Chapter 91 – Black Market Ninth Shopping (2)

Sungjin headed towards the southern part of the market .

‘It was around here…’

While he was walking

‘Clang! Clang!’

He could hear the hammer banging away at the anvil . Sungjin headed towards the sound . Soon the furnace and the anvil came into view; Sungjin found Kargos’s Smithy . The Operator gave an announcement .

[This is the Smithy of Kargos]
[It is a place where items can be modified and enhanced . ]

Sungjin entered the smithy and greeted the owner .

“Hello”

“Welcome”

A dwarf half the size of Sungjin returned his greetings .

“Any requests?”

“I want to enhance some things . ”

“Oh ho, really? What item would you like to enhance?”

Sungjin removed the three swords from his hip, Blood Vengeance, Moon Specter, and Artemio, and placed them on top of the counter .

“Hmm? All of these?”

Sungjin shook his head .

“No no . I want to pick one of them… I was just wondering if I could preview the enhancements before I make my decision . ”

Kargos shook his head at Sungjin’s question .

“Eey, of course not . ”

“…I see…”

“I treat all items that pass through my hand like my own children; I give it my best for my children . But just because I am their father does not mean I can predict how my children will end up as adults . ”

Sungjin was a little disappointed as he would not be able to make a more informed decision .

“Ok, in that case…”

Sungjin picked up Blood Vengeance and put the sword back on his hip . He then picked up Artemio and put it away as well . The last one remaining was the Moon Specter, which he handed over as he said

“Please enhance this item . ”

The reason why he chose Moon Specter was simple . Sungjin already knew Blood Vengeance’s enhancement effect .

The enhanced Blood Vengeance would get an incredibly strong skill, but it wasn’t something he needed any time soon . He hasn’t used Artemio for very long, so it was lower on his list of priorities .

Although if he was to consider its role as the ultimate ‘anti mage’ weapon, it seemed like it could also prove to be quite useful…

“Hmm, you sure? Ok, let’s see…”

Kargos received the Moon Specter from Sungjin and inspected it . The Moon Specter’s appearance couldn’t be more worn out; He had found it buried within an ancient Columbarium . The paint had long since peeled off, and the pommel was terribly damaged .

But Kargos inspected the sword without minding its state, and then he pulled out the blade from the scabbard .

“Ooh”

He exclaimed once he saw the sharp edge of the blade .

“This is a Legendary Class weapon . ”

He recognized the weapon in a single glance .

“Yes . ”

“Do you have Enhancement stones? Legendary items require three stones . ”

“I brought three . ”

Sungjin took three out of the cube and handed it over .

“Hmm… Very good . I’ll take care of this guy . ”

“When should I come to pick it up?”

Sungjin knew the process from having enhanced Blood Vengeance in the past . But Moon Specter was a different item .

But Kargos gave the same answer as when he had taken Blood Vengeance to enhance .

“Tomorrow morning . ”

“Tomorrow morning it is . ”

“Yes . 8 in the morning… about one hour before the raid start . ”

Sungjin nodded . It wasn’t too bad . All he had to do was just come by in the morning . He had asked out of worry that he might not get the sword back in time .

“Understood . Then I’ll leave it in your capable hands . ”

Sungjin said . Kargos then held out his hands, palms facing up .

“10,000 Black Coins . ”

“Ah…”

Sungjin had forgotten . Enhancements required money . Sungjin asked the Operator,

“Operator, how many coins do I have right now?”

[12,146 . ]

Sungjin quickly did the math in his head .

‘I still have 3 unsold items left over from last time; I put up 7 new items today…a total of 10…’

Depending on competition and number sold, Sungjin expected anywhere from 30~50,000 coins .

‘…20,000 for Star of the Nameless, 15,000 for Gourmet’s Glasses… 35,000…’

Sungjin felt he could afford to spend 10,000 coins here . No items were as urgent as improving his item . The only thing that bothered him was being unable to buy the Elixir, but it was something that could be solved with money later .

It was more important to buy items for the moment .

‘About the Elixir… I can probably take my time . ’

While Sungjin was taking time weighing his options, Kargos added

“You could also pay when you come to pick it up . ”

“Really?”

“Yeah well… if you aren’t able to pick up your item because of lack of funds, you’re the only one in trouble, right?
He was right . The Moon Specter was worth far more than 10,000 coins . Legendary crafting material ‘Enhancement Stone’ was without a question priceless . Leaving behind his weapon here without picking it up was like leaving his clothes with a dry cleaner and not coming back to pick his things up .

Sungjin nodded .

“Then I’ll just pay when I return to pick up the sword . ”

This was better for Sungjin . He would be able to plan his budget better after he got his receipts from the auction . Kargos nodded .

“Okay . ”

Sungjin decided to ask

“Ah… and I heard from before…”

“Yeah?”

“I heard that if you have two of the same item, you could get something called ‘Synergy’ or something…”

“Ah, yea . That’s possible . If you have two items, you can ‘Combine them’ . ”

“Combine?”

“Yeah . You can mix identical items and multiply the effects . The rating rises by one level . ”

“And then… how is it related to enhancement stones?”

“Combining items have the same effect as using the Enhancement stone . But instead of Enhancement stone, you are using two items . ”

“And the number needed?”

