—Beard, and…
Beep—!
The transmission was cut off.
Silence filled the hideout of Jaun. None of the five remaining members could speak.
Theresa had remained calm until the very last moment and fulfilled her role.
Bert set down the communication magic tool on the desk with a grim expression before opening her mouth.
“The transmission is cut off.”
“Damn it!”
Jin struck the wall in anger. A crack spread, and a dent formed.
“Did she really get caught?”
“Seems like it. Theresa said so herself.”
“…Theresa, caught.”
“What about the others? Are they safe?”
“From what I heard, they managed to shake off pursuit.”
“That’s a relief.”
Jin let out a sigh of relief.
“But what about what Theresa said at the end? She mentioned the Rune Clan, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
The Rune Clan.
A family that had gained fame in the past for their exceptional support magic. Their barrier and sealing techniques remained a subject of study for many support mages even now.
“Wasn’t the Rune Clan wiped out? Seventeen years ago, by our own hands…”
“Then why was their name brought up now?”
“There must be a survivor.”
“Then did they approach us seeking revenge?”
A silver-haired woman, Heather, murmured.
“Forget it. Don’t let it bother you. It’s not like we don’t have a long list of people who hold grudges against us. Look at the Fire Witch—she’s practically our stalker at this point.”
“Hey. Everyone, shut up for a second. That’s not the important part right now.”
Baek Eun-seong, who had been silent, suddenly stepped forward.
“Didn’t you hear what Theresa said at the very end?”
“What about it?”
Baek Eun-seong narrowed his eyes.
“She mentioned a beard.”
“A beard? What about it?”
Jin asked.
“The guy who stole the Cup of Life in Incheon also had a beard. Could it be the same person?”
At Baek Eun-seong’s words, Jin’s expression darkened.
“…No way.”
They had succeeded in capturing one of Jaun’s members, Theresa, yet Kim Deokhyun still harboured many doubts.
“So you’re saying a streak of light appeared out of nowhere and restrained Theresa?”
“Yeah.”
In response to Jeong Hyunsoo’s question, Kim Deokhyun answered curtly.
“And the person who used that magic disappeared without a sound?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm. That’s pretty strange. And considering the fact that they could completely immobilize someone like Theresa, it must have been high-level magic.”
“Exactly. Anyone capable of wielding such magic would be well-known. But how is it that no one comes to mind?”
“Could it be someone from Dawn’s Blade? They’re participating in this event too.”
“Not them. I talked to Yoo Ah-yeon earlier.”
“Really?”
Jeong Hyunsoo nodded.
“By the way, where’s Lee Seo-jun?”
“Who knows? Probably dragged off somewhere by reporters for an interview.”
“Geez. That guy’s always busy.”
As Kim Deokhyun and Jeong Hyunsoo walked around the social club’s premises, they entered a heavily guarded vehicle.
Inside, restrained by magic-suppressing shackles, sat a red-haired woman.
All her sensory functions—sight, hearing, smell, and touch—had been sealed off, making it impossible to see her expression.
Kim Deokhyun removed the gag from her mouth.
“Theresa, how does it feel to be tied up like this?”
Theresa smirked.
“Heh. It’s thrilling. I wish you’d torment me more.”
“You’re insane.”
“Or you could just kill me now.”
“Fat chance. You think we’d let a crazy murderer like you off so easily? Who would that benefit?”
“…Now that I think about it, getting captured like this might not be so bad. You guys are planning to take me ‘there,’ aren’t you? Heh. What an honor!”
At Theresa’s words, Kim Deokhyun let out a deep sigh.
“Ugh. No point in talking to you. You’re completely insane.”
Shaking his head, he gagged her again.
The incident was swiftly resolved. Though the other members of Jaun successfully stole the Black Sword and escaped, the outcome was far from a failure.
There were two major gains from this event.
One, I had obtained ‘Hephaestus’s Hammer,’ one of Jaun’s target artifacts.
And two, we had captured Theresa, one of their key members.
Considering what lay ahead, this was an incredible advantage.
