Chapter 18
Part 17
“Do you have any idea how much of Floor 23 I searched looking for that black stone?! I broke twenty pickaxes! I practically turned the entire canyon upside down!”
“So you didn't find it?”
Yugeon's voice turned cold.
The process did not matter.
Only the result.
Hwang Mungi saw Yugeon's eyes and sighed.
“Of course I found it. Why else would I be here?”
He reached into his spatial bag.
Then he placed something wrapped in cloth on the table.
It was a black raw stone about the size of a ping-pong ball.
Finding something this small in that enormous canyon had nearly killed him.
“This is it, right?”
Mungi asked suspiciously.
“It just looks like a rock to me... It doesn't even have a description.”
Yugeon silently picked it up.
It was unexpectedly heavy.
And faint traces of stellar energy traveled into his fingertips.
There was no mistake.
[Item: Star-Bearing Raw Stone]
Grade: Heroic
Type: Auxiliary Weapon
There was not even a description.
A mysterious item.
He found the right thing.
Yugeon nodded.
It was a fragment of a meteorite that had fallen from space.
Because it had never been processed, its power was still sleeping.
This was not a simple stone.
Someone in the future would absolutely need it.
“Confirmed. It's the right item.”
“Haaa... Thank god.”
Hwang Mungi sighed in relief.
He looked like he might have cried if Yugeon had told him it was the wrong stone.
“Then... It's time for my payment, right?”
Greed shone in his eyes.
A Legendary item.
That was the reward Yugeon had promised.
Honestly, Hwang Mungi had only half believed him.
A Legendary item in exchange for finding a useless-looking rock?
He had even wondered if it was a scam.
Still, after seeing Yugeon's power, he had decided there was nothing to lose.
“Of course. I keep my promises.”
Yugeon reached into the new spatial bag he had purchased.
He took out a brilliant red gemstone.
It was only the size of a golf ball.
Yet the power inside it made the air in the room feel heavy.
“Th-This...”
Hwang Mungi's eyes widened.
Even without checking...
He could tell immediately.
This was not an ordinary item.
“It's called Arachne's Lament.”
“Y-You're serious... It really is Legendary?!”
Hwang Mungi checked the item and stared with his mouth open.
He had trusted Yugeon enough to accept the request.
But actually seeing a Legendary item in front of him still sent his heart pounding.
“As you've read, it has an ability similar to Shadow Step.”
It allowed the user to instantly move to any shadow or dark space within sight.
At night or in darkness...
It consumed no mana.
For Hwang Mungi, whose strongest abilities were based around movement...
This was the perfect item.
“My god...”
His hands trembled.
There could hardly be an item better suited to him.
A spatial movement ability with no cooldown.
For someone who specialized in mobility...
It was not simply giving a tiger wings.
It was attaching a jet engine.
“Y-You're really giving this to me? In exchange for that little rock?”
“It's an exchange based on need. To me, that stone is more valuable.”
And more importantly...
This was repayment for the life Hwang Mungi had saved in Yugeon's previous life.
“Th-Thank you! Holy shit... A real Legendary item. This is insane!”
Hwang Mungi rubbed the gemstone against his cheek.
He could not contain his joy.
Watching him, Mincheol quietly whispered to Yugeon.
“Hyung, is it really okay to give that away?”
“It's fine. Like I told you, it doesn't suit my combat style. It doesn't suit you either.”
“Ahem. Anyway... Our deal is finished, right?”
Hwang Mungi quickly stuffed the jewel deep into his clothes.
It looked like he was afraid Yugeon might suddenly change his mind.
“Yes. We're done.”
“Great! Then I'm leaving. I need to test this jewel, and I desperately need a shower.”
“I'll contact you if I need another deal in the future.”
“Hmm... Fine.”
After a moment of thought, Hwang Mungi nodded.
This was someone who could casually hand over a Legendary item.
Maintaining a relationship with him would definitely be useful.
“Ah, right.”
Hwang Mungi stopped before leaving.
He looked back.
His expression became serious.
“Can I ask you one thing?”
“Hmm?”
“A little while ago, Baruoden appeared on Floor 1... Well, Sector 1. Apparently someone showed up and killed it in one blow. According to eyewitness descriptions... the guy sounded exactly like you.”
Hwang Mungi narrowed his eyes.
The description.
The incomprehensible strength.
Only one person came to mind.
“Yeah. That was me.”
“Huh... It really was you?”
Yugeon answered as though it were nothing.
Hwang Mungi laughed in disbelief.
He had suspected it.
But this guy really was the person who killed Baruoden.
“Someone hired you to find me, didn't they?”
Hwang Mungi froze.
Yugeon smiled.
Mungi's expression stiffened slightly.
“You can sell the information. Some major client probably threatened to cut off business if you couldn't identify me.”
