The moment he heard that, Baek Yoon-Ho straightened from his previously relaxed posture.
'So he opened his eyes on that day of all days?' —Ah, to be precise, the records say he regained consciousness the day before.
An Sang-Min quickly corrected his answer, but to Baek Yoon-Ho, a one-day difference didn't really matter. What truly mattered was that the possibility of the poster being Sung Jin-Woo Hunter hadn't been ruled out.
"...Understood. That's all I needed. Thank you for your work."
He hung up and navigated to the folder where the reports were saved, opening a document. It was a report the Second Management Division had compiled on Sung Jin-Woo. Click, click. Baek Yoon-Ho studied Jin-Woo's recent activities more carefully than anything else. Until recently, the man hadn't shown any notable signs of change. He kept getting injured, earned hardly any income — the typical life of an E-rank Hunter. But then.
'The Double Dungeon incident...'
Baek Yoon-Ho had been at the scene that day too. The Hunter's Association had urgently requested help from the nearest large guild — Baek Horn — and Baek Yoon-Ho had willingly gone with an elite strike team. Whirr, whirr. There, he had seen a man being loaded into an ambulance, unconscious.
'Back then, I didn't know that man was Sung Jin-Woo...'
What had happened inside? Either way, around that time, Sung Jin-Woo had changed completely. The man who used to meekly help out at the Hunter's Association started joining civilian strike teams, and then suddenly began clearing multiple C-rank Gates in a single day. Something inside him had undeniably shifted. Baek Yoon-Ho was certain.
'This isn't an ordinary re-awakening.'
Director An had hypothesized that Jin-Woo's power had been tested by the Yoojin Construction side, but.
'No.'
If that were the case, there'd be no way to explain how his power had continued to grow so dramatically even after the re-awakening ended. So then, really.
'...What if there exists a Hunter who can grow his own power without limit?'
And what if, in the space of just a few months, he could elevate E-rank abilities all the way to S-rank?
"..."
Baek Yoon-Ho involuntarily let out a low groan. It was chilling. Of course, there was no proof that the anonymous poster and Sung Jin-Woo Hunter were the same person. But if Sung Jin-Woo Hunter truly could raise his own stats, as the post described, the mere thought of how much further he could climb was dizzying. And at the same time.
'I've been foolish.'
Now he understood why Sung Jin-Woo Hunter had shown so little interest in joining a guild.
'If I put myself in his shoes...'
If he were granted the ability to grow without limits, would he want to join someone else's guild? Baek Yoon-Ho shook his head.
'He'd rather build his own guild.'
What good were the nation's number-one and number-two guilds? The place where he ended up would become the best regardless.
'So this whole time, both Choi Jong-In and I have been completely off the mark.'
He couldn't help but smile thinking about CEO Choi, who was still running himself ragged chasing after Sung Jin-Woo Hunter. But.
'If my theory is true, this is no laughing matter.'
Before long, he would become someone who could tip the balance of Korea's Hunter world. No — Hunters across the globe might turn their attention to him. It was time to completely rethink his strategy regarding Sung Jin-Woo Hunter. But before that.
'First, I need to meet him and confirm things for myself.'
Baek Yoon-Ho nodded. No matter how he looked at it, meeting Sung Jin-Woo Hunter was the top priority. But then.
'...How am I going to ask him for some of his time?'
Baek Yoon-Ho clutched his head.
"..."
The man had ignored countless requests without so much as a single reply, and now he was supposed to ask for a meeting? His head was already starting to throb.
***
The appraiser asked in a stunned voice.
"You found this inside a Dungeon?"
Jin-Woo nodded. He had killed the greedy Vulcan inside the 'Dungeon' of the Castle of Greed and 'picked it up.' It wasn't a lie.
'You can find something like this inside a Dungeon?' 'With current crafting technology, it's impossible to make something like this...'
Both the appraiser and the two members of the appraisal team wore expressions of disbelief, but if the owner himself said so, there was nothing to do but accept it. In truth, where the red magic orb had come from wasn't the real issue.
