Chapter 28

Chapter. 28

[Hunternet - Egg Market]

[Selling rare herbs]

Various herbs were listed inside the post.

'I know all of these names.'

Strangely enough, the names of the herbs looked familiar.

They were exactly the same as the names of the materials I used to gather while running fields and dungeons back when I was a beginner.

Among them were the ingredient items for the Red Elixir.

Ten of each.

"Are these common materials?"

[Not common. Moonlight Weeping Herb can only be obtained from Sky Island, Dew of Rebirth from the World Tree, and Root of Time from Ancient Ruins. All three themes only appear in areas on at least the 30th Floor range.]

"The 30th Floor range? Then those are the floors the raiding parties from other countries currently have locked down."

[Correct. Basically, the Tower is a system where you can only move freely up to the floors you have already cleared. And the Republic of Korea, having stopped raiding the Tower for so long, has had the routes to the upper floors themselves cut off. That is why domestic listings have completely dried up.]

A chill ran down my spine.

What Snowy was describing was unquestionably the Tower that existed in reality.

But.

'...It is exactly the same as the game?'

Sky Island, the World Tree, Ancient Ruins...They were all field names that appeared in Lost Honor.

Even the locations where the materials dropped were identical.

And since the Tower changed themes every five floors...Lost Honor!

Just how much of this had it copied?

"But then how did this end up listed on the Korean market?"

[It seems you are lucky right now, Agent. That Hunter happens to be dumping a long line of rare materials that he smuggled in from another country through the black market.]

Just as Snowy said, the Hunternet ID 'Silence of Assassination' had listed rare materials one after another.

Mixed in among them were materials I recognized—that is, materials I had also seen in the game—which made it all the more interesting.

'Are these really the materials I know?'

Just to be sure, I checked them all.

Helpfully enough, every listing had a photo attached.

"How fascinating."

...They really were the materials I knew.

The price was ten thousand Coins apiece.

"Is that a fair price?"

[It is suspiciously cheap. They usually trade at around fifty thousand Coins. But after checking the seller's history, these do not seem to be fake listings. He appears to be in urgent need of Coins and is hurriedly liquidating a variety of items.]

"Hmm."

Interesting.

If I had these materials, I should be able to make a Red Elixir.

Then I could cure the illness Lee A-un had.

Of course, I could not assume the effects would be exactly the same as in the game.

The Red Elixir was not only the only cure for Status Effect: Mana Reflux.

It was also an Elixir that functioned as a top-grade healing Potion capable of restoring Vitality.

But judging from how similar Lost Honor and reality had been up to now, at the very least, its primary effect of curing Mana Reflux would work.

That was not a hunch. It was conviction.

"Hmmmm."

But the fact that I had to spend Coins bothered me.

If I bought them, I would need to buy every herb listed by Silence of Assassination.

If I only picked out the ones I needed, the raw ingredients for the Red Elixir could be exposed.

Buying all of them would take no more than one million Coins.

That meant spending 0.1% of my Coins.

'It is not much. But...'

Was there not another way?

For example, if I could somehow get Gold from the Black Market...

[Ah.]

My thoughts were interrupted by Snowy's voice.

[There is only one left now.]

"One what?"

[One Mana Reflux Syndrome patient. There were two in the Republic of Korea, but now there is only one.]

"...? Why?"

[Because one died.]

"...Died? All of a sudden?"

[If a Mana Reflux Syndrome patient does not take a suppressant regularly, their body ruptures and they die. Unfortunately, it seems he missed the time to take his medicine.]

"No way."

[Ah, it was not Hunter Lee A-un that died. It was the other Hunter. However...]

Snowy fell silent for a moment before speaking again.

[After spying on his behavior patterns and account, there are eighteen hours left.]

"Left until what?"

[Until Hunter Lee A-un dies.]

Fuck.

I started calculating rapidly in my head.

'...This is tight.'

There was no time to be leisurely.

If I delayed even a little, I might end up buying the ingredients only to attend the patient's funeral.

"Buy them right now!"

There was no time!

***

"Ptooey."

Lee A-un spat out blood-tinged saliva.

He had only done a little physical labor, and he already looked like this.

By now, he was so used to the throbbing pain that not even the slightest trace of it showed on his blank face.

"Sir. I'm here."

"Oh, Blood Rice Cake, you're here."

Blood Rice Cake.

That was the nickname they used for A-un, who returned every day battered so badly it looked as though he had been beaten into a lump of bloody rice cake.

"You look fairly all right today?"

"My outside looks fine, but the inside is completely wrecked."

Ptooey.

Nine-tenths of what A-un spat out again was blood.

