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nChapter 54 – Black Market Sixth Shopping

nThe first thing Sungjin did once he arrived in the Black Market was to check how many coins he had in total.

n“Operator, how many coins do I have?”

n10900

n“Hmm”

n“We received new shipment! Please come and check them out!”

nOne of the vendors tried to grab his attention, but Sungjin paid no attention to him. The item he wanted to purchase at ‘Darker than Black’ would cost 10,000 Coins. He only had 900 coins in excess.

n‘There’s nothing I can get with this.’

nSungjin thought of going to ‘Ninety Nine Nights’ straight away, but he got an idea.

n‘Wandering Merchant’s Mystery Pouch.’

nHe didn’t have a chance to open it yet.

n“Operator, can you retrieve the Mystery Pouch for me?”

nThe Operator handed Sungjin the item. Once it was in his hands, Sungjin thought about it for a moment.

n‘Legendary… Crafting material eh?’

nCurrently, the Ancient Stories from the East ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ was already complete. Once the Unique Legendary item is complete, receiving another material pertaining to it loses all meaning and becomes a redeemable coupon with the value of 500 coins to be exchanged for at the Black Market.

n‘That’s if ‘Roulette’ lands on the Ancient Stories from the East volume parts…’

nThe losses of opportunity would be unthinkable. It wouldn’t be any better even if he got Ancient stories of the Middle East or West. From what he was told by the previous owner of ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, Declamation worked independent of the item used, and could only be cast 1 time a day.*

nIn other words, even if he gathers and crafts another book, it would be useless. And although the ingredients for each book would initially be worth 5000 Coins, if someone managed to gather and complete the book before he could sell it off, those pieces would drop in price to 500 coins each.

n‘I hope I don’t get any book pieces…’

nUntil now the total number of Pouches he had seen being opened were three; two by himself, and by Serin Han. And of those, all three contained book parts.

nIf he was guaranteed to take a loss; it was better to go in with no expectations at all. Sungjin held the Pouch in silence for a while before he finally made up his mind.

n‘I won’t open it. I’ll just put it out on the Auction floor.’

nThat was probably for the best. For those who already owned the books, the item held no real value anymore. But on the other hand, it could prove to be useful to other Hunters. Taking others into consideration, it was the right thing to do to make it available for other people.

nSungjin headed towards the ‘Three Achi Brother’s’ Auction house.

n“Welcome, esteemed Hunter!”

nSungjin first asked them

n“Did Manta get sold?”

nThe middle brother answered him back.

n“No one placed a bid last night and so it was withdrawn.”

n‘As I thought… Magic hasn’t really caught up yet with the general populace.’

n“Should we cancel the auction?”

n“No, no. Please continue to make it available on the floor.”

n“Okay, understood.”

nSungjin then showed them the mystery pouch and said

n“And please put this up for Auction.”

n“How much would you like for us to sell this item for?”

nSungjin took a moment to consider.

n‘If a book comes out, each one is worth 5000 Coins… if East comes out, only 500…’

nAnyone who understood the true value of the ‘Mystery Pouch’ would know that the pieces of ‘Ancient Stories of the East’ were already worthless.

n‘I should make it cheaper than 5000…But not too much lower than that.’

nSungjin replied

n“Put the starting price at 3000, and buy out at 4000 please.”

nThis price seemed fair. It was an item with gambling element built in after all.

nIf they were to pay 4000 coins up front and then receive a favorable outcome, they would be satisfied with the purchase, and if they pay 3000 coins but are still disappointed, at least it wouldn’t be too big of a loss.

nOnce he was done with his business, Sungjin left the Auction house and headed towards ‘Ninety Nine Nights’.

n*

n“Grrrrr~!”

nWhen he arrived, Cain was baring his fangs and growling towards something. The place he was facing was the stables; Stables which now held his mount ‘Shadowrun’.

nIt was a stable that was always vacant, but thanks to ‘Spiritual Link’ the stable finally received an inhabitant. Sungjin reassured Cain as he gently tried to calm him down.

n“Oh Cain, please don’t do that.”

