A few hours later.
Ou Seohyeong's workshop.
"Don..."
In a spacious room lit by bright lights, a weary voice drifts out.
"It's done."
These were the words of the worker, Goo Seohyeong. The D-rank enchanter had been on an intense, five-hour marathon after receiving a request from an acquaintance.
Before processing the [Fragnt of Midnight], Gryeo made two specific requests:
① The soft black fabric he brought was to be used as the main material for the gloves, and
② that sa fabric should not be visible on the outside.
So, Gu Seohyeong decided to use the [Midnight Shard] as the inner lining and cover it with leather from an A-rank magical beast—an unicorn—whose material had recently received high praise in the Hunter fashion industry.
"I'm going to die... Getting dyed leather, which I never planned on, and calling people over..."
There were quite a few obstacles along the way, though.
"Crazy. A whole day just to make one pair of gloves..."
Seohyeong took a deep breath as she cleaned up her ssy workshop. But the real reason she was exhausted wasn't because she had personally crafted the item.
The mont she felt that her middle school classmate—well, at least the shell of him—didn't truly acknowledge her abilities. For a brief mont, fueled by frustration, she even considered making the gloves herself. But if it was fabric directly bought and requested by an S-rank hunter from Korea, it surely wouldn't be cheap. Besides, the only gloves she'd ever made in her life were a pair of Christmas woolen gloves knitted out of boredom during waiting tis on set. So Seohyeong quickly made a realistic judgnt like no one else.
"Ugh, this won't do. I really need to call in soone else for this."
Thanks to that, the expensive raw material was processed without a single thread being damaged. In any case, everything went smoothly thanks to the professional item craftsman she hired.
"K, Kim Giryeo. You recognize the person who just left too, right? He shows up on TV all the ti. Anyway, he's practically one of the top two most renowned awakened craftsn in our country. And yet, because it was your request, I actually went and sought out soone like him separately—"
Seohyeong boasted without realizing it. She wanted to show off—to him, of all people—just how much standing she now had in the industry, and how many impressive contacts she'd gained through her work.
"You know, I used to be interested in starting an accessory workshop. So when that master craftsman visited the Association briefly, I ended up asking them all sorts of questions out of curiosity—and we kind of hit it off. If you want, I can introduce you soti too."
But contrary to Seohyeong's intentions, the alien listener focused solely on a different aspect of the situation.
"I'm glad to see you're satisfied with your job."
A bit of psychological distance ford due to the other person's reaction, who seed to find joy in simply being acknowledged for their labor.
"How can a living thing gain energy from labor no matter how much money you give it?"
Anyway, the Earthling who even jumped off a rooftop seems to be living well and smiling every day now. It's a good thing.
His distracting thoughts didn't last long. Giryeo soon focused on the gloves placed on the workbench, completed with the burning passion of two artisans. To think it was a leather accessory with a slight sheen, made from the hide of a monster called a Unicorn.
"Oh."
They had definitely asured the size of his hands precisely before starting the work. And since he even tried them on before final stitching, there shouldn't be much to worry about.
"How do they feel?"
Giryeo slipped the finished gloves onto his hands. Then, clenching and unclenching his fists wrapped in leather, he gave his assessnt.
"It's good."
A flawless level of custor satisfaction—with not even the smallest correction needed. Thus, the great sorcerer's new equipnt was finally complete. If the PIXY-type analyzer were to scan the lining, it would likely display sothing like this.
*[Earth-type gloves]*
*[Rank:???]*
An artifact so incomprehensible that not even the most skilled appraiser could discern a single aspect of its structure. A true display of miracles, layered atop the knowledge of Earthlings—authentic and unmatched.
As the distinctly mammalian accessory—clearly sturdy at a glance—settled snugly onto the wearer's hand, a thought crossed his mind.
"Not bad"
The black fabric he had purchased in Japan was, in fact, just as one Alphaur had described—a canvas remarkably well-suited for certain kinds of sorcery. As long as it took on the proper shape, this dark cloth would absorb a completed spell with ease, like a sponge, simply by touching the edges of the magic.
Then, what exactly is the complentary magic that acts as a partner to this fabric?
"The texture's not bad either—this should do just fine!"
[Fragnt of Midnight]. In truth, this was a rare low-volatility information storage dium, even in Alphaur. In other words, the miracle that resonated particularly well with this special canvas was...
"Magic mory!"
