07
If the System had not existed when monsters appeared, humanity would have been ruined.
Then was the System Earth’s defense mechanism, protecting it from monsters?
It would be nice if that were the case, but many opinions said otherwise.
That was because monsters, too, were beings that belonged within the System in the first place.
Then could the System be the wrath of God, sent to judge humans for destroying nature?
Complex opinions linked one after another, tail biting tail.
Like this, the deeper one dug into the System, the more it became an incomprehensible domain.
But what mattered to Ki Ja-hyeon right now was that the System had an institution called items, that one could place them into an inventory no different from subspace, and that one could access a place called the System Market to sell or buy them.
“It’s my first time here. So this is what it looks like.”
The space given to Ki Ja-hyeon was a pure white room of around thirty pyeong.
Depending on how one looked at it, the interior was eerie, like the Backrooms.
In the exact center stood a single pure white altar.
When he approached it, a hologram appeared.
[Buy]
[Sell]
[User Board]
“How fascinating. It really is just like a game, isn’t it?”
He did not have a damn thing, but he pressed the Buy category first.
When he pressed the Buy category, lists of all sorts of items lined up irregularly.
There were so many that his eyes hurt.
Beside them, he could see a search window and a section where he could set the category.
“What’s the most expensive thing here?”
Out of pure curiosity, he set the category, and a list appeared in a rush.
The item located on the very top line among them was a right-arm implant.
Name: God’s Hand
Grade: S-
Equip Grade: A+
Type: Prosthetic body, bound.
Description: An ambitious work personally made by the S Grade Awakened, “Engineer.” A top-grade item that needs no words.
Effects:
– Skill: Telekinesis (A) usable
– Skill: Beam Cannon (A) usable
– 10% synergy when equipped together with the Engineer’s items
– Additional function granted when all set items are equipped
“Oooh...!”
Sure enough, those were specs worthy of being called God’s Hand.
Then how much was the price?
[10,000,000 coins.]
“Oof...!”
Nearly 6,000,000 coins.
If that was converted into credits...?
“That means at least 100,000,000,000 credits....”
It was, in every sense, a price that made one gasp in the hundreds of millions. No, in the tens of billions.
“This is the world of stars. The world of stars.”
This time, he set the category to “potion” and set the Grade to E as well.
The list that had stretched out in a rush shrank somewhat. Even so, it was three pages of thirty-item lists.
In other words, around a hundred listings appeared.
[“Concept Merchant’s” Lowest-Grade Vitality Boost Potion (2 coins)]
[Tonic Protein Block (Bitter) (2 coins)]
[Dubaing Chewy Cookie with a Paltry Blessing (4 coins)]
“They gave them cute names.”
If it was not an item obtained through hunting, most items were called by names given by their makers.
Most of those names were intuitive.
Sure enough, the items did exactly what suited their names: restoring a little vitality, serving as a bitter tonic, or being sweet chocolate bars with options so minor that one could call them paltry.
“But the price of things like these is that much....”
The daily pay of an F Grade odd-jobber was 600,000 credits. Converted to coins, that was 6 coins. But if one ate just three of those consumables, it would supposedly use up 6 coins.
“They really live in a different world.”
On top of that....
“Strength and Agility increase by 3%... Regeneration increases by 5%. If that much costs that much...then mine is more expensive than I thought, isn’t it?”
Ki Ja-hyeon thought of the options of his Krushvalbi Elixir.
If things like those cost 2 or 3 coins, he felt as though he could ask a little more for his Krushvalbi Elixir.
Ki Ja-hyeon immediately took fifty bottles of Krushvalbi Elixir out of his inventory.
Just by thinking that he would take them out, the fifty elixirs rose onto the sales stand in five neat rows of ten.
[50 bottles of Krushvalbi Elixir confirmed.]
[Set shop name before listing.]
“Hmm...!”
A System shop was, in every sense, a place like a marketplace.
It was a system where he placed goods in a shop that belonged to him, and people purchased them.
So before putting up his first item, he had to decide the shop’s name.
“What should I use?”
After pondering, Ki Ja-hyeon decided on the shop name.
[Registered as Thundercloud.]
When it came to things like this, using the name of one’s child or pet was the standard.
[Checking details of Krushvalbi Elixir before listing.]
