After so pointless banter, Sung Uijae parked the car in front of a building.
“Soone’s getting in. Just wait a bit.”
At those words, I pulled out a mask and put it on. Sung Uijae narrowed his eyes when I covered my face.
“That’s not an appearance a mask will blur.”
“Depends on the surna.”
As Sung Uijae said, people over 180 centiters were rare in this country. Even with a mask, it wouldn’t do much to hide my identity.
'But at least I can deny it later.'
If soone pressed, being able to insist “wasn’t ” would help, and a mask would make that easier.
Sung Uijae muttered like he still didn’t get it.
“You realize your build is way too noticeable, right?”
“Think I’ll blend in a bit better standing next to Hunter Sung.”
Even at 187, I looked smaller next to soone well over 190. And Sung Uijae wasn’t just tall—he was broad, which doubled the effect.
“...Wouldn’t that make us stand out even more?”
I ignored him muttering to himself and looked out the window. The map didn’t show the building’s na, just a road address. The destination was so kind of comrcial building.
Except, aside from the shuttered hardware store on the # Nоvеlight # first floor, every shop had CLOSED signs plastered over them.
'Illegal office?'
I was forming a reasonable theory when there was a knock at the driver’s seat window.
Knock, knock.
Instead of lowering the window, Sung Uijae unlocked the doors.
The one who knocked got into the back seat. Through the rearview mirror, I gauged his build.
About 170 tall. Small, but solid fra. His face wasn’t the sort you’d rember.
Status Window.
Na: Jang Jitae
Age: 29
Rank: E
Title: –
Main Skills: Wind Generation (E), Gust (E)
Growth Limit: S
Wind-type Awakened. Not a high rank... was he really here as a middleman?
“Hunter Sung, good evening.”
“Yeah.”
From his clipped greeting, they must have known each other. Sung Uijae rapped the passenger seat I was in, introducing .
“This is the appraiser helping us today.”
“...An appraiser?”
“Mm.”
The man hesitated a mont before nodding. Sung Uijae caught that pause and gave him a crooked smile.
“What? No rule against bringing one. Contract said plus-one’s fine.”
“I have no complaints.”
“Sure looks like it.”
Hunter or thug? Hard to tell. But I had no desire to needle him. Compared to Sung Uijae wasting ti with idle talk earlier, this guy was at least more interesting.
'If only he’d act like a proper gangster—it’d be fun.'
Sung Uijae tilted his head at .
“You don’t seem to want to speak. Mask and all—guess that ans you don’t want to reveal your voice either?”
I just nodded. Anyway, were they not serving lunch? I wasn’t planning to keep this mask on while eating.
“Mask just makes you stand out more.”
Sa gripe as before. Instead of answering, I reached out and tapped the dashboard.
Only then did Sung Uijae finally start the car and drive us toward our real destination: A Hotel.
***
A few minutes later, Sung Uijae pulled into a shabby parking lot.
From the outside, A Hotel looked more like a cheap inn than a hotel. The sign did say “hotel,” but that was about it.
The broker must have noticed my glance, because he hurried to explain.
“It’s nice once you’re inside.”
Whatever. Not like I was planning to stay here.
Besides, places that looked shabby outside but were flashy inside were a cliché for shady deals. Not surprising at all.
'Like sothing out of a movie.'
The A Hotel lobby was deserted, clearly ant only for transactions. A sign at the counter read “Rooms Under Inspection” but there wasn’t a soul in sight.
“Let’s go down.”
Following Sung Uijae’s lead, we went straight to Basent Level 2. The elevator only went as far as B1, so you had to take the stairs from there.
As we descended, Sung Uijae explained.
“This place was built to launder money. It was used to cash out tokens from illegal casinos. Technically they called it ‘purchasing.’”
“......”
So basically a gambling den. Sung Uijae must have seen my expression, because he grinned.
“Now... they deal in all kinds of things. Makes you wonder who’s really running it.”
“......”
