Chapter 21: Flea Market
Chapter 21: Flea Market
Flea market.
Originally, it was an English word that means flea market. However, the flea market that the hunters were talking about was often used in a different sense.
A multinational corporation with branches all over the world.
It is said to be a large company, but their service is only one.
Purchasing and selling items.
This company preoccupied this market faster than anyone else. Thanks to this, decades later, it still has an overwhelming share, beating all latecomers.
As one of its foundations, there is a program in a virtual reality network established with tremendous amounts of money.
Do-joon had visited the capsule room to access this program.
"Welcome~"
After answering the greetings of the part-timer, Do-joon went to the front of the unmanned machine and stood there. After charging for an hour, he went into an empty capsule and laid down.
He had to wrap a band around his hands and feet to adjust according to the seat. Then, he wore goggles with bushy wires and finally he was ready to go.
Various statues appeared before Do-joon's eyes, who connected to the virtual reality network. A statue of a soldier holding a rifle, a statue of a fire-breathing dragon, and a statue of a swordsman wielding a sword.
All of them were the icons for accessing the game.
Passing through the statues, Do-joon arrived in front of an arch-shaped door at the far end.
A door with a sign says "Flea Market". The moment he opened the door and entered, the scenery changed all at once.
<Checking member information .>
<Nickname Potion Maker, Member Level Silver>
<Thank you for visiting us again. Do you want to go to the plaza?>
The plaza is a place where brands that have been assigned servers in the market are lined up. Usually, it is common to walk around this square and look at various items.
But there was no need for that today. Because the options he was looking to get were clear.
"Open Personal page."
When he said that, a blue line unfolded like a sheet of grid paper. Soon, a space began to be created from the immediate vicinity.
A small log cabin was built and a yard was created. At the end of the yard, a tree grew and he could see a rippling lake in the distance.
Eventually, the fence was placed, and the bright sun surfaced to finish the job.
This small and simple space was Do-joon's personal page.
In fact, it was not particularly decorated or anything. It was one of the basic silver-grade interiors.
"Hello, master!" It's been a while!"
Boo-woong!
When the space was completed, a fairy appeared.
A fairy that was smaller than the palm of his hand and was riding on the back of a metallic beetle.
It was an NPC named Evie, a guide made of A.I. in the market.
"Let's do a lot of shopping today! That way, your grade will go up quickly!"
Boo-woong!
As Evie spoke vigorously, the beetle fluttered its wings as if to agree with her.
This artificial intelligence, as intended, was always desperate to get him to make an expensive deal anyway.
It is said that as the membership rank increases, the size of the personal page expands and the appearance of the NPC attached to the member changes splendidly.
Perhaps that's why she always insisted him to purchase expensive items or to look for high-end brands.
Well, its all advertisements.
Of course, in its essence, it was a revenue stream from multi-market advertising. Evie is not really alive, only a mere programmed A.I.
"Right! Would you like to attend an auction? There are 32 remote auctions going on right now."
"Since auctions are going on, open the search function."
As he spoke, Evie asked with her eyes shining brightly.
"What would you like to search for?"
"Weapons. Weapons with Holy attributes."
Alright!
Then in an instant, piles of data flooded down into the yard. There, weapons that satisfied the two conditions mentioned by Do-joon.
Although elemental attribute weapons were rare, they registered from around the world, so the quantity was quite good. Plus, he didn't add any other conditions yet.
Do-joon slightly frowned as he saw the weapon pile into a small hill. And so, he added one more condition.
"Show me the cheapest one.
"What? A cheap one?"
Evie pouted her lips in dissatisfaction, but it didn't work for Do-joon. Soon, Evie brought a one-handed mace.
Kelium Crusader's Mace
Rank
Rare
Classification
Weapon
Effect
A mace used by the Crusaders who worshiped Kelium, the god of oppression and fear. It is said that the blood most buried by this mace in history is not devil's blood, but human blood.
