26 Chapter 25 Arrangemen (1/2)
Three days passed by since the incident of the C-ranked Gate.
Jin-Ah came home early from school as it was Saturday today. As soon as entering the apartment, she began sniffing the air and hurriedly removed her shoes.
”Oppa? What's going on here? Did you order fried chicken?”
”Yeah, I ordered some takeaway to make sure it'd get here just in time for you.”
”Wow, really?!”
Jin-Woo beckoned her while sitting by the dining table, causing Jin-Ah's eyes to open wider. She immediately ran towards him.
”Hiya~, what's going on here? And you're a serial Scrooge, too. Did something good happen lately?”
”Hey now. Put down your schoolbag first, will you? Why is a girl so hot-headed?
”It's fine. This bag ain't that heavy, you know.”
And she was complaining not too long ago about her bag being too heavy and that she didn't want to carry an umbrella around.... Jin-Woo tsk, tsked, but couldn't really hide the smile creeping up on his face.
'Asking me if there was anything good happening lately?'
Of course, there was.
The family's bank balance had swelled up from 800 thousand Won all the way to ₩180,300,000 earlier today. (TL: Just under $160,000)
180 million was from the sale of the magic crystals, and 500 grand was used for the month's rent.
Still, 180 million!
Just one raid and he was able to get his hands on an absurd amount of money, totalling 180 million.
He had been one for a while now, but this was the first time he felt like a real Hunter. Well, this was the era where a casual mention of Hunters instantly brought up the images of wealth, so that couldn't be helped.
Also, the face of the employee at the magic crystal exchange when Jin-Woo went there with his stash was still so vivid in his memories, too.
”D-did you hunt all these monsters?!”
”Things happened, and so, it's something like that.”
”Holy moly.... How incredible.”
49 C-rank magic crystals.
The initial estimated price for the whole lot was just over 300 million Won.
But who knew that taxation would be so heartless?
”I gotta pay 40% as tax?!”
”Yes. When an individual is selling the crystals, 40% is taken as tax. However, when a Guild is selling them, it's only 10%.”
”Is there a reason why there's a reduction in tax for the Guilds?”
”Well, unlike freelancers and their teams, Guilds must cooperate without question when they are ordered to mobilise, you see.”
Indeed, when he searched through his memories, he remembered hearing about both the agents from the Monitoring Division of the Association and the White Tiger Guild coming to the location of the dual dungeon incident.
Because they were receiving special treatments, Guilds had to cooperate with the government and the Association when they asked for help.
The high tax rates caused Jin-Woo to ponder his choices for a little bit.
'Should I just hold onto the crystals and sell them off after I enter a Guild?'
But, he made up his mind soon afterwards. By the time he entered a Guild and started working for them, the main objects of conquest would be Gates rated A and B. The magic crystals coming out from those Gates would incomparably be more valuable than those from a Gate ranked C.
And right now, he needed every cent he could get his hands.
'Besides, I can't just sign on with any ol' Guild out there just to decrease tax, now can I?'
”Okay, fine. I will sell them.”
*
That's how he got his hands on 180 million.
Just as Jin-Ah had implied with her question, the chicken-and-beer meal was to celebrate the big earnings sitting pretty in the family bank account right at this moment.
”Thank you for this meal.”
Jin-Ah sneakily reached towards the beer can, but then, Jin-Woo's finger powerfully flicked her forehead.
”Ouch!!”
”For you, this.”
He then placed a can of cola in front of her.
”Hiiing.... I was only joking, you know.....”
Not minding Jin-Ah and her hands busy rubbing her reddened forehead, Jin-Woo popped the lid open on the refreshingly cold can of beer and poured the contents down his throat.
But then, this happened.
Tti-ring.
Jin-Woo couldn't help but react nervously when he heard the familiar beep.
'Why a System message, all of a sudden?'
[Harmful substances have been detected.]
[Effects of 'Buff: Detox' will now commence.]
[3, 2, 1.... Detoxification has been completed.]
'You detoxed harmful substances? Are you talking about alcohol?'
Jin-Woo drank up the remaining beer in the can, and popped open another just to make sure.
Gulp, gulp.
[Harmful substances have been detected.]
[Effects of 'Buff: Detox' will now commence.]
[3, 2, 1.... Detoxification has been completed.]
And the exact same messages appeared again.
