Back in the Black Market. Sungjin first removed the thick Snow Suit. The Black Market had a comfortable temperature, ranging from 25 to about 27 degrees Celsius. Keeping the Snow Suit would only lead to sweating profusely.
He left the discarded coat where he stood. The Black Market existed to serve a single person at a time. Even if he left articles of clothing like that out in the street, it would reappear hung in the closet.
It was really convenient. Sungjin sometimes wished that the Black Market existed in reality as well, since every restaurant, shop owner, waiters and inns existed to serve only ‘me’.
‘Hmm… Should I try a different place rather than First Drop?’
Sungjin decided to head to someplace else for today. He wanted to eat a warm soup of some kind. So he walked through the market until he found a noodle shop.
‘I guess I’ll have something here before I go.’
[This place is called ‘Noodle Friends’ run by Shinu Ban.]
[Large variety of noodle dishes are served here.]
Quack Quack, welcome Mr Hunter.
The shop owner was a Duck Demihuman with a yellow bill.
One bowl of Udon, please. Lots of tempura.
Ok~ Got it. Quack Quack.
After ordering Udon, Sungjin addressed the Cube.
Operator, show me what I got last raid. From trolls and from Raid Reward.
As soon as he asked, a mountain of items came spilling out of the Cube.
‘Let’s see…’
Sungjin picked out only the Raid Reward items and placed them on top of the table. He had received a glove and a bow, both of which were Legendary Class.
Sungjin first picked up the bow. The handle of the bow was modified and looked magnificent to behold. The elegant curve of the bow sparkled brilliantly in the light.
Ashetaut – Bow of the Frost Archer
Legendary Bow
Strength SS Dexterity A
Passive Skill
Frostshot(IV) – Targets hit by arrow receive 4% penalty to movement and attack speed. Maximum 20 stacks. Target recovers speed over time.
Active Skill
Volley(III) – Two additional arrows fly after the first arrow with the same direction and speed. Applies Frostshot.
Bow of the Queen of Yodelprell
It is said that the number of arrows she has fired to unify her country surpassed tens of thousands.
‘Hmm…’
To be fair, Sungjin was not good at making a judgement on the quality of a bow. He had never used it.
‘Should I auction it? For how much…?’
Trying to estimate the cost of an unfamiliar item would be less than optimal. But now that he thought of it, if Serin wanted the bow, it would be better to give the bow to her than hand it to a complete stranger through the auction.
He didn’t know if she obtained one this round, but the items could be combined so it should prove to be useful. If possible, it would be best if the ‘Chosen Ones’ could help one another.
‘And if there is anything she has that I would like, I could buy it as well.’
Sungjin checked the next item on the list. The item was a blue gauntlet. It was slightly transparent, like a beached jellyfish.
‘What an interesting design.’
Tonge – Frozen Gauntlet
Legendary Gauntlet
Strength SS Dexterity B
Passive Skill
Icicle Punch(III) – Each punch against a target imbues frost damage for bonus damage.
Active Skill
Icy Zone(V) – turn a 10 meter radius area into a frozen field. Any enemy caught in the zone would increasingly become slowed until they were frozen solid.
Gauntlet of the legendary martial artist Beocuan
A man whose past is shrouded in mystery conquered the martial arts world with this Gauntlet.
‘So this is for a martial artist.’
Another item unsuitable for himself. This item was deceptively a weapon meant for unarmed fighters. He didn’t even have anyone around to give it to.
‘…Mahadas… is he still alive?’
Sungjin took a moment to reminisce about the ex-pro Tae Kwan Do Monk.
‘I would like for him to have survived…’
He was definitely a great man. He was even more trustworthy and dependable than Franz, Nada, or Serin; an ideal candidate for a teammate. He was good to the point where he would occasionally accept harm onto himself to help others.
The fight against Illich reminded him of this fact: the quality of the person’s nature was more important than the skill they possessed. No matter how strong they were, a traitor was a danger to the team. Since Illich was so strong, the number of people who were killed amidst his trolling must amount to a significant number.
‘Illich…’
Remembering the man he just beheaded made Sungjin feel a little down. It was then he noticed the Items Illich had dropped upon his death. The Shield and mantle Illich had used. Sungjin picked them up.
He didn’t know about other times, but these two deserved a closer inspection. Especially the Shield with the Lion Regalia. Judging from the fact that this was the Shield Illich had carried with him to the final Raid gave proof of its worth. It was an Item on par with Sungjin’s Blood Vengeance.
Tetracard – Enraged Lion
Unique Legendary Shield Defense 97%
Active Skill
Merciless (IV) – Increase attack speed by 40%. 5 Second duration. 10 Minute Cooldown.
