The General Manager welcomed him with a bright smile.
“Welcome back. That sword looks quite impressive.”
“Haha. Thank you for noticing.”
Tae-sung grinned as he patted his waist.
He was carrying Magma’s Fang, the reward he had received from Serena.
This elegant longsword was his first decent item in the game.
It even had an effect that amplified fire-elemental skills, and he loved the design.
He felt proud that the General Manager had recognized its quality.
The General Manager smiled as well before getting to the point.
“Word is already spreading in the streets that you successfully completed the Red Magic Tower’s request.”
“Thank you for the kind words, but it wasn’t that much.”
In terms of the escort duty, other martial artists were more skilled than Tae-sung, so he hadn’t received much attention.
The General Manager’s praise was likely because it was the first time a gang member had successfully handled a request from a massive organization like the Red Magic Tower.
However, the General Manager shook his head.
“I am not just saying that. I heard you even received an extra payment. Mages are cold-hearted; they never pay more than the agreed amount unless they are truly satisfied.”
High-level martial artists often had great pride.
No matter how much extra money was offered, they weren’t usually willing to carry a mage on their back like Tae-sung had.
That attitude had left a deep impression on the mage.
Those who heard the news would judge Tae-sung more favorably in the future, which would directly increase his market value.
“It seems you will be receiving more personal requests from now on.”
This was good news. Requests that sought him out due to his reputation would likely be dangerous and difficult, but the rewards would naturally be greater.
Looking at the ruins he had just visited, he had gained so much from a single trip.
“And it has been a great help to our Flying Dragon Gang for having someone like you in our ranks.”
It wasn’t just a successful request; he had raised the prestige of the Flying Dragon Gang.
This was a significant achievement, which was converted into a numerical value and added to Tae-sung’s contribution points.
Tae-sung already had quite a lot of contribution points stored up.
Thanks to that, he had previously entered the Silver-grade library, but he hadn’t found much to buy then, only picking up a few simple things.
Adding this new contribution made the total quite substantial.
‘At this rate… entering the Gold-grade library is a given. I might even be able to pick out a decent martial art to learn.’
It was more than Tae-sung had anticipated.
Afterward, he spoke with the General Manager and entered the Gold-grade library.
*Creeeeak*
As expected, this place was different from the Silver-grade library.
There were many high-tier skills here.
He saw several first-rate martial arts, 3rd-grade hybrids, and 3rd-Circle magic books.
**[Berserk Blood Sword (Rare)]**
– Grade: First-rate Martial Art
– Type: Swordsmanship
**[Thunder Crush]**
– Grade: 3rd-Circle Magic Book
**[Earth Dragon Steps]**
– Grade: First-rate Martial Art
– Type: Movement Technique There were several things that caught Tae-sung’s eye.
However, since the skills in the Gold-grade library were often Rare-tier, choosing just one would consume almost all his contribution points.
‘I have to choose carefully.’
The reason Tae-sung came here was for a sword technique.
Ideally, he wanted a fire-based one like the Flame Flower Sword Technique, but it didn’t strictly have to be.
Since his fire-based Heavenly Net Flame Hands provided a solid foundation, it didn’t matter if he chose a different element as long as the quality was good.
‘I can always get another sword technique later anyway.’
Although the Gold-grade library housed the Flying Dragon Gang’s best skills, there were many other factions in the capital city of Ellen that possessed even better ones.
The secret magic of the Red Magic Tower would be incomparable to what was here.
And what if he looked at the entire Western Continent?
Therefore, he had to approach this with the mindset of learning a skill now and potentially replacing it with a better one later.
After wandering the library for a long time, Tae-sung made his choice.
**[Red Cloud Seven Styles (Rare)]**
– Grade: First-rate Martial Art
– Type: Swordsmanship
‘This is the best one.’
The Red Cloud Seven Styles consisted of five initial forms and two final forms.
It was said that upon reaching the final forms, one could manifest Sword Qi.
For a player like Tae-sung, reaching the final stages would mean reaching Skill Mastery Lv.6 or higher.
While players could naturally use Sword Qi or Sword Force by leveling up, accumulating mana, and breaking through realms, these high-grade skills helped them reach that stage much faster.
‘And it has synergy with the Dragon Shadow Wind Movement Technique.’
The Red Cloud Seven Styles was the official swordsmanship of the Flying Dragon Gang.
It could be learned by members of at least the First-grade rank, and as such, it paired well with the gang’s Dragon Shadow Wind Movement Technique.
Swordsmanship and movement techniques that pursued the same martial path could create a synergistic effect when performed together.
Tae-sung walked out of the library after making his decision.
*Ding!*
**[You have acquired a new skill]**
**[Skill: Red Cloud Seven Styles (Rare)]**
He smiled happily at the notification that appeared simultaneously in the game and reality.
— After picking the Red Cloud Seven Styles from the Gold-grade library, Tae-sung went to find an appraisal mage.
He had a gray pill he had found in Avison’s ruins. He didn’t want any rumors starting among the Red Magic Tower people, so he sought out an unaffiliated appraiser who had no ties to them.
The General Manager had recommended this appraiser as being tight-lipped and skilled, so he could be trusted.
“Please appraise this for me.”
Tae-sung handed over the gray pill. He hoped for only one thing.
‘Please let it be an elixir that increases my mana by a massive amount…’
His mana capacity was always the bottleneck.