He had drank up two cans of beer in one go, but he couldn't feel one hint of drunkenness come over.
Whatever this 'Buff' thing was, it was definitely working as intended.
'What's this?'
Jin-Woo tilted his head.
He had yet to meet a single Hunter capable of throwing Buffs around. Most of the Hunters possessing such specialised skill sets all worked for large Guilds.
As he was affiliated with the Association, there hadn't been a single opportunity for him to meet one so far.
'Even if someone sneaked a Buff on me, surely the System would've notified me of it.'
In that case, there could only be two possibilities.
Either he received the Buff while he was unconscious, or got it before the System was active.
Personally, he was more inclined towards the latter.
”Oppa? What's wrong? Is it indigestion? You should've been more careful, you know.”
When Jin-Woo's expression became serious, Jin-Ah asked him with a worried voice.
”Nah, it's just that I remembered something pretty urgent, that's all. Eat without me while I take care of this, okay?”
Jin-Woo headed back into his room. He then began rummaging through every nook and cranny of his memories, trying to figure out if he had missed anything, even if it was small.
'Ah.'
Suddenly, he recalled something.
'Every quest has rewards, even penalty quests. But, there was one quest that I never got around to confirming the rewards, no?'
Jin-Woo hurriedly opened the mailbox.
At the time, he had no clue what the System was nor what rewards could mean, so glossed over them, but he definitely remembered reading the message that said he had met the conditions to clear the quest.
His heart began beating faster and faster.
Jin-Woo eventually discovered the messages sitting right at the bottom of the mailbox.
[Congratulations on becoming a 'Player'.] (read)
Jin-Woo's voice trembled as he spoke softly.
”Confirm.”
Tti-ring.
[This System will support the growth of the 'Player.']
[Failing to comply with the System's instructions will result in potential penalties.]
[Your rewards have been delivered.]
As he thought.
There was the mention of rewards.
The voice he heard back inside the underground temple clearly said these words.
[Completion requirements for the 'Secret Quest: the Courage of the Powerless' has been met.]
A secret quest or not, it was still a quest, wasn't it?
However, he hadn't checked what kind of rewards he had received until now. Back then, he thought that it was all a hallucination, didn't he?
[….will result in potential penalties.]
[Your rewards have been delivered.]
[Would you like to confirm your rewards?] (Y/N)
'Yes.'
Tti-ring.
[Rewards for the 'Secret Quest: the Courage of the Powerless']
The blessings from the Grand Sorcerer, Kandiaru
The Grand Sorcerer Kandiaru has been deeply moved by your courage, and has gifted you with a special spell. When accompanied by the blessings of Kandiaru, you'll get to enjoy a healthy and fulfilling life every day.
[”Let there be a bright future laying in wait for the challenger.”]
- One-time effect 'Will to Recover': All your damaged body parts will be recovered to their original state.
- Continuous effect 'Good Health and Long Life': You'll be immune to all types of diseases, poisonous substances, as well as all forms of status debuffs. During sleep, your recovery rate will increase exponentially.
Only now puzzle pieces fell to their places.
'That's why my leg was....'
It was all due to the quest reward that his sliced-off leg had reverted back to how it was before. Same thing for why he couldn't get drunk from a couple of cans of beer.
'Hang on. I'm immune to all types of poison, too?'
Jin-Woo's eyes abruptly shot open real wide.
If that was the case, then could it be....?
Jin-Woo hurriedly extracted a certain item out from his Inventory.
[Item: Poison Sac of Kasaka]
Rarity: A
Type: Medicine
A pouch containing the refined poison of the Kasaka. Can be found very rarely when hunting Kasakas. Drinking this poison will give you strong skin, but the toxicity will permanently damage your muscles.
Effect 'The Iron Scales of Kasaka': 20% reduction in physical damage.
Side effect 'Damaged Muscles': Strength -35
'My muscles are supposed to get damaged because of the toxin, but wouldn't this detox buff resist that?'
There was only one way to find out. Jin-Woo squeezed his eyes shut and drank the liquid contained within the pouch.
Gulp, gulp.
Sticky, yucky liquid slid down his throat.
The taste was oily and terrible, but he endured it.
'And they say what's good for you usually tastes bitter....'
When he finished drinking all of the poisoned liquid, messages popped up in his view.
[Harmful substances have been detected.]