"Give me today's medicine."

"You brought the Gold, right?"

Instead of answering, A-un scattered the Gold in his hand across the counter with a clatter.

"One, two, three, four. Four Gold?"

"That was all I could earn today."

"Come on now, Blood Rice Cake. That is no way to do business between us."

"I know I am short. But between us, can't you cut me some slack?"

Cough, cough.

Blood splattered every time A-un coughed.

"Even one pill. No, half a pill."

"That will not do."

Cough.

"Wh-why not?"

"This bastard's eyes are starting to roll again. I told you, one pill for five Gold."

"Huff. Huff."

"Do you have any idea how hard this stuff is to get?"

The unshaven man shook a single blue pill in front of him as though taunting him.

"Next time, next time I'll give you six Gold."

"Hmm. And how am I supposed to trust that?"

"Hngh. Hngh."

"This Blood Rice Cake bastard really is one step from dying, huh? So what, you want me to go easy on you?"

Unable to hold out any longer, A-un collapsed to the ground.

"Come on, now. I am not going to be hauling out an actual corpse. Here."

Whoosh—

The man tossed the pill to A-un.

Thunk. It hit his head, then fell and rolled across the floor.

With trembling hands, A-un barely managed to pick up the pill.

Then, using the blood filling his mouth as water, he swallowed it in one gulp.

"Hoooo."

The Mana calmed almost instantly.

It was the effect of the 'Mana Stabilizer,' the only medicine that could suppress A-un's refluxing Mana, if only temporarily.

"Haaah."

Seizing that opening, he converted his Mana into healing energy.

That soft energy wrapped around his internal organs and restored the tattered, ruptured tissue.

The power of Circulation, an S-rank Awakening ability.

It was the ability to absorb Mana, alter its nature, and use it.

Worthy of the grand reputation of S-rank, its healing power was overwhelming.

Enough to return A-un, who had been on the verge of death, to perfect condition.

And that was only if he used it purely for healing.

If he used the absorbed Mana for offense?

He would likely be able to display tremendous destructive power.

Perhaps it might even be stronger than Guardian Han Seol-ah's Ice Crystal.

But for A-un, who suffered from Mana Reflux Syndrome, using that power for healing on the verge of death was the best he could do.

If he tried to use it any other way, the Mana Road running from his Mana Hall throughout his entire body would explode with a pop.

Even so. On the day this reflux syndrome was finally cured, A-un believed he would be able to emerge from the life of a C-rank and become a proud S-rank.

"I really almost died this time. Sir. I am letting it slide this time, but if you play games with my medicine again, you die."

"Heh-heh. I'm the only one supplying medicine around here. If I die, won't you die too?"

"That might happen."

"Knock it off. You need to get your revenge. What good is it if you die first?"

"...Sir."

A-un's eyes sank coldly.

His Mana was still calm. It was not rampaging.

But even rotten, S-rank was still S-rank. As the power of Circulation manifested, a black aura rippled around him.

"Do not cross the line."

For the briefest instant, the careless smile at the corner of the man's mouth hardened.

Even though Blood Rice Cake looked ready to stop breathing at any second, the killing intent that seemed to prick the skin and the heavy pressure of his Mana were real.

'To think he can produce this much pressure in that condition.'

The man inwardly admired him, then quickly put on a harmless smile again.

"Heh-heh. Sorry, brat."

Whoosh—

The man tossed him a bottle of Low-Grade Potion.

Unlike a moment ago, when he had failed to catch the pill, A-un snatched the bottle out of the air with ease.

"That is a little extra, along with my apology. Anyway, getting this medicine has been getting harder and harder lately. It might get more expensive."

"Is something going on?"

"How many Hunters in the Republic of Korea do you think take Mana Stabilizer?"

"No idea."

"As far as I know, one. Just you."

"Really?"

"Yep. There used to be one more, but he died."

"..."

His mouth tasted bitter.

A life spent scraping by, doing manual labor day after day just to avoid dying.

And yet destruction was still already scheduled for him.

Was there truly no way out of this abyss?

"Bringing it in just to sell to one person makes the Republic of Korea far too dangerous a place. The delivery costs are probably going to rise. No, maybe the peddlers will not even be able to get in anymore."

"Damn it."

"I'll let this one go for four Gold. But next time, six Gold really might be the minimum."

"I do not care if it is six Gold or whatever. Just make sure the supply does not get cut off."

The man shook his head slowly.

"I cannot promise that. I will be honest. Even I am not confident."

"..."

Hooo.

With a heavy sigh, A-un stepped out of the tent.

Even if life was a runaway locomotive racing toward a destruction already set in stone, he could not give up on living.