“The number is the same as with Enhancement stone . To raise the rating from heroic to legendary, you need another identical item or one enhancement stone . To go from Legendary to Unique legendary, you need three identical items or three Enhancement Stones . Understand?”

Sungjin turned towards the Operator’s Cube .

“Operator, give me Yanhurat . Both of them . ”

Two Yanhurats came out of the cube . Sungjin handed it over to Kargos .

“They are Heroic class items . ”

Kargos inspected the Yanhurats and glanced towards Sungjin and said

“This… is quite a dangerous item . Great effects… but terrible consequence . ”

Sungjin nodded .

“I know . ”

“But if you add these two items, it improves not only the effect but also the side effect… will you be okay with this?”

Sungjin bit his lip .

“Yes… it is not an item I would ever use other than dire circumstances . ”

Yes, Sungjin never relied on the strength of Yanhurat unless it was absolutely necessary, like when he was not yet strong enough in chapter 2 against Ahenna, or when he met the crazy strong boss Calian in chapter 8 .

If he was going to keep it around as his last resort, then it was better to have maximized risk/reward .

“Ok… then I could combine them immediately… Except it will cost 3000 coins . And the fee is non-negotiable . ”

It was a small price to pay for the return on investment . Sungjin said

“Ok, please do it now . ”

Kargos took the Yanhurats into the smithy and placed them into a box and asked Sungjin

“Hey, do you know this box? It’s quite a famous one . ”

Sungjin shook his head . It was an item he had never seen before . He had only ever enchanted items here in the past . He had never combined items .

“Really? I guess some people don’t know . ”

Kargos shook the box twice . From the box

‘Jiiang!”

A burst of light shot out accompanied by a loud noise . Kargos calmly opened the box and handed the Yanhurat to Sungjin . The Operator’s Cube gave an announcement .

[Congratulations . Legendary item ‘Yanhurat – Mad God’s Whisper’ obtained .

Sungjin lifted up the new item to inspect it .

Yanhurat – Mad God’s Whisper
Legendary Necklace

Passive Skill
Indomitable (II)
Immune to all types of restraints and debuffs . 10 Second duration .

Active Skill
Zealot (V)
Increase damage and speed by 500% for 30 seconds .
Reduce HP to 1/5 after the effect ends .

Necklace with the sealed power of the Mad God Yanhurat .
His faint whisper can be heard from the necklace .

“Whoa…”

Sungjin carefully looked over the necklace . It was unbelievably more powerful . The effect jumped up from 3X to 5X the speed and power .

‘5 times more powerful than now…’

It would be near impossible for any other hunter to even follow his movements with their eyes . But in return, the penalty would reduce his HP to 1/5 . Having only 1/5 HP remaining would be dangerous even for Sungjin .

The Item doesn’t say it, but there was another hidden penalty; unbelievable rebound right after use .

The item explosively increased strength and speed for a short time, so not only did HP decrease, it would temporarily limit the strength and speed of the user afterwards . Since the item had upgraded specs, the rebound would be even worse than before .

As Sungjin was looking at the item

‘Kill! I said Kill them!’

The voice of Yanhurat was yelling faster than before . Sungjin jumped back in surprise and hurriedly put the item away in the cube .

‘The effects have upgraded… but now I have to be even more careful when using it . ’

Kargos asked Sungjin innocently

“How is it?”

“It’s great . Then I’ll see you tomorrow for the Moon Specter . ”

“Ah, Ok . ”

Sungjin left the Smithy after finishing his business and returned to the Ninety Nine Nights where Dalupin and his comrades were waiting . At the front yard of the Inn

“Woof!”

“Kii?”

Cain and the baby Griffin Rajenta were playing . Cain had by now fully matured and Rajenta was only just a newborn, but they were already similar in size . They were of different species after all .

When they noticed Sungjin approaching, they stopped playing and came running towards him . Rajenta even flapped his wings on the way . Sungjin embraced his two beasts as he said

“Haha! I’m back, let’s go inside Cain, Rajenta . ”

“Brrrr”

The ghost stallion Shadowrun was waiting calmly in the stable, unlike the two animals . Sungjin had no opportunity to use him recently, but there would be a time when he is needed . When Sungjin entered the inn, he saw the last summon .

“Welcome back Master . I am glad to see you are well . ”

Magician Soldamyr greeted him in .

“I’m glad to see you as well . ”

Sungjin sat down at the nearest table . Dalupin came forward to ask

“Welcome back . What should I get for you?”

“Yes, I would like…”

Sungjin thought about it for a moment and named the first food that came to mind .

“Hamburger . Please give me a hamburger . Two paddies of meat and two layers of cheese . Lots of lettuce . ”

“Understood . ”

While Sungjin was ordering food, he noticed Cain and Rajenta .

“Have those two eaten?”

“Ah, you typically eat with them, so I haven’t fed them yet . ”

“Ah thank you very much . Please also serve them food when you finish the burgers . ”

“Understood . ”

It is said that eating together improved trust between people . It was no different for animals . Once the dinner was ordered, Sungjin folded his arms and leaned back on the chair .

Cain and Rajenta were playfully nudging each other . Then he remembered something . Sungjin said to the cube .

“Operator… Was it the Fruit of Evolution? Give it to me . ”