Additional Attack Power. 21~54
Destruction +5 Lv
Vitality +6Lv
Holy Attribute
Do-joon looked at the weapon.
Not only did he check the information window, but he also checked his grip and center of gravity by swinging it around.
This was the reason why the markets virtual reality service could overthrow all latecomers.
A technology that can implement real-world items in virtual reality with great precision and sophisticated manner.
Not only did it perfectly reproduce its delicate shape and center of gravity, but it also reproduced more than 90% of the attached options that came with it. In terms of this mace, the effects of destruction and vitality stat are quantified and reproduced.
Even though how the stat is applied depends on individual physical conditions.
Therefore, in the virtual reality of this market, more than 90% of the weapons original performance could be experienced.
Flea Market has the only technology in the world that could replicate stat effects and not just the appearance. An anecdote that got so popular that the U.S. government once asked to buy this technology directly but got refused at once.
There may have been behind-the-scenes transaction deals that were not disclosed to the media, but it seems that it was not officially turned over yet.
Anyhow, the condition of this weapon was pretty good.
The center of gravity was somewhat focused on the head, but it was something familiar to him since he usually used an axe.
Do-jun looked at the price tag with delightful eyes.
<98,000$>
.
But the price was not delightful.
Do-joon turned the mace around with a frown on his face.
"Excuse me, master~ How about this?"
Evie spoke from behind with a charming voice. Turning to look at her, she held a white spear that looked 2m long.
Belforce's Holy Spear
<2,100,000$>
The price was ridiculous.
This one, this one, was discovered in the St. Dungeon in America a few months ago? Do you know Saint Dungeon? Its a pretty famous A-class dungeon. It's finally been attacked .
She chatted well with her sparkling eyes. For something he didn't even ask for.
Do-joon's wrinkles on his forehead increased one by one. It felt like he was watching a 30-second commercial that's inserted in between every round of a mobile game.
Mute.
"Uh? Euh!"
As Do-joon spoke, Evie's mouth tied shut. Evie was embarrassed and patted her lips with her hands. The 2 million-dollar holy spear she was holding fell to the ground and rolled about.
"Ugh!"
Evie opened her eyes wide and swiftly picked up the spear before dusting it off. The little fairy took out a handkerchief and wiped it as if she really was handling an expensive item.
Of course, the spear was obviously not real, and was just a piece of data.
The real deal must have been kept somewhere in reality. It was found in an American dungeon, so it would be in a guild somewhere in the United States.
By the way, the cheapest one is 100 million..
"Euh!"
Ignoring the noise, Do-joon was soon lost in thought.
Considering the exchange rate, the amount would go to around 120 million. It was not an easy amount to decide.
There are things I can do to narrow it down.
Some he has collected so far, and some dividends received at the Troll Dungeon yesterday.
It was this morning that he received a call that they would give a little more to the amount originally promised for breaking the sorcerer's shield at the end.
All together, it seemed like it would be a little insufficient, but he thought that it could be filled by handing over the Glass Snakes leather to the Black Maiden.
Then, Do-joon shook his head.
"No. Just in case something happens, I need to keep some spare cash on hand.
It was not just the cost of living to look out for. But if So-eun's symptoms suddenly deteriorated, then she may have to take more medications.
Recently, thanks to the increase in vitality stats and cold resistance, she became much healthier, but the disease did not disappear. It was a disease that needed further research and had very few cases, so he couldnt be so careless.
So then
Whether he squeezed more money than that, or buys something cheap.
Of the two, the latter seemed to be simple. Anyway, didnt all he needed was a holy attribute option?
"Search. The cheapest item with a holy attribute."
"Uh!"
Evie had a pitiful expression on her face as if she wanted to be released from this command, but Do-joon's interest was not there. If he didnt specifically ask her anyway, she would just advertise the same thing again.
Soon, a small necklace was in his hand. It was a necklace with a gold crescent moon.
Acolyte Priests Necklace
<4,000$>
All in all, he was happy with the pricing.
"Let's get this".