Shield of God (V) – Become immune to all Magic Attacks. 10 Second Duration. Cooldown 1 day.
Oh father thy art in heaven, if there is any love in your heart
Give me strength, that I may defend the weak.
Whoa… Unique Legendary?
Illich must have put all of the Enhancement Stones he earned until now into the Shield. The effects were undoubtedly good. No, it was immensely good. To start with, 97% defense rating.
This means that any attack blocked by the Shield deals 3% of the total damage. Good shields sometimes had rating of 80% or higher, but 97% was unusually high.
Followed by the Merciless skill. It was a very good skill. It had lower active duration compared to Zealot or Berzerk mode, but it had no side effects. It was very effective for when the tanks wanted to assist with damage dealing.
Finally, the highlight was the ‘Shield of God’. 10 second immunity to magic. Sungjin had occasionally seen Illich cast
‘Shield of God’
But he did not know the extent of its effects.
‘I didn’t get to see it this time because I didn’t use magic…but it would have sure been surprising to see it used against me.’
Even spells empowered by the ‘Ring of the Great Sage’ were just another spell. So even spells empowered by the ring would be nullified by the effect of the Shield; this would undoubtedly cause Sungjin to be greatly shocked. Sungjin held up the Shield for a moment.
The area above the Lion’s eye had a small scratch, making it look even angrier than it was by design.
‘So… is this why it’s called Enraged Lion?’
But unfortunately, Sungjin was unable to utilize this item. Going from Dual Wield to sword and shield would lower his overall damage output. Although the 10 second immunity was tempting, Sungjin would be unable to use this item.
‘That being said… I can’t even put this up for Auction…’
To begin with, Unique Legendary items were priceless. Even if a price was tacked on, it would be so expensive that the buyer would have to forgo spending any coins for 2 or more chapters. Meaning, there was no one who could possibly afford it.
‘It’s better to hand this off to someone I know at a discount instead…’
Shield user, someone he knows, sell at a discount, these thoughts made Sungjin think of Baltren. Sungjin held onto the shield for a moment longer before returning it to the cube. The last item was the Illich’s Mantle. It was a Black Mantle which reminded Sungjin of ‘Darker than Black’.
Rubin – Membrane of Darkness
Heroic Mantle Defense 21%
Passive Skill
Shadow Ambush(II) – Before the Shadow Walk is over, the next attack deals double damage.
Active Skill
Shadow Walk (IV) – Hide in shadows. Become invisible to others. 40 second Duration
‘Hmm… this might come in handy.’
Sungjin thought. He had felt the need for invisibility on occasions. And he was forced to ask for Soldamyr’s assistance in the past as well.
‘Current one is good… but this one might be worth using.’
Sungjin did not assign a price to this item. He was planning on carrying it around with him and swapping out with Sael’s Breath as needed. Sungjin also returned the item to the Cube for now.
After the four items had been put away, the rest of the mound was items he had obtained from the trolls he had killed; all the items he intended to trade in for coins.
‘Ah… if that’s the case…’
Before Sungjin had a chance to pick one up,
Odon is ready!
The Duck Demihuman brought out his menu.
‘Oh well… I’ll resume after a meal.’
Sungjin left the items as they were and picked up the bowl.
Ahh…
After drinking the soup directly from the bowl, he picked up his chopsticks.
‘Slurp’
And began to eat the noodle. He felt the cold of the Kariharan Frostplains melt away.
I’ll leave it to you.
Yes, Mr. Hunter. Of course.
Black Market Auction House. After he had finished his business at the Auction House, Sungjin made his way back to the Ninety Nine Nights as he reflected over today’s raid. Many things happened this raid; Fireball empowered by the Ring of the Great Sage, melting the great Frozen Palace, the fight against the Hidden Boss, the Troll hunts, reunion with Baltren, and the most memorable of all, the sight of Illich swinging his axe towards Franz.
‘Franz… if I was even a little bit slower, you wouldn’t have made it out. I was able to barely protect you this time, but…’
Losing even one Chosen One would be a major blow for Sungjin.
‘I’ll have to give them a warning during the meeting tomorrow morning. To call for my help if they think they’ll die. And… make a list of monsters or individuals to avoid.’
But while he was thinking of this, the Operator gave him an announcement.
[A Chosen One has requested your teleportation.]
‘Hmm?’
Sungjin stared at it and thought
‘It’s probably Baltren.’
But the person turned out to be Franz.
Mr Kei, how are you? I just wanted to say thank you for saving me today.
Sungjin tilted his head. Requesting summon should only be possible once a day. He had no idea how Franz could be calling him.
Hmm? How did you contact me?
Franz answered
Ah… You didn’t know?
