Chapter 52

EP.52 Companion (2)

When Kim Chae-eun first saw Jung Seon-yeong, she was at a loss.

She didn’t know much, but apparently, Jung Seon-yeong is a very famous holder in the ice magic category.

Given that she has near-perfect skills with ice runes that look like Epic Loon, it would be stranger if she weren’t famous among those in the related fields.

Meeting a senior she had long admired,

and now even traveling with her, the joy could only double.

Thanks to this, throughout the journey to Daegu,

I got to see a new side of Kim Chae-eun.

“Senior, would you like some water?”

“...It’s fine. I already have some.”

Even when drinking water during meals,

“Senior, how is the temperature of the water in the room? Is it too cold? Should I tell the counter?”

“...This is a place run by my acquaintance.”

When unpacking at the accommodation,

“Senior, I bought all three—Americano, latte, and mocha—since I wasn’t sure what you’d like. Please take whichever you prefer, hehe.”

“......”

Even when drinking coffee at the café,

Kim Chae-eun’s enthusiasm was immense.

Though she is usually very sociable, this behavior was unfamiliar.

“If there’s anything uncomfortable, please let me know!”

“Y-Yeah….”

Jung Seon-yeong gave me a look that said she felt burdened.

She spoke casually to both Kim Chae-eun and me.

By the way, this was due to Kim Chae-eun’s persistent request to speak informally.

‘Try to do something about her.’

Her eyes were saying that.

I closed my eyes and shook my head.

This is beyond even me.

An out-of-control Kim Chae-eun is even beyond her father, Professor Kim Myung-hyun.

“Ah, by the way, is there anything you want to buy at the auction?”

Jung Seon-yeong took a sip of coffee and changed the topic.

We were at a café in Dongseong-ro.

It’s said to be the most famous café in Jung-gu, and indeed, the interior is colorful and beautiful.

The auction to be held near here tomorrow.

In addition to regular auction items, there will be an S-grade monster byproduct auction.

Jung Seon-yeong and I participated in the disaster monster hunt, so we naturally have the right to purchase from the latter.

“Um... well.”

But can I really say this?

Will our desired items overlap?

As if reading my worry,

Jung Seon-yeong smiled and continued.

“Oh, it’s fine. What I want to buy won’t overlap with yours. After all, you want to buy leather, right?”

“Leather?”

“Yeah. S-grade monster leather is very popular.”

Field monsters, unlike dungeons, don’t have a rest room reward.

Holders can’t obtain special items like equipment, accessories, or various potions.

Of course, there are times when monsters wield items as weapons or when specific body parts become items, but in most cases, field monsters only drop mana stones and byproducts.

And aside from mana stones,

the most popular byproduct is ‘monster leather.’

“Why is leather so popular?”

Kim Chae-eun tilted her head and asked.

She was clearly dozing off during the ‘History and Information of Monsters’ class.

The information is definitely covered in that class.

I answered her, taking Jung Seon-yeong’s place.

“Leather is a key material for blacksmiths to make armor. It’s also used as a material for accessories and research.”

The byproducts from monsters are quite diverse.

The most representative is the mana stone.

Mana stones are the main source of income for holders and are quite versatile.

They are used as raw materials to maintain magical phenomena like [Mana Barrier] and [Warp Gate], and are also used to make weapons and armor or to craft special items like potions.

A stone that contains mana.

As the name suggests, mana stones are used wherever mana is needed.

This makes them in high demand and supply in the holder community.

“The next most popular byproduct is leather. The higher the grade of the monster, the better the quality, so A-grade monster leather can sell for hundreds of millions.”

“Wow... it’s that expensive?”

“Yeah. Good leather has a higher chance of producing high-grade items.”

Expensive leather makes good items.

Honestly, if I had the means,

I would want to buy both mana stones and leather.

If it’s the leather of the S-grade monster Swall Leviathan... it would definitely produce at least a rare item.

Plus, I know a blacksmith capable of making such items.

But my top priority right now is the mana stone.

The opportunity to obtain a Legendary Loon and a rare piece of armor are incomparable.

Kim Chae-eun, who had been listening quietly, suddenly tilted her head.

“But why have I never obtained leather before?”

“Because you don’t have a butchering rune. You need to know how to get leather.”

“Is there a rune for butchering?”

“Yeah. It’s classified as a special category.”

Unlike mana stones, which any holder can easily obtain,

various byproducts like leather, hearts, and bodily fluids require a professional butcher to accurately extract.

Regular holders can butcher, but the byproducts are often damaged or of lower quality.

For ordinary holders, obtaining byproducts from monsters is not easy.

For this reason, domestic clans often hire their own butchers as clan members to maximize the value of their dungeons.

While other special categories may struggle due to lack of ability, butchering holders are in such short supply that they are easily hired by any clan.

Even the Holder Association and the government often hire them...

For them, employment worries are a distant story.