Name: Krushvalbi Elixir
Use Grade: F
Type: Consumable
Description: An elixir personally made by user “Thundercloud.” It smells like liquor, but it is not liquor.
Effect: Strength and Agility increase by 5% for 2 hours.
“Huh? That’s all?”
Ki Ja-hyeon could only tilt his head.
That was the end of the options?
“That can’t be right.”
[Recommended price: 4 coins.]
[List on sales stand?]
“No, I’m telling you, that’s not all the options.”
There were many items that increased Strength and Agility.
The two-hour duration was quite attractive, but even if the duration was only one hour, items that raised them by 6% or 7% were inevitably much more preferred.
Since no one knew when or what might happen, items that were immediately helpful were preferred, even if their duration was shorter.
So the recommended price of 4 coins seemed appropriate.
At the very least, it could be converted into 40,000 credits, or more depending on the exchange rate(?), so there was no loss for the current Ki Ja-hyeon either.
Yes, a 5% increase in Strength and Agility for two hours at 4 coins would surely sell well.
However,
“Why aren’t the other options showing up?”
Krushvalbi Elixir had other options.
They simply did not appear in the System.
He was not just saying that. Even now, when he looked at the Krushvalbi Elixir, the other options were sparkling brightly.
[List at 4 coins?]
“No? I need to get 6 coins.”
[Not recommended.]
“Just list it.”
[50 Krushvalbi Elixirs listed at 6 coins.]
After listing his first fifty elixirs on the sales stand like that, Ki Ja-hyeon regained consciousness.
***
“Oof...!”
His cheek and jaw ached.
Apparently, he had dropped like a narcolepsy patient.
It was his first time, so he had been clumsy.
“Next time, I should lie down on the bed before entering.”
At Ki Ja-hyeon’s words, Thunder, who had been sitting beside him, sprang up.
Woof! (Master!)
Woof, woof! Woof! (Master came back to life!)
Apparently, it had been extremely startled when he suddenly collapsed.
Cloud, hearing Thunder’s sound, came running over in a hurry and threw itself at Ki Ja-hyeon.
Myaaang? (Awake?)
Mya! Myaaang! (Friend! Awake?)
“...So I’m your friend, huh?”
A small laugh escaped him.
Whether he was their owner or their friend, he felt the hearts of the two creatures worrying about him, and that made him feel good.
Even as he stroked the two creatures, his head was full of questions.
Why hadn’t the other options been visible?
“The thickness of the visible letters was different, though. Was it because of that?”
Perhaps the other options of the Krushvalbi Elixir could only be read by Ki Ja-hyeon himself?
In any case, the goods had gone up on the System sales stand.
As proof of that, his inventory slot count had become (0/6) as well.
It meant his entire inventory had been emptied.
Now, if someone bought his elixirs on the System Market, and if all of them sold, he would become rich.
At least in Area 4, he would obtain more money than he deserved!
“I hope they sell well. Right?”
Woof, woof. Woof. (What’s he saying?)
Meow. (Just go along with the mood.)
“Heh heh.”
***
Kang Han-su, the tank serving as leader of a five-person party, was letting out one deep sigh after another.
“Wow, shit... Everything got cleaned out just because I took one nap?”
He called it a nap, but it was now nine in the morning.
As usual, he had accessed the System Market and filtered the list by the Grade he could access, the options he wanted, and the price range, yet it was full of garbage.
Because he had slept in, all the good potions had been snatched up by everyone else, leaving only the dregs.
A bread that raised only Strength by 4% for one hour was 2 coins?
“Those highway robber bastards!”
A potion that raised Strength by 5% and Agility by 1% for twenty-five minutes was 3 coins?
“This is the chicken rib of chicken ribs....”
There was even a potion listed at 4 coins that raised Strength by 7% and Agility by -10% for one hour.
“This is a double-edged sword... Ha!”
A sigh escaped all on its own.
They were listings that practically screamed, “Just let one sucker bite.”
Under normal circumstances, he would not even glance at them, but right now, he was considering whether he had to buy even these!
They had to meet at eleven and go hunting.
Since he had collected everyone’s coins, he had to make the optimal choice, but the situation was truly not easy.
Then he discovered one listing.
“Krushvalbi Elixir? Duration, two hours... It raises Strength and Agility by 5% each?”
Not bad.
However....
“Six coins each? Whew....”
