Master Hunter K Chapter 67:
Chapter 67 – Black Market Seventh Shopping (2)
Sungjin finished his bath and emerged from the bathroom . Shortly after
“Knock knock”
Dalupin gently knocked on the door . He was apparently aware that Sungjin had completed his bath . Sungjin answered while wiping down his hair with a towel .
“Come in”
He could hear the door open from behind him .
“I have brought the information sheet for tomorrow’s raid as well as receipts for items sold in the auction house today . ”
Sungjin pointed towards the table next to the entryway without turning and said
“Please leave it on that table, Dalupin . And please don’t forget to wake me up in the night . ”
“Understood . ”
Sungjin heard the door click shut behind him . Once he was done wiping his hair, he headed over to the table and checked the things Dalupin left behind .
There were four receipts in total . Sungjin picked up the first receipt .
Receipt – 1200 Black Coins
The item ‘Helm of Fire resistance’ which you had put on auction was sold for a total of 1200 Coins to the ‘Pugilist’ .
Place the receipt into the cube to instantly redeem the amount .
He had posted the item for a starting price of 1000 and instant buyout at 1500, and it had been sold somewhere in between .
‘Not bad’
Sungjin placed the receipt into the cube .
[You have received 1200 Black Coins]
Sungjin checked the next receipt . The bow ‘Hydra’ containing the skill ‘Cobra Snipe’ was sold for the starting price of 3000 . Someone had placed a bid and obtained it without any contest .
‘As I suspected… the demand for bows is low…’
Sungjin also put the receipt into the cube . The next item was “Vaiden’, the spear with Fiendish Needles . It was put up for 3500 coins with an instant buyout at 4000 coins . But someone opted for the instant buyout in this case .
‘Hmm…’
It was technically a good thing when someone opts for the instant buyout . But it gave him mixed feelings .
‘Should I have sold it for more?’
This was probably a common feeling afterwards . Sungjin inserted the receipt into the cube and took a look at the last one .
‘Hmm?’
He was surprised when he read the content .
Receipt – 3000 Black Coins
The item ‘Manta – Cho’Roch’s staff’ which you had put on auction was sold for a total of 3000 Coins to the Offensive Mage .
Place the receipt into the cube to instantly redeem the amount .
It was the item he put up for auction two chapters ago and had forgotten about . After being available for auction for two days, someone had finally placed a bid on it and got it at the starting price . The buyer’s name was ‘Offensive Mage’
It was about the right time for mages to begin appearing . The ‘Spellmaster’ Ed had sometimes said this;
‘At first, it is extremely difficult to invest into Mind Power and Magic Power, but as time goes on, you learn that doing so is extremely efficient . Of course, in order to grow stronger, good items and expensive high class spellbooks become necessary to purchase . ’
Sungjin also placed the receipt into the cube .
[You have received 3000 Black Coins]
The two items still available for auction were the Rare class ‘Emergency Boots’ and the Legendary class Spear ‘Armantine’ .
The Emergency Boots wouldn’t appeal to the general populace, and the Armantine would be a financially intimidating to purchase at 10,000 coin price point, even if it was very attractive .
Even Sungjin, who kept 70% or higher contribution every single raid, did not receive more than 9000 coins in any given raid .
For a typical Hunter, they would need to save up everything for two raids to be able to afford it .
‘Well, it is a great item… so it should eventually sell . ’
Sungjin asked the Operator as he finished up his thoughts .
“Operator, how many coins do I have right now?”
[You have 21468 Black Coins]
In one raid, he had obtained more than 20,000 coins . At this point, he could even afford the ‘Star of the nameless’ .
‘I thought it would take me at least two raids to reach…’
Sungjin went to lie down on the bed once he was done with the receipts . He would be busy later at ‘Darker than Black’ .
*
“Ha~”
Sungjin arrived in front of ‘Darker than Black’, letting out a thick white fog from his mouth due to the cold . It was too dark in this area, so Sungjin took out Besgoro .
“Equip”
He wore the helmet over his head . ‘Ghost Vision’ allowed Sungjin to see more clearly in the dark . Besgoro spoke first .
‘…You’re going back in there again?’
“Yes, from now on I will be coming here every night . You said it’s no big deal . ’
He seemed to have regained sanity on his own after a while . He replied seriously
‘I just don’t like the atmosphere of that place . Even a ghost like me feels spooked by that place . ’
Sungjin didn’t reply and just swallowed . Sungjin had experienced death before, but for some reason, the merchant inside inspired fear far greater than death .
While Sungjin was watching, the surrounding suddenly grew even darker; it was 4:30 am, it was time to enter .
“Please remain quiet while I am negotiating a sale, Besgoro . ”
‘I have no intention to speak in that man’s presence . ’
Sungjin entered ‘Darker than Black’ wearing Besgoro’s skull . As always the man inside was sitting at a table within .
