Chapter 1899 – 1899. Dark Moon
[The game is terminated.]
[Commencing experience point calculation.]
[Level has increased.]
[Na Chaeyoung’s affinity level is 5.]
[Choi Hyejin’s affinity level is 3.]
[Lee Yeonhee’s affinity level is 1.]
…….
[Sung Yoojin
Level: 91
Strength: 123 Stamina: 116 Agility: 113 Intelligence: 113 Vitality: 123 Mana: 123]
[Available points: 17,820]
I gained more points than I expected. But it felt like I didn’t have enough points to use them right away.
‘I want to level up Lightning Strike… I’m short by more than 10,000 points.’
Last time, when I leveled up Lightning Strike to 12, I was able to give it special traits. The problem was that, except for the traits I was familiar with, it wasn’t easy to control. If I level up Lightning Strike, I’ll be able to use it in more diverse ways.
‘Should I level up my physical abilities instead?’
I pondered for a moment, then shook my head. I didn’t feel lacking in physical abilities. I’m currently a B-rank hunter, but my physical abilities are at least A-rank.
‘I probably don’t meet the average for A-rank.’
Actually, there’s no precise standard for the average A-rank. There’s a big difference between individuals in A-rank. Physical-type ability users would have better physical abilities than me. Conversely, magic-type or psychic-type ability users would have lower physical abilities than me.
‘There are quite a few A-rank hunters who are S-rank candidates. But they aren’t talked about.’
The most important thing for a hunter called an S-rank candidate is the talent to break through the wall. Han Ah-young was called an S-rank candidate because her talent was recognized, and now she’s recognized as an S-rank and is active on the world stage. For the sake of humanity.
‘Becoming an S-rank seems like it would needlessly draw attention and be tiring.’
As you can see from how busy Han Ah-young is, the world isn’t so peaceful. Korea is safe because there are an excessive number of A-rank hunters compared to the population. If you go overseas, you can easily see cities that have been destroyed by monsters. It’s not easy to restore them either, because dungeons keep appearing all over the world.
‘Becoming an S-rank isn’t necessarily a good thing.’
Still, I wanted to become an S-rank. The power of an S-rank hunter would be sweet.
I got up from my seat with determination. To become an S-rank, I first had to become an A-rank.
‘Let’s do two B-rank dungeons today!’
Eight hours later. Exhausted, I regretted my decision as I returned home.
‘What kind of bastard came up with a system like performance records… Isn’t there a way to get something for nothing?’
• • •
I met Ha Seunghee, the granddaughter of the Sejin Group chairman and a third-generation chaebol, at the research lab after a long time.
The usually sharp Ha Seunghee looked disheveled for some reason. Her hair looked dry, and her face showed fatigue.
“You seem very busy these days?”
“Yes. There are a lot of people who want HB-1.”
HB-1. It’s a replica of Hebil’s stimulant. They started selling it last time, and the media was initially in a frenzy, but now it’s quiet. So I thought she wouldn’t be busy, but it seems that’s not the case.
“Thanks to Yoojin-sunbae, we’re making astronomical profits. Money must be piling up in Yoojin-sunbae’s account too, right?”
As she said, billions of won were piling up in my account. As long as HB-1 sells well, my account won’t run dry.
“That’s true. Even if I want to spend money, there’s not much to spend it on.”
I had the game life app. Want something? I could just go into a suitable creative world and bring it back. Even if not, there weren’t many things I truly wanted. Even now, my house was full of unusual items.
Just the [Space Travel Scroll] alone could be sold for hundreds of millions of won. There was also the [Fountain of Youth] that made you younger just by drinking it. That was worth at least hundreds of billions. Even S-rank hunters can’t avoid aging… I could get trillions. Though, money wouldn’t be the only thing to trade for.
“Why don’t you change your house? People usually buy a house when they get a lot of money. You could call it a kind of real estate investment.”
“I like where I live now. And I’m not really interested in real estate investment.”
The officetel I lived in was reasonably spacious and enough for me to live alone. The location wasn’t bad either, and it was a modern building, so there were no old parts. Most of all, it had the biggest advantage of being able to meet Han Harin anytime, anywhere.
“Investing in the company is also an option.”
“That’s also annoying. And what if the company goes bankrupt after I invest in it? I’d be the only one to lose.”
Even if I had a lot of money, I didn’t want to lose it.
“Then invest in yourself. Hunter equipment is expensive, but it’s worth the price.”
“Hmm.”
That didn’t really appeal to me either. I could take care of most equipment with Stormbreaker.
“Can’t I buy hunter achievements with money?”
“The world doesn’t revolve around money alone.”
“Even if I donate billions to the Hunter Association?”