At last, the item's true purpose was revealed. The genuine power of the Fragnt of Midnight only manifested when one sought to wield that kind of force. This fabric, reminiscent of the hem of the night sky, would—when embroidered with Alphaur-style spell patterns—astonishingly allow even the weak to cast magic with ease.
"Now that I think about it, there was similar magic on Earth too. The small problem is that such technology isn't real... it only exists within gas?"
This technique boasts the incredible ability to store and output magic! From now on, Giryeo can completely nullify any opponent's skill that touches these gloves. What's more, he can even regurgitate the absorbed power within 20 hours.
"Goal achieved!"
After a certain period, the stored spell disappears. Only one spell can be stored at a ti. If the process is repeated too frequently in a short span—say, without proper intervals—the small palm-sized (literally) magic circle on the fabric becos distorted. So, there must be an interval of about 20 hours between uses, among other conditions.
"As expected, it was too small..."
The severely limited width of the fabric found on Earth ca with many restrictions, but even so, this was a windfall.
Giryeo clenched and unclenched his gloved hand for the first ti. For now, the intricately inscribed, so-called 'mory-type' spell would likely remain utterly incomprehensible to Earthlings.
"Even on Earth, starting this year, there have been attempts to cover up equipnt nas by applying outer layers to items. Perhaps they've discovered a new material that appraisers find hard to see through..."
Giryeo walked over to a nearby window to get a better look at how the finished gloves appeared on his hands.
However, just as he was looking at his hands, using the window as a mirror, the figure of Goo Seohyeong from behind made a remark that sohow sounded familiar.
"Hey. You know, when I look at you dressed like that... you really do resemble those actors people talk about on the internet."
Actor. He was sure he had heard that phrase before, sowhere...
"Hmm?"
More than that, is it really okay for soone who's actually a forr child actor to say sothing like this to others?
Giryeo suddenly beca curious and asked, "What on earth do you an by that?" in response, Ou Seohyeong calmly adjusted her round glasses and replied nonchalantly.
"What else would 'looking like an actor' be? It's a complint."
"A complint?"
So it didn't an a high-level insult implying they'd be good at acting?
"Which actor do I supposedly resemble, exactly?"
"Oh, so you barely ever search your own na online, huh?"
But the alien, who had just begun to feel relieved, found his emotions growing complicated again after Seohyeong's explanation that followed.
"You kind of give off that vibe, you know? That actor, Woo OO—rember? They recently played a Chinese organ trafficker on Netflix..."
"Who's Woo OO?"
"Y, you don't know? Then what about Park OO sunbae-nim? They even won an award last year for playing a loan shark in that drama..."
"And who's Park OO?"
"What? You don't know him? Then at least tell —do you know the character na Lee Chang or not? He's supposed to be a gangster, and anyway, the movie was in hit ten million viewers!"
"Yeah, Lee Chang. Fortunately, that's one na my amnesia didn't wipe out this ti. But sorry—why are all the roles you just listed... like that?"
What does that even an? The alien sorcerer, still unaccustod to Earthly expressions, wore a puzzled look for a while.
"Oh—don't get wrong. This absolutely doesn't an you give off a bad impression or anything... How do I even explain this? It just kind of ca out that way while I was trying to describe it."
"Oh? I wasn't even thinking about that, but you're the one who brought up the bad impression first?"
"Gasp."
But there was no ti to sit there in a daze—the appraiser in front of her quickly changed the subject in a flustered attempt to steer the conversation elsewhere.
"Ah—anyway! Anyway, yeah, that's that! Hey, the gloves are all done, so let's get out of here already."
"Why are you still grumbling at soone who just threw in the finishing enchantnt and unicorn leather for free? I'm starving—let's just go eat already!"
Kim Giryeo began walking without much thought, urged on by Seohyeong's impatience. And along the way, he checked once more to see if the gloves fit him properly.
n's leather gloves with buttoned cuffs at the wrist. Wrapping up the extremities like this felt a bit uncomfortable—but if it gave him power, then... well, it was worth it.
"Huh?"
It was then.
Swish.
Just before they left the workshop, Ou Seohyeong—who had been checking the security system—turned around. She was about to ask Giryeo what he wanted to eat, but the sight in front of her caught her off guard, and she changed what she was going to say.
"Wait a minute. Your nose is bleeding."
Gulp.
A certain hunter was currently experiencing a small nosebleed. But the person whose na was called simply went quietly to a nearby restroom to clean it up.
"I'm okay. I guess I've just been a bit tired this week."
