Chapter 19

“Let’s eat, Myangmyang~”

“Myangmyang!”

When it heard the word “eat,” Myangmyang flew over quickly and stuck itself to the magic stone.

When it was born, it could barely walk, but now it flies around freely.

It was worth raising it with those expensive magic stones.

Lee Woojae did complain, saying it was supposed to be like that anyway.

‘No, I think it’s because I fed it expensive stones.’

Maybe I sound like someone who believes that feeding pets expensive food makes them smarter, but still… That’s what I believe.

Otherwise, I can’t understand why 100 million won worth of magic stones disappears every day.

When Woojae once asked why I feed it such expensive stuff, I answered:

‘Parents always want to give their kids the best.’

‘It annoys me that it eats better than I do. Buy me some omakase, too.’

‘Sure, why not.’

Even though I spent over 100 million won every day, I wasn’t running out of money.

That’s because I earned 500 million to 1 billion won every day, consistently.

From selling ramen, dumplings, beer, soju, Chinese liquor, whiskey, computers, game consoles, and more.

I felt bad for the Kapang delivery drivers.

They probably thought it was a big YouTube event or something.

And I’d already reduced my spending, but I still had other sources of income, so the money didn’t decrease.

‘Plus, I also get commission from the Association.’

The Association pays commission when they rent out my items.

Usually, they rent out items to awakened people for about 1 billion won.

That’s just for a D-rank sword.

So how much for an A-rank or S-rank item? Or a semi-mythic one?

The prices are insane.

A-rank starts at 10 billion won, S-rank goes over 100 billion.

Semi-mythic items are rare even for the Association, so the price isn’t as high, but still reaches around 300 billion won.

They take a 10% fee, and I get 1%.

So I get 100 million for an A-rank, 1 billion for an S-rank, and 3 billion for a semi-mythic.

“I have too much money.”

“Don’t complain.”

“I know, but I don’t have anything to spend it on.”

I never thought having too much money could be a problem.

And because my identity is secret, I don’t even pay taxes.

Well, the Association manages things somehow and handles the deductions.

Other than what they deduct automatically, I don’t pay property or income taxes.

I’ve only used SamSamSam (a Korean tax app) to get tax refunds, never paid real taxes, so I don’t really understand them.

Oh, I did pay taxes for gate-clearing missions, I think.

“Myangmyang~ You must’ve been hungry! Let’s enjoy your 100 million won meal~”

So basically, the only things I spend money on are Myangmyang’s food and our own meals.

I didn’t know how to spend money.

And even when I tried, there was nothing to spend it on.

Is this what they mean when they say rich people feel empty after success?

They work hard, finally succeed, and realize they’re old and have nothing to do with their money.

But in my case, I didn’t work hard, and I’m still young, so I don’t feel that emptiness.

Ding—

A notification on my phone. Money came into my crypto wallet.

This time, it was from the Hoyeon Guild.

Kim Yooyeon had returned to Hoyeon, but I made a contract with the guild too, just like I did with the Association.

After all, Hoyeon is one of the top 4 guilds in Korea. She’s not the only member.

So I was getting regular payments from them, almost the same as the Association.

These days, I didn’t even bother converting coins or points to cash anymore.

“Woojae.”

“What?”

“Should we buy a supercar?”

I had 10 billion won in my wallet right now.

I earned that in just one week since awakening.

10 billion in one week!

Of course, I’m not like “Mr. Bill,” who makes 10 billion a day, but I bet he doesn’t earn it as easily as I do.

I just click on Kapang and items, and money rolls in.

Even after buying a supercar, I’d still have a ton of money left.

“Why buy a supercar? You never go out. You can teleport.”

“True. Then should we buy real estate like a proper Korean?”

“Before house prices go up, ramen sales bring in more money.”

“Then maybe a yacht?”

“Are you going to learn how to drive one?”

“Oh, never mind.”

Should I increase Myangmyang’s food quality?

Would better food give it more magic power and make it stronger?

As I was wasting time thinking about all that, I got a call from the Association’s chairman.

“Hello?”

[Hello, Mr. Kim Namjoong. Are you doing well?]

“Yes, thanks to you, I’m doing great.”

[Please take care of yourself. You’re a treasure to the Association—no, to the nation.]

“Haha, thank you. But why are you calling?”

[It’s nothing major, just wanted to let you know HP Company is holding an auction soon.]

HP Company—one of the conditions I asked for during my first talk with the chairman.

They make the Soul Condensing Elixir.

The one that’s vital for Woojae, whose soul is breaking down. It also extends life a bit, so billionaires fight over it at auctions.

Chairman Kang Seokgoo continued:

[We pushed HP Company and managed to get a purchase slot. But since you said you need as many as possible, I thought you might want to go with the Hoyeon Guild. You’re under the same contract terms with them.]

“Thank you for letting me know. I’ll do that.”

[I’ll inform them as well.]

“Okay.”

Good timing.

I hung up and turned to Woojae.