“Welcome . So, did you find the TrollSeeker Marble useful?”
Sungjin nodded .
“More than I ever imagined . ”
“So how many Black Coins do you have?”
Sungjin was about to answer when his own cube responded on his behalf .
[21468 Black Coins]
Sungjin couldn’t help but be surprised and looked back and forth between the man and the cube . It was the first time he had witnessed the cube responding to someone other than the ‘owner’ . In response
‘Shink’
Sungjin drew his blade and pressed it against the man’s neck .
“Who are you?”
He responded
“You want to know? I’ll tell you if you hand over 10,000 coins . ”
Sungjin was about to take him up on his offer when
“White ones”
He was interrupted . 10,000 white coins . That was almost an impossible amount to gather . When Sungjin stared at him with narrowed eyes, the man placed his hands over the Moon Specter and said
“Put this away . You know this already, threats don’t work in the Black Market . ”
Sungjin stared at him a bit longer and then put away his sword . He was right . Sungjin crossed his arms when the man said
“You managed to gather more than 20,000 Black Coins in one Raid… Extraordinary . Did you come to buy this then?”
He lifted up a star shaped accessory with a spiral design . It was none other than ‘Star of the Nameless’ . Sungjin stared at it for a moment before asking the man,
“Last time you said ‘He who searches for answers finds questions, and he who searches for questions finds answers’ . ”
“Yes . I wasn’t the one who came up with it… but well I quoted it . ”
“I have a question . ”
“Go ahead . ”
Sungjin placed the ‘TrollSeeker Marble’ onto the table as he continued .
“Can more than one of these be used per raid?”
At his words, the man grinned widely . As if he was waiting for this question to pop up .
“Yes . ”
Sungjin did not hesitate to say
“Buy two more, recharge the used one . ”
At Sungjin’s words, he suddenly replied politely .
“It will be 21,000 Black Coins dear customer . ”
“Purchase . ”
At his word, the Cube lit up brightly .
[Purchase complete]
The Operator announced, and Sungjin picked up the marble that he had put down on the table . It regained the bright colors which indicated it was ready for use once more, becoming indistinguishable from the other two marbles he had purchased .
Sungjin put away all three marbles he had purchased . From now on, he would be able to meet a minimum of three trolls per round . The man commented
“Kill the trolls and gather more coins . A good idea, but . ”
When Sungjin stared with his eyebrows raised, the man continued .
“You’ll be pressed for time . If you want to teleport to another dimension, you’ll have few minutes of buffer time in between . ”
Sungjin was fully aware of this .
“I’ll work around it . ”
At his words, the merchant grinned .
“Since you used 21,000 coins out of 21468, I guess this is goodbye . There is nothing you can buy with only 468 coins here . ”
Sungjin tilted his head and responded instead
“No, there is one . ”
“What?”
The merchant blurted out surprised for the first time . Sungjin took out the white coin from his pocket .
“I got a white coin . ”
The man looked at the white coin with his eyes wide . Suddenly an information page appeared from the cube .
White Coin
Ordinary Currency
Passive Skill
Exchange(II) – Item used as an intermediary in buying and selling
Coins obtainable only through truth and honesty .
Used in the purchase of special items .
It didn’t feel good, someone else using the cube forcefully . Seeing the item, the man whispered
“Real…”
Sungjin grinned this time .
“What, did you think I would paint a Black Coin white or something?”
“Really… Unexpected . So, what are you looking to purchase?”
Sungjin was about to ask for the ‘Holy water of Baptism’ when he got an idea .
“Is there anything else other than the ‘Holy Water of Baptism that I can get with the White con?”
The merchant answered .
“Yes . ”
“What else is there? Please make me a list . ”
“To your question, you can obtain the list if you pay about a hundred Black Coins . ”
Sungjin frowned . He just did whatever he wanted . Sungjin decided to just buy the Holy Water of Baptism for now since he was curious as to its effects .
“Then please give me the Holy Water of Baptism for now . ”
“Got it . ”
The man took out the vial out of his pocket and placed it on the table . Sungjin asked one more time before he completed the transaction .
“So… with this item, I can speak with other hunters, is that right?”
“Not only speak… you can do much more . ”
Sungjin just stared at him . This mysterious man did not reveal all the information at once, although there were no ‘lies’ either .
Sungjin handed over the coin personally and said
“Purchase”
*
Once he was done with the transactions, he returned to the ‘Ninety Nine Nights’ and entered his bedroom . On top of the table next to the door was the information sheet that Dalupin had left behind for him .
‘Information pertaining to Rudala – Dark Elven City’
Sungjin was going to read through it when
“Yawn…”
He couldn’t suppress a yawn . He was still not used to waking up at the crack of dawn . Sungjin held the note for a moment as he deliberated . Then he made up his mind .
‘My rest is more important than this information . ’
Convincing himself of his lie, he jumped back into bed .