After all, just a few hours ago, his organs had taken a beating from coral's revenge. Now, was it really worth fussing over a few drops of blood?
***
A tranquil atmosphere. Beige-toned wallpaper. And an epic-level air-purifying creature placed by the window.
This is the house I had finally arrived at. To be clear from the start, it wasn't referring to Jung Haseong's modern luxury apartnt.
"Phew!"
This was a newly built studio apartnt with about 8 pyeong, similar to before.
"Anyway, just taking care of my body every ti is really no easy task."
I was currently far away from the temporary residence prepared by the number one ranked player due to certain circumstances. What good would it do to warn Earthlings about the terrifying dangers of the [Sacred Tree Seedling]?
"Of course, I have to be careful when the protective magic's incubation period ends."
Besides, even without that reason, there were many restrictions on actions within the apartnt that Jung Haseong kept under watch.
A sorcerer's fundantal duty. To continue his research, he needed to create a secluded private space. That's why, a soon as he returned from Japan, he made all sorts of excuses to Jung Haseong and got out of that place.
‘Before buying a really spacious and nice ho, I also needed to experience how housing transactions work on Earth.’
Just a month rent of barely 500,000 won.
Besides, here, I only planned to do light simulations—nothing too serious—so I could easily clean up any trace no matter what happened.
‘As long as I don't go installing sothing like a perpetual energy core, the cost of maintaining the space is honestly no big deal.’
Perfect. This was more than enough for a temporary hideout. With that, I looked around the newly secured personal space, thoroughly satisfied.
‘The portable bathtub is set up nicely.’
But as I went over the things I was supposed to accomplish in this studio, I realized quite a few of them felt strangely familiar...
*[To Do]*
• Gather materials for the solid-type appearance-grade modifier
• Pay compensation for the overdue books borrowed from the city library
In an instant, the corners of my mouth fell downward.
As you can see from the schedule, yes, in fact, all the research materials that the scholar couldn't fit into his item box were in soone's collapsed studio apartnt. But even Kang Changho never got to see those items before they sank with the barrier. So, in the end, he suddenly had to gather all the materials again from scratch.
"Kang Changho, you b*stard..."
I cursed instinctively but quickly pulled my emotions back under control.
"Ugh, this isn't the ti for this."
Ti is money, after all. And if that's the case, then it's better to prepare for the future than to dwell on the past.
"Let's see... should be sowhere around this part of the item box..."
As of now, I had newly acquired gear made from fabric worth a hundred billion won, and more importantly, I was finally free from the ambition pact—the biggest obstacle to my retirent plans. Yet even with all that, it was still early to run off to the countryside.
The arrival of the Gismche is happening far too quickly. So if I want to survive in this unpredictable world, more than anything, I need to finish my research on that overarching subject—and fast.
• Figure out a thod to stimulate Kim Giryeo's mana growth potential.
Here's so good news at this point. To study the awakening potential of the possessed body, I obviously needed to asure the ever-changing amount of mana inside it day by day.
"I also need to draw a few graphs."
Just a few hours ago in Japan, I got my hands on the perfect tool for these asurents!
Believe it or not, at a Tokyo expo, they were selling a reagent that can manage mana levels fairly accurately—even without using a Pixie prize machine.
It costs around 800,000 won per use—twice as expensive as standard asuring devices. You also have to draw blood every ti you use it. And for institutions like the Hunter Association, it's not very practical since it's highly sensitive to nearby mana flows from surrounding items.
"This list just keeps going, doesn't it?"
Above all, most awakened individuals rarely experience any significant fluctuation in their mana.
"They even threw in all the test tubes as a thank-you for buying so much. Whew... getting them all the way here without breaking any was such a hassle."
However, this trash reagent that looks less efficient than the machine is a savior to .
Well then, since we're on the topic, shall we test it out right away?
‘In Japan, I couldn't even experience it on site because I was afraid that it would be revealed to the world that it was a N-F-rank...’
Haha.
If the results end up differing from a machine's later on, I'll call a lawyer and sue the seller on the spot. With that mindset, I placed the sample into the thin glass tube.
Colorful, translucent crystals. Pure water. And 2ml of the sorcerer's blood.
After adding everything and giving the tube a gentle shake, the water turned blue. Without thinking much of it, I followed the Korean instructions provided in Japan and dropped a few of the finished liquid into the slot of the portable asuring device.
*[asuring...]*
But a few seconds later.
Beep-
"Huh?"
The display on the mana ter I bought from Japan showed a number I absolutely didn't expect.
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