At that point, Do-joon purchased several more items.
A variety of high-end potions, including advanced healing potions, and a weapon worth 10 million won with only an attack power option.
They were all living fine until they got copied by him.
After finishing shopping, Do-joon pressed the logout button without any regrets.
His vision quickly blurred. And then suddenly
I think I forgot something.
That's what he thought, but it shouldnt be a big deal if he couldn't think of anything.
Euh!
Boo woo woog!
<Log out.>
Soon, Do-joon raised himself in the capsule.
All items were delivered three days later.
A necklace with only one holy attribute option.
A variety of advanced and high-end potions, including advanced healing potions.
And a 10 million won weapon with only additional attack options.
If I copy all of this.
Additional attack power +12~23.
And buff skills such as regeneration (high), strength increase (medium), vision increase (medium), etc.
This was enough for an upgrade in specification at once. It was such a pity that he couldn't do it straight away since he could only make one copy a day.
Afterwards, Do-joon lifted the necklace.
With a jingle, the crescent decoration shone in the light.
Let's do an experiment first.
Do-joon first put the necklace on his body.
But
[You can copy one of the options of Acolyte Priests Necklace to Kim Do-joon]
[Copyable option]
* Attributes cannot be duplicated.
The copyable option did not appear. This was because he already had an ice attribute mana core.
Do-joon nodded as if he had expected this. It was a little disappointing, but he can't help it.
Because it was common knowledge that two attributes could not stay on one object, whether it was an item or a hunter.
Sometimes there are people who deal with more than one attribute, but that's using the skill of attribute transformation skills in addition to non-attributes. That is, basically, it has a single attribute of nothing'.
As expected, I have no choice but to put it in my weapon.
Do-joon took the axe out of his inventory. It was an axe stained with his hands, which he had used well ever since he obtained it from the Catacombs.
[Copy successfully.]
[The Acolyte Priests Necklace, which became the material, has been destroyed.]
[The copied ability is adjusted according to the items classification.]
Young Kujika's Single-Edged Axe
Rank
Common
Classification
Weapon
Effect
Usedby the young Kujika people who have not yet reached adulthood. Growing up with weapons rather than toys from an early age, they are consideredone of the strongest warrior tribes.
Additional Attack Power 5~15
Destruction +1 Lv
[Additional Options]
When attacking, receive the effect of Regeneration (medium) for 30 seconds.
When attacking, receive the effect of Strength Increase (lower) for 30 seconds.
When attacking, receive the effect of Durability Increase (lower) for 30 seconds.
When attacking, receive the effect of Agility Increase (lower) for 30 seconds.
When attacking, receive the effect of Visibility Increase (lower) for 30 seconds.
Holy Attribute
"It's done."
When he lifted the axe after completing the copying process, he felt a completely different energy than usual.
It was such an energy that resembled the sunlight of a warm spring day.
With this, the minimum specifications to defeat the ghouls of the collapsed temple have been completed.
A few days later, Do-joon upgraded his buff skills by copying all the Potion's options to his body. At the same time, the cooldown of the return skill was about to get over.
It's going to be a little different this time.
He firmly grabbed the axe of the holy attribute he had prepared, and Do-joon again set foot into the labyrinth.
Deep underground. A huge cavity.
In a room, where various stone statues were placed and murals were painted, a large pedestal and an altar were placed.
A place reminiscent of a chapel.
A human-like figure stood, where rows of lanterns lit up the dark room.
.
It was a terrible sight. Clothes that looked so ragged that he couldn't even recognize the original form. Meanwhile,the skin that was visible through them was full of burns and pus marks.
Not only that, the exposed hands and feet and face were also so hideous that they could not be recognized. In particular, one eyeball was missing, and the empty eye socket was simply too terrifying to look at.
He or she began to place something on the altar.
Clattering. Clattering.
Strange objects that appeared to be a mixture of bones and stones.
The altar was decorated by objects that would only normally be seen in the tomb as if they were something noble.