This could potentially cripple Jaun’s influence, which becomes a major threat in the latter half of the story.
“Man, this is seriously overpowered.”
I had already felt it during the last raid, but the skill I obtained this time—Rune’s Bind—was incredibly strong.
It was powerful enough to immobilize an S-rank villain for a few seconds.
Of course, it had its drawbacks.
For one, it only worked on a single target. Additionally, I needed someone else to land the finishing blow while the enemy was restrained.
On top of that, the mana consumption was absurd. I had to activate the Heart of Nature just to maintain it for about eight seconds.
Even so, there was no denying its effectiveness.
After all, I had used it to eliminate a major mid-to-late-game villain ahead of schedule.
But I couldn’t afford to overuse this skill.
Rune’s Bind was, after all, a secret magic of the Rune Clan.
And a survivor of the supposedly exterminated Rune Clan was set to appear later in the story.
Of course, that wouldn’t happen for a long time. First, I had to graduate from school.
Returning home, I checked my backlog of messages.
[S-rank villain ‘Theresa’ has been captured.]
[A significant change in the story has been detected.]
[Causality has increased by 1.4.]
[Achievement unlocked: ‘Capture of an S-rank Villain.’]
[Reward: 8,000 points.]
[Achievement unlocked: ‘Justice Served.’]
[Reward: 5,000 points.]
[Achievement unlocked: ‘Secret Hero.’]
[Reward: 3,000 points.]
The point rewards were as hefty as the incident itself.
After clearing the messages, I turned on the TV.
「The recent terrorist attack has been confirmed to be the work of Jaun, an internationally active terrorist organization. The group has stolen the sword of their former leader, Jin Cheonwoo, which was on display at the ‘Night of Pioneers’ event. The Mage Association has dispatched investigators to look into the case.」
The news was covering today’s events.
Criticism toward Han Se-jin, the host of the ‘Night of Pioneers,’ followed soon after.
Now that I thought about it, Han Se-jin had suffered an even greater loss than in the original story.
In the original, he had never invested heavily in the dungeon business, meaning he hadn’t expanded the ‘Night of Pioneers’ on such a large scale.
This incident must have dealt a significant blow to him.
It would be interesting to see what kind of butterfly effect it triggered.
“Now then, time to put my new item to use.”
I pulled out the ‘Hephaestus’s Hammer,’ which I had obtained earlier.
A hammer capable of restoring lost mystical powers.
I already knew exactly what I wanted to use it on.
After all, there was only one item I could apply it to.
The broken ladle I got from the British general store.
━━
[Broken Ladle (Relic)]
Description: A broken ladle. If repaired, its mystical power will return.
━━
“Hmm.”
I wonder what kind of effect this relic has.
Since it’s a relic, it should be something good.
I infused mana into Hephaestus’s Hammer.
A soft glow surrounded the hammer.
Now all I had to do was lightly tap the broken item.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
A tense moment.
With careful precision, I struck the ladle.
Wuuuuuung—
At the same time, light flickered on the ladle.
A mysterious event unfolded.
The shape of the broken ladle slowly began to change.
“Ohh.”
Flash!
With an intense, blinding light, the glow of the hammer vanished.
[You have achieved the ‘Artifact Repair’ achievement.]
[You have received 4,000 points as a reward.]
“…Did it work?”
━━
[Mystic-Scooping Ladle (Artifact)]
Description: A ladle that scoops the mystic.
[Passive Effect]
▶Mystic Transfer
By injecting mana into the ‘Mystic-Scooping Ladle,’ you can extract one ability from an item and transfer it to another.
- An ability can only be transferred once per item.
- Abilities can only be transferred between items of the same category.
- Abilities of the same rank cannot be transferred.
- Mystical powers imbued in Sacred Artifacts, Artifacts, and S-rank or higher items cannot be transferred.
- Cooldown: 30 days.
Durability: B
━━
“Oh?”
An item more unique than expected had appeared.
The Mystic-Scooping Ladle.
Just as the name suggested, it was an item that could transfer the mystical power imbued in one item to another.