Potions with similar options and a one-hour duration were 4 coins or 4.5 coins. And unless Strength was at least 6%, the friend who shared the vanguard with him would have trouble breaking the armor of the Armored Hollow Ants.
Because of that, he would never have bought it normally, but....
“Right now, this one looks like a fairy compared to the rest.”
Should he try buying just ten?
It hurt to spend the money, and if he disclosed the expense breakdown, he would get an earful...but there was no better choice.
And that choice, made because there was no other option,
soon became the greatest choice of Kang Han-su’s life!
***
“Ugh, I’m getting tipsy!”
“...Isn’t there alcohol in this?”
“If it were liquor, the System would write that down. What kind of weird thing did you buy?”
“You should’ve bought the 6% one. Ha... We won’t get one-shot kills with this.”
“...I had no choice!”
“Whew, what a waste of money!”
“Then you guys buy them next time!”
Like that, the five-person party began.
And the Krushvalbi was by no means a waste of money.
Kreeeeeeek!
An Armored Hollow Ant was sent flying in a single blow!
A monster whose insides were soft but whose outside was hard, a monster that was impossible to kill in one blow unless one’s current Strength rose by 6%, was rolling across the ground?
“Is this really 5%? It feels better than 6%....”
“Do you not have eyes? The System says so, doesn’t it?”
“I-I know that, but....”
On top of that, the duration was also two hours.
Since it was more than twice as efficient as an ordinary potion, the bodies of everyone who had consumed Krushvalbi Elixir were unbelievably light.
They wondered if it was all right for hunting to be this easy.
That was probably why.
Why they hunted while moving closer and closer to the heart of the hunting ground, and why, in the process, more monsters swarmed in than they could handle.
[Everyone, get in! It’s dangerous!]
VROOOOOOM!
The pickup truck slowly picked up speed!
It had to do that to avoid being caught by the Armored Hollow Ants.
The hunters were in a situation where they had to skillfully climb onto the truck!
But after everyone else got on, Kang Han-su, who had been following last, twisted his ankle.
“Goddamn it! Go ahead!”
“Fucking get over here somehow, you bastard!”
“Shit, it’s not like I’ve got some trick for pulling a dragon out of nowhere...!”
In his heart, he wanted to tell them to stop the car, but that would kill everyone.
He had already used every CO2 capsule remaining in his shield cartridges.
Without hesitation, he tore off his left prosthetic hand.
BUZZ—
With that sound, the bomb that would explode when thrown finished preparing for detonation.
“Fine. Come on. I’m not going to die for free!”
Rather than die where he sat, he stood up, intending to make even one last struggle.
He would block while swinging his shield, and when more monsters gathered, he would die gloriously in battle!
The moment he swung the first shield like that...!
[Single-Point Explosion activated.]
“......?”
BOOOOOOOOM!
Five Armored Hollow Ants that had been charging in shattered like porcelain and lay scattered.
Even in that situation, Kang Han-su’s face went blank.
“...How did I do that?”
“Raaaaaaah!”
The situation changed suddenly.
Everyone who had been fleeing leaped down from the truck and came running.
And so, the melee against the ants began!
“Hey! Try doing what you did earlier again!”
“I-I don’t know. I can’t do it now!”
“Damn it! We got down trusting that!”
“That’s why I told you to go!”
“Ah, shit!”
“We should’ve gone.”
“We should’ve just ditched you and gone!”
In reality, Kang Han-su could no longer display that monstrous strength.
But instead, the others displayed monstrous strength.
CRASH!
CRASH!
CRASH!
At moments of absolute desperation, each of them caused Single-Point Explosion once and escaped crisis.
The number of crises they overcame like that was four!
After finally killing all twenty Armored Hollow Ants, the five-person party safely overcame the crisis, climbed into the pickup truck, and was leaving the hunting ground.
Rattle, rattle.
Rattle!
“Ah, damn it, odd-jobber! Can’t you drive better? You’re making my wound reopen!”
“S-Sorry!”
“Why are you throwing a fit...? You’re the one who told him to hurry and run, and now you’re taking your anger out on someone innocent.”
“I don’t know...fuck. Maybe it’s because I nearly died. Ha....”
“Heh...heh!”
“Heh heh heh!”
But they did not feel bad.
They had earned at least three times their usual profit!
They had nearly died because of it, but a hunter was a profession that kept death as a companion anyway.