“Woojae, we found a place to spend money.”

“Suddenly? Where?”

“Elixirs. The ones you wanted.”

“Oh! The auction started?”

“Yeah. Not our money, though.”

The elixirs are for Woojae, but the payment will be made by Hoyeon Guild, not me.

I grinned and waited for Hoyeon to contact me.

Ordinary auctions are usually held in public venues where known individuals place their bids, but auctions involving Hunter goods were different.

Participants wore masks to hide their true identities.

After all, Hunters were not only national heroes protecting the country by clearing gates, but also the core of a nation’s military power.

In the event of war between countries, the traditional army and Hunters would comprise the military strength, which directly reflects the national power.

So what if news got out that Hunter A purchased a stealth skill in an auction?

The enemy would prepare for it, and it would cause damage akin to leaking military secrets.

That’s why these auctions required identity verification first, followed by masked participation. Once an item or skill was purchased, the transaction would be reported secretly to the Association.

“But even with a mask, people who know you will still recognize you.”

“True.”

“Well, as long as we’re not recognized, it’s fine. I might recognize someone, though?”

The Hunters who came here to buy rare skills usually tried very hard to cover their identities, but there were also those who didn’t bother.

“Hey, that’s Cha Eunwoong!”

“Wow… he still looks handsome even with a mask on.”

“Yuni’s over there too!”

“A lot of celebrities must come here…”

“Isn’t that the former president over there?”

“Oh wow…”

“And that’s a corporate CEO.”

“Wow…”

These were people who didn’t need to hide who they were.

Or, perhaps, people who benefited more from revealing themselves.

They likely weren’t here to buy skills anyway—networking was more profitable for them in a place like this.

Ironically, these people tended to buy similar types of items.

Decorative goods or accessories from towers or gates, or cosmetics that claimed to help maintain youth.

“Anyway, thanks for coming with me, Yooyeon.”

“Oh please. It’s part of the contract. Don’t mention it, savior.”

“Mm, okay. If you say so.”

The HoYeon Guild Master had accepted the Association’s proposal, and Kim Yooyeon had been assigned to guide us in the Guild Master’s place.

Part of it was because he was busy, but more importantly, the person who signed the confidentiality agreement was Kim Yooyeon.

Her official identity was that of a newly joined member of the HoYeon Guild.

The Association and HoYeon collaborated to create this secret identity.

Government and corporate backing sure is handy—they just whip up a new identity in no time.

It almost felt like being a spy.

“First, I’ll relay HoYeon’s message. The elixir purchase cap is 17 billion won. If it goes over, they’ll get it through another route.”

“Got it.”

“And I’ll be purchasing something I need too. My cap is 20 billion. It might seem weird that my cap is higher than yours, but elixirs usually go for around 10 billion, so this setup is intentional. Thanks for understanding.”

“Of course.”

The average auction price for an elixir was around 10 to 11 billion, and A-rank items usually started at 10 billion and above.

Since Kim Yooyeon was a top-tier S-rank Hunter, she planned to buy a high-end A-rank armor or support item.

Fully decking oneself out in all S-rank gear would cost over a trillion won.

“And if there’s something you want to buy during the auction, they said you can borrow the money—no interest, no repayment deadline. So go ahead and get whatever you want.”

“Alright, thank them for me.”

That part was unexpected, but still—I was grateful.

There might be something I’d want.

Compared to a flashy supercar I won’t drive or a yacht I’ll never use, Hunter gear would be far more practical.

And who knows—what I want might cost over 10 billion.

Plus, if there’s no repayment term, it’s basically being gifted.

Of course, I’d still pay it back—out of conscience.

Step, step—

The murmuring of people mingling in the auction hall quieted suddenly as a woman walked onto the auction stage.

Was it finally starting?

“Greetings, customers. I’m Kang Hyesuh, the auctioneer in charge of today’s event.”

She began with a bright smile.

“We’ll now begin the auction. As always, we’ll start with items submitted by individual Hunters.”

Naturally—if they started with corporate items, the prices would be too high from the get-go. Better to begin with lower-priced ones.

When expensive items are saved for later, there’s a higher chance people will bid impulsively early on, and the expensive ones can fetch even higher prices.

“The first item is an ore from an A-rank gate that recently opened on the East Sea. It has no magical properties, but is extremely durable. Starting bid is 10 million won.”

Ore from a gate, but without magical power?

It sounded less useful than expected.

What’s the point of high durability?

Without magic, Hunters can’t use it anyway.

It didn’t even look big enough to be used in a power plant or industrial facility.

At best, it might serve as a decoration?

As expected, no one bid.

Just when it seemed like it would be passed over, one person made a last-minute bid at the base price of 10 million won.

But Lee Woojae thought differently.

“Buy that.”

“Huh? Why that useless thing?”

“Trust me. That’s worth even 10 billion. It’s extremely valuable.”

At the time, I had no idea.

That I would end up spending 100 billion won at this auction.

Well… not my money anyway.