His voice was deep as well, making her heart tremble.
“Ah, yes, y-yes. Could you please show me your Hunter ID?”
“Hunter ID?”
The man raised one eyebrow.
Then his eyes shifted once.
There was a pause as though he were waiting for someone’s instructions.
But Oh Na-ri, wearing a blank expression, noticed nothing.
“I do not have one.”
“Ah, y-you are a new Hunter!”
Was this man a subject of the record order too?
It was fine.
The Trading Post helped issue them anyway.
“Y-Yes, then after checking the item, I will help you issue a Hunter ID! Could you show me the item?”
The man immediately took something out of his bag.
A single scrap of herb in his hand.
It did not look particularly rare.
‘I have never seen this type before.’
But it gave off a strong feeling that it was nothing special.
Even so, Oh Na-ri smiled brightly.
Normally, she would have behaved businesslike, but today’s smile was genuine.
He must have thought he had received a Tower reward and hurriedly brought it in to have it appraised.
‘Cute.’
His actions were cute compared to his appearance.
Even if the appraisal came out badly, she should explain it as kindly as possible!
I have not even done anything, but...
“Yes, I will appraise it right away.”
Everyone who worked at Hunter-only Trading Posts was a Hunter.
Hunters who possessed an Appraisal Skill.
They were collectively called non-combat classes.
Since their abilities were insufficient, they had to give up climbing the Tower.
But in return, they had the advantage of using their skills to earn a high salary.
Oh Na-ri immediately activated her Appraisal Skill.
Your appraisal is partially restricted due to insufficient skill.
Name: ■Light■■ (■Light■■)
Classification: Elixir Herb / Mystic Plant
Grade: ■ Grade (Rare)
Attributes: ■(■) · ■■(■■) · ■Life(■Life)
Description:
Moon■■ Hold■■ ■■■■ ■■■ Flower.
■■■■ ■■ Night■■ ■■■ ■■■■,
■■■■■ Spirit■, ■■■ ■Water, ■■ Strength■■ ■■ ■■ ■■■■■.
Effects:
— ■■■ Impurity■ ■■■ Poison■■ Removal■■.
— Mana■ ■■(■■) ■■ ■■■■■■■ Number■ ■■■ ■■ Time■ Rise■■.
— Mind■ ■■ ■■ Reduction■.
Oh Na-ri’s face slowly froze.
“Huh?”
Why was the appraisal not working?
The appraisal was so incomplete that it was virtually impossible to read.
What did a lacking Appraisal Skill mean?
It meant that.
The single scrap of herb before her.
Was an item too high-level for her to properly appraise.
Oh Na-ri’s lips stuck together, and no sound came out.
What was this?
“Is there a problem?”
When the man asked, she flinched and looked up.
The man who had seemed cute only moments ago.
Now felt entirely different.
A big shot.
A big shot had appeared.
“H-Hunter, I-I am terribly sorry, but my Appraisal Skill is insufficient, so I am unable to appraise it.”
“Is that so.”
His reaction was so unconcerned.
She instinctively knew.
‘This is the person.’
The person their superiors had ordered them to find.
This person was certainly the one.
In an era where a Hunter’s abilities were power itself.
She bowed in a panic.
“I-I will escort you to the VIP Room at once!”
“......VIP Room?”
The man looked as though he did not understand the words.
But Oh Na-ri misunderstood his attitude.
“Ah, no! I will escort you to the VVIP Room!”
Her superiors had clearly told her to give the best possible treatment upon finding the person.
Meaning that he was a Hunter they absolutely could not lose.
When she hurriedly corrected herself, the man wore a strange expression.
[......Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, did you not say that the herb we are selling was definitely low-grade?]
‘That was what I said.’
The man standing here.
He was Baek Cheon-myeong, who had come to sell the item in Kang Ha-min’s place.
To hide his own identity, Kang Ha-min had sent Baek Cheon-myeong to the Trading Post.
‘......Ahem, still, since Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong shares a soul with me, it is better for him to be registered than me.’