“You’d get a commendation and be on the news once, and that would be it. It wouldn’t be a big achievement either. Large guilds donate hundreds of billions to the association every year.”
It’s a kind of greasing the wheels. No matter how big a guild is, they can’t ignore the association.
“Yoojin-sunbae. Let’s get to the point. You didn’t come here because of money, did you?”
“Oh, right. I heard you have some excellent alchemists under you?”
“Yes. It’s thanks to them that we were able to make HB-1. They’re still in charge of HB-1 production.”
“Is HB-1 selling well? I haven’t heard any news about it lately.”
“It’s selling well. Large guilds are placing a lot of orders. It’s easy to get plants and crops that only grow in dungeons. So there’s no harm to farmers.”
There was a lot of talk when HB-1 came out. Some people liked it, while others didn’t. The farmers. They thought that if there was HB-1, the job of a farmer might disappear. They protested, and at some point, the protests disappeared.
“The disadvantage of HB-1 acted as an advantage. Since it sucks up the nutrients in the soil at once, it doesn’t give the soil time to recover its nutrients.”
So it’s burdensome to use for crops. The price of HB-1 also plays a part. Even if you use HB-1 and produce a large amount of crops, it’s hard to break even.
“Hunters welcome HB-1. Thanks to it, the price of potions has gone down, and the mortality rate of hunters is also decreasing.”
“That’s a good thing.”
I placed Bister I and Bister II on the desk. Ha Seunghee’s eyes lit up with interest at the sight of the pills.
“The ones Yoojin-sunbae brought aren’t ordinary pills, right? What are their effects?”
“Bister I relieves pain and reduces suffering. It also slightly increases physical abilities. If you only take one pill, there are no side effects. Bister II drastically increases physical abilities. The problem is that it has some side effects, so I’m reluctant to use it.”
They were things I brought from the [Eternal Eden] world. The effects would be weaker. Most of the items brought from the game world have weaker effects when brought to reality. Medicine is no exception.
“…Do you want to sell these too? I’d have to check how effective they are… but I don’t think they’d make much money.”
“I’m not thinking of selling them. I brought them to see if mass production is possible.”
“I’ll have to ask the alchemists. I think mass production is possible. The problem is that we don’t have the capacity. Where did you get these?”
“From a dungeon.”
“……”
She didn’t seem to believe me at all. But knowing that I had no intention of explaining, Ha Seunghee nodded and got up from her seat to bring the alchemists.
They looked even more exhausted than Ha Seunghee. Still, their eyes shone brightly because of the new drugs.
“You’re the one who brought HB-1. I heard about it from the director.”
“I’m Sung Yoojin. We’re all busy, so let’s skip the formalities and take a look at this. I got it from a dungeon.”
The alchemists approached with serious expressions and examined the pills. Their eyes flashed, and light emanated from their fingertips. They seemed to be using abilities or alchemy. I was a layman who knew nothing about alchemy, so I quietly waited for them.
“This is quite interesting.”
“It seems to be a doping drug, but it has some side effects.”
“This is already a finished drug. If you try to eliminate or reduce the side effects, the efficacy of the drug will also decrease.”
“I’m curious about the main ingredients used to make this drug. I can’t tell even with alchemy.”
The main ingredients the alchemists were talking about were creatures infected with the D virus. Bister I was made from quadrupedal animals, and Bister II was made from beast variants.
“Will you get infected with a virus if you take this? The dungeon where you got this is a bit unusual.”
It would be a headache if the D virus broke out. Of course, even if you’re infected with the D virus, not all humans immediately turn into zombies. The D virus needs other substances to activate. It wasn’t for nothing that the zombie outbreak in [Eternal Eden] happened all at once.
“No. The side effects aren’t that kind. They’re blood pressure-related side effects.”
“There are no viral components. You won’t get infected with a virus even if you take it.”
“Are you planning to mass-produce and sell these too? I’m sorry to say this, but they’re not worth much as doping drugs. There are already better doping potions and drugs on the market. The composition of the drug is interesting, but the effects are weaker.”
I nodded. HB-1 was an irreplaceable substance. On the other hand, doping drugs that could replace Bister I and Bister II were everywhere and easy to obtain. Expensive ones with almost no side effects.
The alchemists seemed to have lost interest and put down Bister I and Bister II.
Looking at them, I thought of other items.
Antisper, which increases resistance to mental abilities for a certain period, and the evolution serum, which has a 50/50 chance of evolving you.
How would they react if they saw those?
‘I don’t even have the evolution serum. And I’d have to go to the Eternal Eden world to get Antisper…’
I didn’t want to do anything troublesome.
“Anyway, you can replicate them?”
“HB-1 is also a replica of the original. There’s no reason why we can’t do it with these drugs.”
The alchemists said with confident voices. I nodded and put the pills back in my pocket.