They had survived, and as a result, their profit was high, so broad smiles had no choice but to settle on everyone’s mouths!
An unfamiliar experience in a familiar hunting ground they had visited dozens upon dozens of times.
There was only one variable!
“Krushvalbi Elixir...right?”
“There’s nothing else.”
“What is this...? Is it some kind of super-soldier serum...?”
“I don’t know... It’s scary. Haa....”
“Scary, my ass... How many are left?”
“Five left....”
“When we get back...we buy more immediately. We’re buying out the entire stock....”
“It’s a weird name, but...we’re buying it all. Buying it all...!”
But Kang Han-su did not get to buy any more Krushvalbi.
Because Kang Han-su was not the only one who had the same experience.
***
[Hello, everyone! This is Buy This, the cutie who tells you what item to buy today!]
The beauty on the screen continued in a clear, ringing voice.
She was Kim Ji-yun, a C- Grade Awakened and the owner of the Huntube channel “Buy This.”
[Today’s item you should buy is...hmm! Honestly, you can’t buy it anymore. It’s sold out! But the reason I’m introducing it anyway is...because this thing is truly unbelievably fascinating. The F Grade community is already in an uproar over it, and as a reviewer, I couldn’t not bite! This is a potion I bought at a very high premium! Shall we head to the hunting ground first?]
Buy This covered the screen with her palm, and in the next instant, the screen shifted to a hunting ground.
It was the entrance of Underground Slime Swamp, a naturally occurring C Grade hunting ground near the Area 3 underground waterway.
Wobble, wobble~
A calf-sized slime wobbled as it approached.
Inside it, a magic stone shone in a pleasingly visible way, and if that was removed, the slime could be killed in one blow.
However, because the core was located too deep inside, ordinary attacks could not pierce through to it. If one was unlucky and failed to pull one’s body back, one would be sucked in and digested, so caution was necessary.
Since it was like cutting water with a blade, slashing at the surface was, in every sense, no different from a meaningless act.
But in a case like this, it could be used as a punching bag that did not die easily.
Aside from the core, there were no organs to speak of, so as long as the core was not touched, the damage that went in was consistent.
Because it recovered as if one were cutting water with a blade, if one wanted, one could slash it a hundred or a thousand times without killing it!
That was why everyone disliked this hunting ground, but from the perspective of Buy This, a reviewer, it was a perfect testing site.
[Now, shall we measure the damage?]
Even with the System, reality was not a game.
However, there were various skills that turned this reality into a game, and those who possessed such skills often worked as special buffers, helping workshops that researched artifacts or famous broadcast creators with their item reviews.
A skill that merely visually showed how much damage had been dealt.
It seemed like an unnecessary skill, but it was also a skill absolutely required to measure exact damage.
The woman beside Kim Ji-yun was one such special buffer.
She poured buffs over Kim Ji-yun, and her body glowed faintly.
SLASH!
– 100
The number 100 appeared above the slime cut by Kim Ji-yun’s blade, then disappeared.
A perfectly round number!
It was thanks to the equipment values being deliberately adjusted so that it would be fixed at 100.
[Then now, I’ll try drinking the Krushvalbi Elixir in question.]
Gulp!
[Hmm... As for the taste, well, it tastes like medicinal liquor that’s good for the body. A reishi mushroom...kind of feeling? It tastes very much like herbal medicine, but I don’t hate it! It feels like the kind of thing that would sell very well as a drink for elders, but...this is an item recognized by the System! Consuming it that way would be far too wasteful, right?]
The effect of Krushvalbi Elixir was a 5% increase to Strength and Agility for two hours.
Then the damage should have been 105.
But the moment she swung her next attack,
– 109
A 9% increase occurred...?
Not 5%, but a 9% increase!
Why was that?
[We were surprised at first too. The System says 5%, so why is a 9% increase being given? The System doesn’t say, and it really makes no sense, but...! We reached the conclusion that there is a hidden stat!]
The information for Krushvalbi Elixir was listed on the screen.
Name: Krushvalbi Elixir
Grade: E
Type: Consumable
Effect: Strength and Agility increase by 5% for 2 hours.
And there, through subtitle effects, one more line of effect was added.
– Equipped item performance increased by 5%.
Ki Ja-hyeon, who was watching the broadcast, broke into a small smile.
“She knows her stuff.”