“A maximum of one transfer per item, huh…”
Reading the details carefully, there were quite a few restrictions.
Probably limitations imposed for balance.
It was a bit disappointing, but not too concerning.
The ability to add a new effect to an item was already an incredible advantage.
I thought about whether I had an item worth transferring abilities to, but nothing came to mind immediately.
The restriction of transferring only between the same category of items was a limitation.
“I’ll need to find some items.”
With a 30-day cooldown, it would be best to transfer abilities as soon as possible.
And as long as I had money, obtaining items wouldn’t be a problem.
“The issue is…”
I had no money.
Between buying a house and participating in auctions, most of my funds had already been depleted.
The money I had left on hand was 5 billion won.
Of course, 5 billion was still a significant sum.
With that much, I could easily buy an A-rank item—or even a non-mainstream S-rank item.
The problem was that if I spent this 5 billion now, it would greatly hinder my ability to grow my wealth in the future.
“Sigh.”
Money was always an issue.
No matter how much I earned, as long as there were competitors with even greater sums, money would never be enough.
The underground auction I recently experienced made me realize that more than ever.
Jaun had brought in hundreds of billions in capital, while I barely had over 10 billion at my disposal.
If I had the money to purchase the ‘Mana Core,’ Jaun would have had to give up either the Mana Core or the Broken Black Sword.
That would have led to a much better outcome for me.
In the end, my lack of funds resulted in this situation.
“I need to make a lot more money.”
Not just 10 or 20 billion.
I needed dozens of times that amount.
Relying on stocks to make money had its limits.
No matter how much an ant struggles, it’s still an ant.
To handle larger sums, I needed to go beyond the limits of an individual investor.
A way to make more money than simply using future knowledge for stocks…
The most stable choice when considering time, probability, and effort.
I didn’t have to think long.
I had already planned for this a few weeks ago.
However, this plan required seed money.
That meant using the Mystic-Scooping Ladle had to wait for now.
“…Or maybe not.”
A shift in perspective was needed.
Come to think of it, using the Mystic-Scooping Ladle could actually help me make even more money.
If I could create and sell items with two abilities, I could earn a massive profit in one go.
That would allow me to secure the capital I needed for my plan right away.
A smile naturally formed on my lips.
“…I’m going to need more money.”
Since I was going to craft items, it made sense to use the ladle on expensive items to maximize profit.
That meant I needed high-value items.
But with only 5 billion won, it was a bit tricky.
I immediately called Han Se-yeon.
“Han Se-yeon.”
—Jinwoo? Did you get home safely today?
Her sudden warm greeting made me feel a little guilty.
“Ah, yes. I got home safely.”
—That’s a relief. I was worried since such a huge incident happened.
“Did you get home safely as well?”
—Yes. You told me to stay somewhere safe, remember? Thanks to that, I was fine. The problem was other people… Oh, so why did you call?
She had already realized I had a specific reason for contacting her.
That made it easier for me to get to the point.
“I need to borrow some money.”
—Money? How much?
“About 3 billion won.”
—…3 billion?
Did I sound too shameless?
I could hear the disbelief in her voice.
I quickly added,
“I’ll pay it back with interest, so you won’t be disappointed.”
—3 billion… Hmm. Alright. No need for interest, but can I give it to you tomorrow? It’s late now.
Oh.
Honestly, I had confidence in borrowing the money, but I expected some back-and-forth persuasion.
She agreed much more easily than I thought.
“Yes, please.”
—By the way, what are you using the 3 billion for?
“To make more money.”
—Money? Got it. Well, if it’s you, Jinwoo, I can trust you.
“Thanks. I appreciate it. I’ll hang up now.”
—W-Wait a second!
Her sudden outburst was unexpected.
“…Yes? Is there something else?”
—…No. Let’s just have a meal together sometime.
“Oh. That’s all? Sure. I’ve always had you treat me, so this time, I’ll pay.”
—Hehe. Alright. I’ll look forward to it.
“Yep. See you.”
—Okay.
Click.
“Whew.”
With that, the seed money was secured.
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