Chapter 97 - Chapter 97 (2/2)

Jin-Woo lightly knocked on the glass case.

"Can you really protect these artefacts with such a thin glass? I don't see any particular security system in here, either."

Kim Jeong-Ki formed a proud expression.

"They may look that way, but these glasses are reinforced with powerful magical energy by the very best craftsmen. Nothing would happen even if a melee-type rank A Hunter hits them with everything he has."

"Even when a rank A hits it....?"

Seeing that Jin-Woo seemed rather unconvinced, Kim Jeong-Ki smirked and carried on.

"If you don't believe me, how about hitting the glass once? If you manage to break it, then I might give you the artefact found inside, Hunter-nim."

"Hmm...."

Was this reinforced glass really that strong?

'I can sense some magic energy in it, but...'

Now feeling genuinely curious, Jin-Woo began gathering strength in his right arm to test it out.

Fuu-wook!

In an instant, his shoulder and forearm expanded, and the surrounding air sank under the heavy pressure.

"H-hold on!!"

Kim Jeong-Ki hurriedly blocked Jin-Woo's way.

"I was only just joking! I wasn't really asking you to hit it, you know."

"....Oh. I see."

"If the case really breaks, then the elites of the Hunters Guild will rush over here. Our Auction house and the Hunters have signed a security contract, you see."

"Aha."

….This man, telling joking as if he's being earnest.

Jin-Woo withdrew his strength. As soon as the heavy pressure emanating from him was lifted, Kim Jeong-Ki quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

'By the way, this guy... Wasn't he supposed to be a Mage-type Hunter??'

He was supposed to be a Mage-type Hunter, yet why was his aura so outrageous?

Kim Jeong-Ki wasn't joking when he told Jin-Woo to hit the glass.

He was thinking that, even though this youth was a rank S, he was a Mage-type, so his physical strength couldn't actually be that high. But then, when Jin-Woo began concentrating, all the hair on Kim Jeong-Ki's body stood up and instinctively, he knew that he had to stop the youth.

What a relief it was that Jin-Woo backed off without raising a fuss.

'Well, Hunter-nim's hand might get hurt if something went wrong, so this is fine.'

Kim Jeong-Ki consoled himself like that and guided Jin-Woo to other artefacts on display.

After taking a look around once, Jin-Woo asked.

"Isn't there anything that I can actually touch? Daggers, if possible."

Since he wasn't really the type who depended on weapons, he hadn't paid much attention to the matter until now, but after taking a look at the various equipment on display, he suddenly became curious.

Kim Jeong-Ki's expression brightened.

The reason for showing off these artefacts to Hunters was exactly for moments like this. Hunters may be sellers, but they were also valuable clients as well.

"Of course, we have them."

After replying, Kim Jeong-Ki used the mic attached to the collar of his suit just below his neck to summon the staff member in charge of the weapons.

Fearing that Jin-Woo might change his mind, the staff member quickly arrived.

"And this gentleman is?"

The staff signalled with his eyes, and Kim Jeong-Ki nodded his head.

"Ah, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm in charge of the weapons section. Please come with me."

The staff member guided Jin-Woo and they exited from the VIP display hall.

After seeing those two off, Kim Jeong-Ki spat out another sigh.

'This Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim seems to possess a talent for surprising people, doesn't he?'

After regaining some of his calm, Kim Jeong-Ki disinterestedly took a look around him, before he walked over to the glass case with the longsword Jin-Woo seemed to be interested in earlier.

He checked the glass case to see if there was a fingerprint or something since Jin-Woo had been standing pretty close to it, but then, he tilted his head slightly.

"Ng?"

Something was on the upper side of the case.

"What the heck?"

He spotted a crack in the corner of the glass case that was so small, it was easy to miss with naked eyes.

"Since when did this happen?"

He pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed it, but sure enough, it didn't get wiped away. It wasn't some dirt, but an actual crack.

"Well, I'll be."

Kim Jeong-Ki frowned deeply.

How disappointed Hunter Seong Jin-Woo would've been, someone who could be one of their most important clients, if he saw that?

It was a small relief that the crack was near the corner of the case in a hard-to-spot location.

"Tsk, tsk."

Kim Jeong-Ki tutted audibly and summoned the maintenance team, before exiting from the VIP display hall, like Jin-Woo had done.

***

Jin-Woo picked up the dagger that the staff member in charge gave to him. If he were being honest, it was rather lousy in quality.

'It's far worse than the Knight Killer, which is ranked at rarity B.'

The attack power was not even half of the Knight Killer, too. With a disappointed expression on his face, Jin-Woo returned the dagger.

"How much is this guy?"

"It's 30 million Won." (TL: Around $26,830)

Jin-Woo's eyes widened.

How much did he say for this measly little dagger??

"How much??"

"30 million Won, Hunter-nim."

"H-hold on."

Jin-Woo turned around, and while pretending to rummage around, he summoned the Knight Killer and showed it to the staff member.

"Okay, how much would this guy go for, then?"

It was now the turn of staff to widen his eyes.

"Is this your current weapon? Wowsers. I can definitely sense the touch of a great artisan from this dagger!"

'No, well, I bought it off the Store, though....'

The staff member hesitated slightly, before raising his voice with a grin.

"It won't be accurate since I'm not a dedicated appraiser, but at the bare minimum, I think it should cost well over 100 million Won."

Jin-Woo's expression hardened.

'But, uh, I paid 3 million Gold for it in the Store?'

Or was it more like 2.8 million?

Seeing Jin-Woo's expression, the staff member embarrassedly scratched the back of his head.

"Was I wrong? Since I'm a specialist when it comes to weapons, I thought I could give it a shot, even though it's not really my place."

"No, it's nothing like that."

Indeed, Jin-Woo was simply shocked by the sky-high price tag, that was all.

But, well....

The first real weapon he held, Kim Sahng-Sik's steel sword and its attack damage of 10, was supposedly over three million Won in price, while Yu Jin-Ho's equipment, which the kid didn't really get to use all that much, also commanded price tags of over 100 million each.

So, he shouldn't have been surprised by the fact that items with high Stats sold in the System's Store could potentially fetch high asking price in real life, too.

'It's just that I didn't pay attention to that side of things until now.'

Because he wasn't too interested in making a quick buck.

'Wait a minute....'

Currently, he had so much Gold stored in his Inventory that it was practically bursting at the seams. However, if he could buy items from the Store with that accumulated Gold, and then sell them off at a really high price?

Jin-Woo's head spun pretty quickly then.

'Doesn't this mean I won't have to sell the Bead of Avarice?'

Just as his thoughts arrived at this point....

Waaaaahhh-!!

Were his emotions to blame?

He thought he could hear the loud cheers of the Magic Soldiers hidden inside his shadow.

< Chapter 97 > Fin.