nCain stared at its master. Sungjin glanced at Shadowrun. There were food and water filled at the trough before it, but it didn’t seem to have touched any of it. Sungjin extended his greeting towards the ghost stallion.

n“I look forward to working with you too.”

nShadowrun replied in a low tone.

n“Brrr.”

nResponding to the horse, Cain resumed

n“Grrrr~”

nCain was completely on guard against the horse. Even though they were both beasts, it didn’t seem to like the fact that it was a ghost type. Sungjin returned his gaze to Cain and said.

n“Ahh Cain, don’t do that. You should make friends.”

nCain turned to look at him again. He didn’t seem to want to do so. Sungjin couldn’t help but say

n“Oh well, let’s go eat for now.”

n“Woof.”

nCain obediently strolled into Ninety Nine Nights. Sungjin followed behind him and entered the Inn.

nSungjin was greeted by Dalupin and Genie Soldamyr who were waiting for him inside.

n“Welcome back”

n“Thank you Dalupin.

n“Good work today, Master.”

n“You did well today as well Soldamyr”**

nDalupin approached Sungjin and asked

n“What would you like to eat for Dinner today?”

n*

nSungjin was laying down. He had eaten Dried Shellfish, Sharkfin, Swallow Nest Soup, and other unspeakable Chinese course meal in bulk; he wasn’t moving anytime soon.

n‘I should go to bed early tonight if I want to wake up early tomorrow…’

nSungjin glanced outside. It was already dark out, long past sundown.

n‘I wonder if someone bid on the Mystery Pouch…’

nAnd exactly when he thought of that,

n‘Knock Knock’

nDalupin knocked on the door. Sungjin opened the door for him as usual. And as always, Dalupin brought him a piece of paper and greeted him courteously.

n“Are you getting a good rest?”

n“Yes, thanks to you.”

nDalpuin handed over the paper and said

n“Here is the information page for the next raid.”

nSungjin accepted the sheet and answered

n“Ah, thank you.”

nBut Dalupin had another piece of paper.

n“And this… this is a receipt from ‘Time is Money Plan’.”

nSungjin accepted the receipt.

nReceipt – 3400 Black Coins

nThe item you placed on the auction, ‘Mystery Pouch’ has been sold.

n3400 Black Coins was paid by ‘Head Hunter’.

nPlace the receipt into the cube to instantly redeem the amount.

nSungjin was surprised to see ‘Head Hunter’ as the purchaser since he already knew one such person.

n“Thank you Dalupin. Oh yeah”

n“Please tell me.”

n“Please wake me up at three thirty again.”

n“Understood. Please have a good rest.”

nSungjin sent Dalupin away and read over it again.

n‘…did she buy this?’

nIt was likely that there were other ‘Head Hunters’ in the world, but buying Mystery Pouch so decisively, he was nearly certain it must have been her. But

n‘No, forget it… The chances we will meet again is less than 10%.’

nBecoming attached to any random hunter could only bring more pain. He had experienced it time and time again. He gazed at the receipt one last time before shoving it in the Cube.

nReceived 3400 Black Coins.

nSungjin walked out to the Balcony as he listened to the Operator’s voice. In the distance, he could see the lights coming from the Black Market.

n‘I guess somewhere out there, another hunter is seeing this view…’

nIn another dimension, in another alternative ‘Ninety Nine Nights’, other Hunters lived and breathed. But the only time the hunters could interact with one another was during the Raids.

nEven though he had Spiritual Links with his summons, he could never meet another Hunter in the Black market.

nHunters had to put their lives on the line to fight, but it was also a battle against loneliness. Sungjin let out a long sigh while staring off into the night.

n“Sigh…”

nIt was then

nAttention Please.

n‘Head Hunter’ has succeeded in completing the Unique Legendary item ‘One Thousand and One Nights’

nAll other copies will be destroyed, and the owners will be refunded by 500 coins.

nSungjin froze. One Thousand and One Nights; Arabian Nights. This was undoubtedly Ancient Stories of the Middle East. Sungjin couldn’t help but recall the woman with long flowing hair. He thought to himself

n‘Serin… I guess our chances to meet again are higher than 10% after all.’