'The real question is what Hunter-nim plans to do with it going forward.'
The team leader stepped forward.
"It's definitely authentic."
His gaze turned to the orb in Jin-Woo's hand.
"Would you like us to handle the auction? We'll make sure you get the best price possible."
What should he do? Before deciding what to do with the Orb of Greed, Jin-Woo asked about the other reason he'd come here.
"By any chance, can I purchase a fire-element defensive artifact?"
The team leader and Kim Jung-Gi exchanged glances. Both looked at Jin-Woo with slightly awkward expressions. Jin-Woo was puzzled.
"Did I ask something I shouldn't have?" "Not at all." "Then is fire-element defensive gear particularly hard to find?" "Actually..."
The team leader smiled and said.
"It's the opposite. It's too easy to find." "I couldn't find any online." "Gear with elemental affinities is so expensive that sellers rarely list it online. But if you actually want to get your hands on one, it's readily available. Fire-element magic is the most common offensive magic type, after all."
That made sense. Nearly every magic-type Hunter he had encountered so far used fire or light. Even the S-rank Hunter Choi Jong-In was known for specializing in flame magic. Even the shadow soldiers Jin-Woo himself commanded used fire, and Fanged Igrit could breathe fire directly from his mouth. It really was that common.
'Good to know it's easy to find.'
The mention of high prices was a concern, but his mother's treatment depended on it. As long as he could get one quickly, he was willing to pay any price. Worst case, he could always sell the Orb of Greed.
"Could you look into it for me?" "Of course."
The team leader was about to leave the appraisal room when he turned back to Kim Jung-Gi.
"Jung-Gi. It wouldn't be right to keep the Hunter waiting here. Why don't you show him some of the auction items while I'm gone?" "Ah, certainly."
Kim Jung-Gi took the lead.
"Please follow me."
The two made their way to the exhibition room. It was a VIP-only showroom where ultra-high-end artifacts — those scheduled for upcoming auctions or still without buyers — were displayed. Weapons, defensive gear, runestones, and other items sat inside transparent cases. Jin-Woo stopped in front of one — a glass case holding a longsword. Kim Jung-Gi approached.
"Is there something that catches your eye?" "No, it's not that."
Jin-Woo tapped on the glass case with a knuckle.
"With just a thin box like this, the artifact is safe? There don't seem to be any security devices."
Kim Jung-Gi's expression turned confident.
"It may not look like much, but this is reinforced glass infused with mana by the finest craftsmen. Even an A-rank combat Hunter hitting it with full force wouldn't leave a scratch." "An A-rank hitting it...?"
Jin-Woo looked doubtful, and Kim Jung-Gi gave a small laugh.
"If you don't believe me, would you like to try? If it breaks — even one in ten thousand — we could give you the artifact inside as compensation." "Hmm..."
Was this reinforced glass really that tough?
'I can sense the mana in it, though.'
Curiosity piqued, Jin-Woo tensed his right arm. Whoom — in an instant, his shoulder and forearm swelled, and the surrounding air grew heavy.
"W-wait just a moment!"
Kim Jung-Gi hurriedly stepped in to stop him.
"I was just saying in theory. I didn't mean for you to actually hit it." "Oh, right." "If it really did break, the elite forces of Hunters would come rushing in. Our auction house and Hunters have a protection contract in place, you see." "Ah, got it."
The man was dead serious about what started as a joke. Jin-Woo relaxed his arm. As the oppressive aura radiating from him dissipated, Kim Jung-Gi let out a sigh of relief.
'Wait, didn't they say he's a magic-type Hunter?'
Since when did magic-type Hunters have such overwhelming physical presence... In truth, the invitation to hit the glass hadn't been entirely a joke. Kim Jung-Gi had figured that even an S-rank magic-type Hunter couldn't have that much strength. But the moment Jin-Woo had started to focus, every hair on his body had stood on end, and some primal instinct screamed at him to stop the man. Fortunately, Jin-Woo had backed off willingly.
