Chapter 2427 – 2427. Dark Moon
“There was a somewhat perplexing incident, but it seems the subspace magic was successful. Why don’t you try using it?”
Orsia said, putting her glasses back on. Does she think it was a success?
It wouldn’t do to gloss over it with her here. Originally, she didn’t need to help with the subspace magic. All I asked her was to teach me the basics of space magic.
‘The inventory is a kind of spatial ability. It’s not common, but it definitely exists. It’s not something I need to hide.’
In the end, I decided to tell Orsia. Frankly, I also needed the opinion of someone knowledgeable.
“Orsia, the subspace magic seems to have succeeded… but it seems to have mutated into an ability.”
A slight wrinkle formed between her brows.
“That’s a sudden thing to say. Did you perhaps awaken an ability?”
“Yes. The subspace magic turned into an ability called Inventory. It says I have to pay a price to use the Inventory.”
“In the case of abilities, they sometimes awaken through a trigger or medium, so it’s not that surprising.”
“Sometimes, abilities send holograms like notification windows. Does that happen too?”
“Abilities vary. Some give objects a will, others provide answers, and so on. There’s nothing to be surprised about, no matter what kind of ability appears.”
Listening to Orsia, I glared at the notification window floating in the air.
‘Inventory, huh. Is this telling me that this world is a game? In the original game, the inventory was free to use….’
Does the inventory have any other special functions?
“I should get going. If you’re curious about abilities… it would be better to ask another expert, not me.”
Orsia said, quick to catch on. She’s trying not to disturb me.
“Wait. Right before I used the subspace magic, a formula came out of my body. Do you remember that formula?”
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of stealing or studying your arcane formula. Besides, the formula was so scattered and chaotic that I couldn’t understand any of it. It seems to be a very advanced arcane magic.”
“…I see. See you next time.”
Orsia left.
I stood blankly in the workshop, lost in thought. The formula that came out of my body bothered me more than the inventory.
‘Even if I try to recreate it, I can’t remember the formula. Until now, I’ve been able to understand and memorize most formulas after seeing them once. But this formula is different. I can’t understand it even after seeing it. I can’t recall it even when I try. Advanced arcane magic? I can understand even complex arcane magic formulas to some extent just by looking at them once. But I don’t understand this at all.’
The most suspicious thing is that the astral vision I learned is the cause. I don’t know exactly what part is the problem.
‘Worrying about it won’t give me an answer. I’ll put it aside for now.’
I shifted my gaze back to the inventory.
“What do you want as a price?”
[Any item of value can be a price.]
I took out a small chip from my pocket. 10 million credits. About 300 million won in Korean currency.
“How much is this worth as a price?”
[The value of the item is insufficient. Inventory points cannot be obtained.]
“10 million credits is not enough? Or is it just looking at the value of this credit chip itself?”
I put the credit chip back in my pocket and brought out gold.
Rich people like me don’t fully trust credit chips. The value of currency tends to fall for various reasons, and credit chips are also easy to track. That’s why the rich convert some of their assets into tangible items like gold or jewels. There are also many who convert them into works of art or artifacts.
“This is a 100g gold bar. How much is this worth?”
[10 inventory points can be obtained.]
“1 point for 10g of gold. I’ll give it as a price.”
[Please put the price into the inventory.]
A subspace opened in the air. It was a bit suspicious, but a subspace is a subspace. As I put in the gold, a notification window appeared in my field of vision.
[Inventory Points Held: 10]
[1 inventory point will be deducted every 24 hours as a price for using the inventory.]
10g of gold is 500,000 credits.
Considering that the monthly salary of an average person is 100,000 credits… it was a ridiculously high price.
‘I wanted a convenient subspace, but I didn’t want a money-eating hippo.’
It has to be worth the money I’m spending. I stared at the notification window with shining eyes.
I experimented with various things.
Inventory points could be exchanged for items like artifacts, not just gold. It felt more like exchanging than giving.
The important thing is whether the inventory is worth using even if I have to pay a price.
In conclusion, it was worth it.
‘The space in the inventory is much wider than a normal subspace. Moreover, by consuming 1 inventory point, I can instantly summon items from the inventory. Reverse summoning is also possible. And just by putting damaged items in the inventory, they are restored.’
Most surprising of all was that existing items were in the inventory.
‘I found out through the inventory’s search function. These are not items from this world.’
By consuming points, I could borrow items that existed in the inventory. The rental fee varied for each item.
I borrowed one of the items in the inventory.
A can of cola.
It was a drink I enjoyed in my past life.
Of course, there is cola in this world too, but the brand was different.
[1 inventory point will be consumed.]
I opened the can and drank the cola.
“Cola is… it tastes like cola.”
It was a 500,000 credit cola.
I paid 500,000 to drink a cola that doesn’t even cost 100 credits. This enormous extravagance made me feel strangely sentimental.