nSungjin turned away from the balcony. Behind him was a full moon.

n*

nSungjin climbed down the stairs back to the main floor. Dalupin came to see him off. Soldamyr was inside his lamp. Once Sungjin was outside

n“Woof”

nCain barked and ran after him.

n“Cain don’t follow me. I’m going ‘there’ again.”

nCain didn’t listen and showed that he was going to come no matter what.

n“Ok fine, I guess you can come until the entrance or something…”

n“Puuuff”

nShadowrun watched him from the Stables. Because he was a ghost type, he apparently did not need sleep.

nSungjin put ‘Ninety Nine Nights behind him and headed towards the Black Market with Cain by his side. He headed towards Darker than Black. Once he reached the corner where Darker than Black was located, Cain stopped walking and sat down.

nSungjin wasn’t sure, but the man seemed to inspire fear in others. He took the shape of a man, but he was most definitely not a man.

n“I’ll be back then.”

nSungjin said to Cain before entering the area. The stairway down was as dark as ever, but Sungjin was able to clearly see without trouble, thanks to Besgoro’s Ghost Vision.

nSungjin unhesitatingly entered the darkness and entered the bar within. Inside, he saw the ‘Hidden Merchant’.

n“Second visit already. Welcome.”

nSungjin approached him.

n“I have come to buy the Item we discussed last time.”

nThe Merchant took out a small marble from his coat.

n“Here it is, the ‘Trollseeker marble’. 10,000 Black Coins.”

nSungjin didn’t hesitate.

n“Operator, Pay.”

nThe Merchant handed over the ‘Trollseeker Marble’ to Sungjin and said

n“As the name would suggest, it allows you to forcefully enter a raid where a Troll has appeared. In exchange, you need to recharge its power. The recharge fee is a thousand coins each. Got it?”

nSungjin nodded. It was the same information he had heard last night.

n“If you don’t have money you can’t use it. Just be aware.”

nSungjin replied looking straight into his eyes.

n“That won’t be a problem. I am confident that I will be able to make more than a thousand coins each time I use it.”

nThe man grinned widely, revealing his white teeth.

n“Is that so.”

nSungjin thought as he held the Marble.

n‘Equip Adjudicator and hunt trolls in other Raids, and put the items I get, on the auction house… That should earn me minimum 1000 coins per jump.’

nHe would cut away ‘Trolls’ which obstructed the growth of other hunters as he empowered himself at the same time.

n‘Except… keeping Adjudicator active…’

nThat was the only part that was bothering him; he would need to keep Adjudicator activated as long as he planned to go Troll Hunting. He could neither use Master Hunter nor Treasure Hunter titles. While he was thinking so, the Hidden Merchant spoke to him first.

n“Why are you looking so troubled? Do you believe that you are restricted to a single title per round?”

nIt was as if he read Sungjin’s mind. When Sungjin turned his head towards the merchant, he continued, taking another item out of his coat; a Star shaped item with a whirlwind drawn in the middle.

n“Star of the Nameless. It is an item that allows you to change your title at will.”

nSungjin’s eyes opened wide. The Merchant grinned again, revealing his white teeth as he laughed.

n“Did I not tell you when you first came? If there is something you want, ask me.”

nSungjin couldn’t help but reach out to try and touch the item. The Merchant then muttered something, as if reciting verses from a holy book

n“He who searches for answers finds questions, and he who searches for questions finds answers.”

nTL Notes

n* Incase it wasn’t clear, Declamation is a UNIQUE skill with global cooldown; You can only use declamation once a day, even if you had multiple books (or all of them). So having more books was literally useless.

n** Sungjin speaks to Soldamyr with respect, treating him like an elder, not like a master to servant. Sungjin does speak politely to most people, but Soldamyr is the only person who Sungjin shows deference to and speaks with much respect. Sungjin does speak with Mahadas respectfully, but he uses language how religious person would behave with a holy man, not as a youth to a respected elder.

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