“The next most popular byproducts are hearts, blood, bodily fluids, and other materials that can be used for research. Especially for S-grade monsters like the one we hunted today, there are more items to extract.”

Monster byproducts are not just used as crafting materials.

They are also popular items in holder scientific facilities like rune research institutes.

The modern holder system is a mysterious and unknown field with many secrets yet to be revealed.

Scientists are still researching to uncover new facts through monster byproducts.

“So, you can’t directly obtain items from monsters?”

“Most items are in the dungeon rest rooms. You can almost say that’s the case.”

“It’s not always like that.”

Jung Seon-yeong, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.

“Sometimes the weapons used by monsters are items. The probability is low, though.”

That’s not wrong.

In fact, you can obtain items from field monsters.

For example, with monsters like Hobgoblin Warriors.

Just like items dropping in a game, when you hunt these monsters, you sometimes find that the equipment they use is an item.

Such equipment, even if it’s only normal grade, can be worth hundreds, so it’s not negligible.

That’s why some holders specifically hunt these types of monsters.

Of course, I’ve never obtained one.

Not even once during the ‘Hobgoblin Village’ campaign.

Even the equipment of the boss monster, the ‘Hobgoblin Chieftain,’ wasn’t an item.

The [Hobgoblin Bronze Shield] came from the treasure bag of the Golden Goblin.

The probability of obtaining items from field monsters is that low.

“Ah, and recently, the Undead Dungeon classified as top-tier... what was it called?”

I answered Jung Seon-yeong’s question.

“The Room of Approaching Death?”

“Oh, right! The dungeon boss was an S-grade monster, and the sword it used was an Epic item.”

“Death Knight...”

The S-grade monster Death Knight.

The boss of the top-tier dungeon, ‘The Room of Approaching Death.’

As I muttered the name, Jung Seon-yeong clapped her hands.

“Right, Death Knight. You know everything, don’t you?”

“It’s the dungeon that Holder Song Do-hyuk cleared. I saw the news when he was in the spotlight.”

The successor of the Song family, one of the two famous swordsmanship families in Korea.

One of the three major domestic clans after ‘Judgment of Fire’ and ‘Royal.’

The clan master of ‘Molten Sword Path.’

S-grade holder Song Do-hyuk.

His rise to the top through swordsmanship is so famous that even if I weren’t a reincarnated person, I could have learned about him through newspapers and articles.

“Anyway, I’m not interested in leather, so keep that in mind. I’m going to buy gills.”

“Gills?”

“Yeah. That monster seems very skilled in water magic, so I think researching the gills might yield something. Besides, useful items can be bought at the regular auction.”

The auction to be held in Daegu tomorrow.

Not all items are related to Swall Leviathan.

Regular auction items come first,

and then the byproducts of Swall Leviathan are added as additional items.

That’s why even if you participate in the disaster monster hunt, you don’t necessarily have to focus on the byproduct auction.

This is why I’m not intimidated by the high-level holders participating in this auction.

Besides S-grade mana stones, there are plenty of good items available in the auction.

“Do you often research byproducts, Senior?”

“Of course. All magic users are not only combat holders but also researchers. Better magic comes from long contemplation and research.”

I nodded.

It’s a reasonable point.

“I’m interested in mana stones.”

I took a sip of coffee and answered the question from earlier.

Jung Seon-yeong’s eyes widened.

“Mana stones? S-grade monster mana stones are as popular as leather. Do you have a lot of money?”

I responded with a faint smile.

The market price of a B-grade monster mana stone is 42 million won.

The market price of an A-grade monster mana stone is 300 million won.

So, an S-grade monster mana stone would cost at least 1 billion won.

I’ve heard it can go from 2 to 5 billion won.

For an ordinary holder, it’s an unimaginable amount of money, but...

‘I’ve been preparing for this day.’

The academy’s underground dungeon regenerates weekly.

I’ve been steadily clearing the dungeon and saving money.

The main monsters I hunted were B-grade lizards.

Hunting with Kim Chae-eun, the efficiency was a bit lower than a five-person party, but we’ve hunted nearly 200 monsters.

Even if the mana stone revenue is split, I’ve earned 4.2 billion won.

Add to that the byproducts from monsters I hunted while upgrading to a C-grade holder, and the dungeon revenue from owning ‘Hobgoblin Village.’

After deducting the investment in Choi Yumin and Choi Arin, my living expenses, and other necessary costs... I have about 40 billion won left.

This should be enough to not fall behind other holders in purchasing power.

‘If it’s still not enough, I can borrow some from Chae-eun.’

Kim Chae-eun also has a similar amount of money.

We’ve been clearing dungeons together.

Honestly, it’s a huge amount to borrow, but...

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

When I stared at her, Kim Chae-eun tilted her head and asked.

I lightly shook my head and replied.

“Because you’re reliable.”

With Chae-eun,

I can probably borrow it somehow.