Because the flames of revenge were burning inside him.

A-un walked down the road in silence.

There had once been a time when he hoped

that someday, some extraordinary person might appear

and heal him like a miracle.

But he no longer held onto that hope.

He was too tired even to pray for such a miracle now.

'But...'

If, even so, such a miracle really did happen.

If such a chance were granted to him like a miracle...

Then to seize that chance, he was prepared to offer up everything.

***

After Lee A-un's figure had completely disappeared from sight, the man stared down blankly at the coins scattered across the counter.

Four Gold, reeking of blood and dried stiff into crusted stains.

He swept them up with rough hands.

"Foolish bastard."

The peddler took a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.

His eyes were damp as he exhaled a long stream of smoke.

That nonsense about 'six Gold might be the minimum'?

Ridiculous.

He had already scattered hundreds of millions in the underworld just to obtain a single one of those pills.

Mana Stabilizer was not something that could be measured in money in the first place.

Even he, a member of the Black Market's Numbers, could only barely obtain it after mobilizing every connection he had.

And he had sold it for a mere four Gold.

That was not business.

It was charity.

But.

"If I gave it to you for free... your damned pride would never let you accept it."

Because he was the sort of stiff-necked fool who would refuse anything not earned by grinding down his own body, even with a blade at his throat.

So the man once again chose to play the role of the wicked merchant today.

"Damn it."

The peddler shoved the blood-stained coins deep into his pocket.

"This is reaching its limit too, A-un."

The medicine was running out. No matter how much money he poured in, the supply itself was drying up.

"If only someone..." The peddler looked up at the sky.

The ash-gray sky looked as though it might collapse at any moment.

"Anyone at all, please save that pitiful boy. I do not care if you take every last bit of my fortune... just please."

***

"It's finished."...It had happened in an instant.

Buying goods on Egg Market was not difficult.

You paid half the Coins in advance. Chose the pickup location.

Received the goods and checked them. If everything matched, you paid the rest and it was done.

In my case, I designated one of the ruined areas on the outskirts of Incheon as the location, and I liked very much that there was no need to see anyone's face during the transaction.

Trusting in the improved condition of my body from drinking Potions regularly,

I clicked Synchronization on and hurried there and back.

After that, making the medicine was simple enough.

I bought alchemy equipment on the market the same way,

then followed the exact same process I used in the game.

Extract the ingredients. Combine them. Inject Mana. Stabilize. Complete.

Skipping over the ordinary details, the combination process had been fairly demanding.

For the first mixture, I combined dried Root of Time powder with Dew of Rebirth that had been heated to 80 degrees.

For the second mixture, I added small amounts of Moonlight Weeping Herb extract to that first mixture while stirring clockwise.

Whenever the mixture turned red, I had to stop immediately. And for exactly three seconds.

'I reproduced the timing gimmick from the game's Alchemy. I wonder whether it worked properly.'

Since I had ten of each ingredient, I made a total of twenty bottles.

I still could not be certain of their effects.

Still, I had not made a single mistake during the process.

Judging by the crimson liquid shimmering in the bottles, they had definitely been made correctly.

"Is there a way to appraise this?"

[List them on the Black Market Auction. You should be able to handle both the appraisal and the sale in one place.]

"Efficient. Very good."

Should I open one more account while I am at it?

The identity Snowy had created for me.

The proud Republic of Korea Hunter Ha Seong-un did not have a separate Black Market account yet.

'I should make a Black Market account under the name Ha Seong-un too.'

That would bring my total number of accounts to three.

First, the Black Market account bearing the name 'Alchemist.'

'That one is connected to Lost Honor.'

I wanted to keep using that one exclusively for Lost Honor from now on.

Second, the official Republic of Korea account issued under the name 'Apostle.'

'That one... it bothers me that my usage history would remain there in full view.'

Snowy had said it could delete the transaction history for me.

But Coins were legitimate currency... so I still considered that dangerous.

You never knew what might happen in this world.

Third.

A Black Market account under the name 'Ha Seong-un.'

The Points I put in there would belong to me alone.

Privacy.

"But where is Lee A-un? In a hospital?"

[No. This works out perfectly.]

Snowy brought up a map.

The blinking red dot overlapped with the place I was about to head to.

[Hunter Lee A-un's current location is the slum area near the entrance to the Black Market.]

"Oh ho."

In that case, the route was perfect.

Get the item appraised, open the new account, and treat the patient on the way out.

"Three birds with one stone."

I liked how efficient the quest route was. I had business with the Market anyway, and the patient just happened to be there too.

"Let us go at once."