'Well, if something went wrong, Hunter-nim's hand could've been hurt.'
Kim Jung-Gi consoled himself with that thought and continued guiding him through the other artifacts. After completing a full circuit of the room, Jin-Woo asked.
"Are there any weapons I can handle? Daggers, specifically."
He wasn't the type to rely on weapons, so he hadn't paid much attention to them before, but seeing all the displayed equipment had suddenly sparked his interest. Kim Jung-Gi's face lit up. The whole point of showing Hunters these artifacts wasn't for anything else — it was for exactly this moment. Hunters were sellers, but they were also precious customers.
"Of course we have some."
He answered, then used the microphone clipped below his collar to call the staff member in charge of weapons. Worried the Hunter might change his mind, the specialist arrived almost immediately.
"This would be the one?"
When the specialist looked to him for confirmation, Kim Jung-Gi nodded.
"Ah, a pleasure to meet you. I handle the weapons department. Please come this way."
The specialist led Jin-Woo out of the VIP exhibition room. After the two had gone, Kim Jung-Gi let out another sigh.
'Hunter Sung Jin-Woo sure has a talent for keeping people on their toes.'
Having recovered his composure, Kim Jung-Gi idly looked around and found himself standing in front of the longsword Jin-Woo had shown interest in. The case was close enough to where Jin-Woo had been standing that he wanted to check for fingerprints or smudges, and that was when he tilted his head.
"Hm?"
The top of the case.
"Huh?"
In one corner on the upper edge, there was a hairline crack so faint it was nearly invisible.
"When did this happen?"
He pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed at it, but it wouldn't wipe away. It wasn't a smudge — it was definitely a crack.
"Unbelievable."
Kim Jung-Gi furrowed his brow. How disappointed would Hunter Sung Jin-Woo — a potential major client — have been if he'd seen this? It was a small mercy that it was near an inconspicuous corner. Tsk tsk. Clicking his tongue, Kim Jung-Gi called the maintenance team, then followed Jin-Woo out of the VIP exhibition room.
***
Jin-Woo examined the dagger the specialist showed him. Honestly, it was pathetic.
'Even the Night Killer with a B-rank acquisition difficulty is better than this.'
The attack power wasn't even half of the Night Killer's. Jin-Woo returned the dagger with a disappointed expression and asked.
"How much is this one?" "Thirty million won."
Jin-Woo's eyes widened. This thing cost how much?
"How much did you say?" "Thirty million won, Hunter-nim." "One moment."
Jin-Woo turned around, pretending to rummage through his pocket, and produced the Night Killer.
"What would something like this go for?"
The staff member's eyes went wide.
"Hunter-nim, is this yours? Wow — I can feel the delicate touch of a master craftsman in this dagger!"
Actually, that's from the store... The staff member hesitated for a moment, then said with a smile.
"I'm not a professional appraiser, so I can't give an exact valuation, but I'd estimate it would go for at least a hundred million or more."
Jin-Woo's expression hardened.
'I bought this from the store for three million gold?'
Or was it 2.8 million? Seeing Jin-Woo's expression, the staff member scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.
"Was I wrong? Weapons are my specialty, so I overstepped by offering an opinion." "No, that's not it."
He was simply shocked by the outrageously high price of the artifacts. Come to think of it, even Kim Sang-Sik's steel sword with an attack power of ten — the first weapon he'd ever held — had cost thirty million won, and Yoo Jin-Ho's barely used equipment was valued in the hundreds of millions. When you thought about it, the fact that high-stat items sold by the System's store could command such prices wasn't really that surprising.
'I just never bothered to pay attention.'
Because money had never been a big concern.
'Wait a second...'
Right now, his vault was overflowing with gold. And if store-bought items that could be purchased with gold were being sold for these kinds of prices? Jin-Woo's mind began to race.
'I don't even need to sell the Orb of Greed.'
When that thought struck, he heard it — or was it his imagination? — a cheer rising from the shadows at his feet, as though the magic soldiers were celebrating.
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