This ti the broker reacted—he wiped his palms on his pants and opened the ergency exit door.
And B2 was a completely different world.
'A night market?'
That was my first impression. It reminded of the night market Im Haekyung ran. Crowded, noisy, chaotic.
But this was at least a hundred tis worse.
'More like an underground casino.'
Unbothered by the noise, the broker guided us inside. A quick check with Status Window showed plenty of unawakened people, but also many low-ranked Awakened.
Didn’t look like a sane one in the bunch.
When we’d fallen a few steps behind the broker, Sung Uijae crooked his finger at .
“Let whisper sothing.”
I leaned in, and he lowered his voice.
“The auction’s run by placing items on the table. What I’m after is an S-rank artifact, but I don’t know exactly how it’s processed.”
“What’s it for?”
At my question, he lifted his head, t my eyes, and hesitated before giving a short answer.
“Mana suppression tool.”
“......”
Ahh. Now I got it.
In the original novel, Sung Uijae used a mana suppression tool whenever he fought high-ranking Awakened, to control their skills.
Sure, it suppressed his own skills too, but it never mattered to him. He was confident in close combat.
'So this is where he got it. The novel never said, and I’d wondered.'
Other suppression tools had appeared in the story, but compared to Sung Uijae’s, they were trash.
A sha he eventually lost such a good one to a foreigner.
Seeing my reaction, Sung Uijae kept talking.
“I don’t expect you to recognize it right away. But if you sense mana above A-rank, give a signal.”
“Signal?”
What kind of signal could I give without speaking, in a place this cramped?
His answer was... primitive.
“Just tap on the shoulder from behind. Everyone’s brought their own appraiser, so no one will care.”
“......”
Saying that, he suddenly grabbed my wrist again and pressed hard into my palm, warning .
“But it has to be fast. It’s a speed ga.”
An auction run like a speed ga? That was gambling.
Still, simple enough. I nodded and pulled my hand free.
After pushing through the crowd, we reached a room deeper inside B2.
The entrance was blocked by a curtain. No door. Pulling it aside, we entered to find six people seated around a round table, with three more standing behind them.
The seated ones were of mixed genders and ages. Two wore masks like the ones Im Haekyung used at the night market. One had just a mask and cap. Three, like Sung Uijae, showed their faces.
Ranks: two C-ranks, three B-ranks, and one A-rank. The A-rank’s face was unfamiliar—likely an unregistered Awakened.
And behind them, as Sung Uijae said, stood appraisers. The strongest appraisal skill among them was only B-rank. A gathering of small fry.
Sung Uijae sat in the only empty seat and asked,
“Are we late?”
“...Not really.”
With that, the broker who’d led us here left the room. As he exited, he flipped a switch by the curtain. Instantly, the noise outside vanished.
'Item to block external sound.'
Silence fell. Then another door in the room opened, and soone rolled in a large cart.
Covered with cloth, but instinct told what was inside.
'That’s the items.'
The worker pulled the cart right up to the table, then whisked off the cloth. He placed the first item—labeled No. 1—at the center.
Trapezohedron (S)
Artifact that can summon unspecified beasts.
Inside the box is a polyhedron shaped like a sphere.
'Well, look at that.'
Didn’t expect an S-rank artifact to pop out first thing. And the description sounded like so myth cobbled together.
“I’ll buy it.”
Before I could even grab Sung Uijae’s shoulder, soone across the table called the bid instantly. A staff mber wordlessly removed the artifact and set it before him.
'Ah... so that’s how this works.'
Fuck, that’s not appraisal—that’s gambling.
Still, I got the gist. A beat late, I gripped Sung Uijae’s shoulder tight and let go. He narrowed his eyes at , then turned back to the table as the next artifact was brought out.
Fine. Not like I was the one paying. Let him win them all—what’s it to ?
'Uijae, consider it your tax contribution!'
The mont the second artifact hit the table, I grabbed Sung Uijae’s shoulder hard.
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