As Kang Ha-min made excuses to himself out of guilt.
Baek Cheon-myeong sent him a telepathic message.
[The appraiser’s skill is insufficient.]
He wondered whether the item itself was strange.
Baek Cheon-myeong had said it was the lowest-grade herb.
Who could have expected the employee to be unable to appraise that herb?
‘What should we do?’
He was now being guided to the VVIP Room.
He could feel the situation gradually becoming bigger.
Perhaps because he had disliked things growing larger from long ago.
Even while only seeing through Baek Cheon-myeong’s vision, he felt like withdrawing his foot and running away.
‘If we enter the VVIP Room, they will surely ask where the herb came from.’
They might even ask about Baek Cheon-myeong’s identity in the process.
Baek Cheon-myeong was a summoned creature controlled by Kang Ha-min.
Naturally, he had no means of proving his identity.
There was a chance his very existence would be questioned.
‘Ughhh.’
His stomach began to sting again.
The modern person’s chronic illness, stress, was beginning to flare up.
‘Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, shall we run?’
[Did you not say that you were short on money?]
Right.
Riiight.
He needed to eat.
Besides, the employee’s face had been pale for a while now.
One trait of an estrogen man: he was especially weak toward people who were flustered.
Moreover, after hearing Oh Na-ri’s voice, nearby Hunters had begun glancing this way.
Someone receiving VVIP treatment had to be a top Hunter.
Top Hunters were celebrities, so they seemed curious about who he was.
Their attention gathered on him.
Naturally, Kang Ha-min, who could not adapt to attention, chose to run away as soon as possible.
‘Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, for now, just say that we will go!’
The employee was one thing, but declining here might make them suspicious.
That was the one thing he absolutely did not want.
“Lead the way.”
“Yes. Yes! This way, please!”
At Baek Cheon-myeong’s words, Oh Na-ri hurriedly guided him inside.
Past the Trading Post was an inner corridor that only selected people could enter.
Seeing through Baek Cheon-myeong’s eyes, Kang Ha-min looked around in surprise.
Unlike outside, the corridor was obviously decorated in luxury.
From jars to ornamental swords.
It had so many expensive items that it looked like a royal palace corridor at a glance.
[They merely furnished it for show.]
But Baek Cheon-myeong showed an indifferent reaction.
‘Mr. Baek Cheon-myeong, you must have lived quite luxuriously.’
Kang Ha-min got a small sense of just how wealthy Baek Cheon-myeong’s past life had been.
After following Oh Na-ri for some time.
She stopped before a room.
It was a room marked VVIP Room.
Clunk. He was starting to feel nervous.
He had agreed to go because of the employee’s distress and the surrounding people’s stares.
But how had he ended up in the VVIP Room?
Kang Ha-min wore a complicated expression.
‘There is still so much besides the Moonlight White Flower.’
How much of a commotion would break out when he sold those items as well?
Worry was already getting ahead of him.
Click—
Meanwhile, Oh Na-ri opened the VVIP Room’s door.
When Baek Cheon-myeong followed her in, Kang Ha-min’s eyes widened.
Inside the room.
All kinds of items were displayed there.
They were valuables on an entirely different level from those in the corridor earlier.
Accessories made with the craftsmanship of the elven race that believed in Jewella, God of Gems, on Floor 65.
Weapons made by dwarves who lived only in the Fire Forge governed by Peratos, God of Blacksmiths, on Floor 71.
Even clothes made through the weaving techniques of elves who served Sylvia, God of the Forest, on Floor 84.
Expensive items filled the room.
‘How much are all those worth?’
Kang Ha-min had worked in the Hunter Department too.
He did not need to think deeply to know that one of those items cost as much as a building.
Only now did he realize what sort of situation he had entered.
He had no choice but to sell the herbs.
But he was becoming involved in something even bigger than he had expected.
‘I wanted to make money as a Hunter. I did not want to stand out!’
Should he turn back even now?
Just as he seriously considered it.
“Hello, hello?”
A voice reached him.