‘The common people would be shocked… but it’s not a burden for me.’
The profits from the superconductor LK-99 at LK Company are beyond imagination. I can afford this kind of extravagance. The company hasn’t fully established itself yet, though.
‘I need to research the inventory a bit more.’
• • •
It had been a while since I visited X Manpower Agency.
Rose’s eyes widened in surprise as soon as she saw me.
“What brings the famous chairman of LK Company here?”
“The company isn’t big enough to be called chairman yet.”
“That’s just around the corner. If you don’t get superconductors in the market now, you’ll fall behind. So, what’s your real purpose? I thought you quit the mercenary work? Ah, did you come to hire mercenaries?”
“I came to see if there are any good requests.”
“…You’re going to do mercenary work? Are you out of your mind?”
Rose looked at me as if I was absurd.
Usually, mercenaries do mercenary work for money. The money they get is high because it’s dangerous. I’ve made enough money that I don’t need to do mercenary work.
“My goal isn’t just to make a lot of money.”
I was able to develop my practical sense while doing mercenary work. To reach a higher level, practical experience is as important as talent.
“And there are things that can only be obtained through special requests.”
“…I don’t understand. Is a mage just a mage?”
In this world, there was a prejudice that mages were weirdos. I didn’t bother to argue. It’s true that more than half of the mages in this world are strange.
“Are there any designated requests?”
“There are more than enough to make you sick. The funny thing is, they’re all trap requests. You’ll be attacked as soon as you go to the request location.”
It was expected. I have a monopoly on LK-99. Other companies will try to get their hands on LK-99 by any means. Those who do illegal things will definitely be desperate.
It’s okay in Neo London. The Magic Association and the Round Table Council protect me.
“There must be some good requests among them.”
“There are, but finding requests is also work. Do you know how much time and money it takes just to find out if a request is a trap or not?”
“…It must be busy.”
“It’s not just busy. I’m so short-handed that I need two or three bodies. Let me give you a piece of advice. Quit the mercenary work and focus on your business.”
“Business is a means. It’s not my goal.”
“Is that so? If you really want to do mercenary work, create a new identity and start over from the bottom.”
“That’s not bad. Can you help me create a new identity?”
“If you have money, that’s not difficult. But you’ll have to change your face, right?”
“I happen to have something good.”
I took out a luxurious black-blue cape coat from the inventory and put it on.
Merlin’s Numbers Artifact, No.6 Phantasm.
[Absolute Polymorph]
As I used the magic, my appearance changed. I became a man with long black hair and a pale face. I touched my mouth. My fangs had become longer, making me feel slightly uncomfortable.
Looking ahead, Rose was staring at me with a horrified expression.
“What’s wrong? Is it your first time seeing transformation magic?”
“The transformation magic isn’t ordinary! Your race itself has changed, how can I not be surprised?! Besides, it doesn’t seem like just an illusion… I can feel the unique gloom of a vampire. That kind of thing.”
“Since I’ve transformed into someone other than a human, I won’t get caught. My name is… Eugene.”
“You just changed Eugene into the French version. But well… you won’t get caught.”
I’m not a human, but a vampire. It’s impossible to think of Eugene Meyer, the president of LK Company, when looking at my current appearance.
I raised my right hand. Pale skin, sharpened nails. It felt unfamiliar and awkward.
I opened my astral and activated my mana rod.
Unlike usual, the mana felt heavy and sticky. Even the nature of mana changed to some extent as I became a vampire.
‘It’s not that surprising since I already knew it.’
Crimson mana gathered on my palm and formed a magic circle. Some of my blood was also mixed into this magic circle. It was a characteristic of blood magic, which uses blood as a medium.
The reason I transformed into a vampire was because of this blood magic and black magic.
‘It’s understandable that a vampire would use black magic. In fact, vampires are quite familiar with black magic.’
I looked at the rotating magic circle and then deactivated it.
“Are, are you okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“No. It’s daytime now. It’s common knowledge that vampires are weak during the day.”
“It’s okay. These days, vampires are walking around just fine during the day.”
Phantasm’s [Absolute Polymorph] requires the genetic information of the target to transform. I easily purchased vampire genetic information on the black market. Vampire blood is also used as research material. I heard it was the blood of a vampire mercenary. A mercenary vampire who can work well even during the day.
I walked to the window as if to show off and stretched out my hand. The direct sunlight coming through the window touched the back of my hand.
Whoosh!
“Kaaaak!”
My hand is burning!
Startled, I quickly stepped back.
As soon as I got out of the direct sunlight, the fire that was burning my hand disappeared. The vampire’s unique excellent regeneration ability activated, and the burn quickly disappeared.
“This is crazy. It burns as soon as it touches direct sunlight? That’s a characteristic of a trueblood! How did you become a trueblood vampire?!”
“I, I don’t know either. Why is this a trueblood…?”