Having high-tier skills like the Heavenly Net Flame Hands made him strong, but he had become strong too quickly.
If he had accumulated mana slowly through the Sun Astral Power Art over a long period, it wouldn’t be an issue, but there was no helping the mana shortage that came with rapid growth.
“Come back tomorrow,” the appraiser said with a dry expression.
Tae-sung didn’t forget to offer a final prayer even as he turned to leave.
‘Please let it be an incredible elixir…!’
Having finished his business in the game for now, he logged out.
*Psssssh*
The capsule opened, and Tae-sung sat up.
Since he had finished his quest in the game, it was time to finish his quests in reality.
He had a mountain of work to do.
To be precise, there was someone else handling that mountain of work for him.
“Let’s see… I have a message.”
Checking his phone, he saw a message from Manager Song Sang-yeop.
Tae-sung Guild.
He had named it simply, using his own name.
‘I’m going to be the best Hunter, so I need to have big ambitions.’
If the guild business went well later, he could invest real-world money and connections back into Dream World, just as Zhang Xuan had used donations to enter the Red Magic Tower.
Regardless, the business registration was complete.
Following that, the Association provided office space as part of their support for Super-class rookies.
They offered several of their buildings, allowing him to open an office in his preferred location.
For free, of course!
‘The Association really does their job well.’
So, what was left for Tae-sung to do?
Name: Lee Tae-sung SC Balance: 132,050 He needed to buy the necessary items from the shop using his 132,050 points!
A guild was very similar to a corporation.
A corporation manufactured goods and sold them to consumers.
A guild also bought items from the Score Shop and sold them to consumers.
The difference was that a guild needed Hunters to earn Scores, and many items in the Score Shop were rare things that didn’t exist on Earth.
‘Five high-concentration Clean Reactor parts, three advanced mana stones, a semiconductor supernatural circuit efficiency enhancer…’
The Score Shop contained such a variety of items that it could be considered nearly infinite.
There were many items from outer space in addition to Earthly goods.
For example:
**[Semiconductor Supernatural Circuit Efficiency Enhancer]**
– When installed on a semiconductor smaller than 1nm, it increases efficiency by 29%.
– Required SC: 1,142 He had no idea what kind of technology was used to make such a thing.
However, if one bought it and actually attached it to a semiconductor smaller than 1nm, the power and performance actually rose by 29%!
Scientists had researched how this was possible for a long time, but they had naturally failed.
It only served to make the Score Shop seem even more magnificent.
Anyway, there were many products like this that could be combined with modern Earthly goods.
Of course, they were extremely expensive because they required Scores, and they could only be used in certain specialized fields.
Research labs at universities or corporations… places like that.
The Association played the role of a bridge, helping the Tae-sung Guild supply these items to those sectors.
*Ding!*
**[You have purchased an Advanced Mana Stone.]**
**[You have purchased an Advanced Mana Stone.]**
**[You have purchased a High-concentration Clean Reactor part.]**
Every time he bought one, his Scores dropped by the hundreds of thousands.
Having 132,050 points seemed like a lot, but since the unit prices were high, his balance plummeted toward zero after only a few purchases.
‘I’ll have to work my off on missions.’
To grow the guild, he had to maintain a steady supply of goods, but Tae-sung Guild was still a one-man guild with Tae-sung as the only Hunter.
He had no choice.
He would have to work hard, even if it meant cutting back on sleep.
It was just as he had spent 100,000 points.
*Ding!*
**[Your cumulative Score usage has exceeded 100,000 SC.]**
**[Skill ‘Dream’ is activated.]**
**[The Dream Shop stock has been replenished.]**
**[Make your dreams a reality.]**
‘It’s here!’
Tae-sung pumped his fist.
The condition for the Dream Shop’s first opening had been spending 30,000 SC.
So he had wondered about it this time too.
If he kept spending more Scores, wouldn’t something change in the Dream Shop?
To be honest, he had been a bit disappointed when nothing happened after he reached 50,000 cumulative points.
But it seemed “Dream” didn’t disappoint.
To think such a change would occur at 100,000 points!
Tae-sung stopped his current shopping and opened the Dream Shop immediately.
***
**[Dream Shop Available List]**
– Dream Realization Rune (Current Stock: 5)
– ??? – ??? – ???
***
Just like before, the other items were only visible as question marks, but the stock of Dream Realization Runes had increased to five.
“Oh!”
Tae-sung’s face lit up.
**[Dream Realization Rune]**
– You can bring items from the dream into reality.
– However, realization may be impossible depending on the item’s level.
– Required SC: 30,000 Last time, he had brought one home for almost nothing because of a 95% first-purchase discount coupon.
This time, he had to pay 30,000 SC.
He stopped the procurement of goods that Manager Song had requested for now and bought one Dream Realization Rune.
He happened to need one right now.
He had used the last one to bring back the Red Heart Nectar, but there was something new he wanted to bring over.
Tae-sung rushed back to the capsule and lay down.
A short while later.
*Psssssh*
The capsule opened, and Tae-sung stood up.
In his hand was an elegant longsword.
**[Magma’s Fang]**
– A masterpiece created through the combination of the Red Magic Tower’s secret enchantment method and a superior blacksmith’s skill.
– Increases efficiency by 16% when performing fire-attribute magic.
– Increases efficiency by 13% when performing fire-attribute hybrids.
– Increases efficiency by 7% when performing fire-attribute martial arts.
‘To think I can use this in reality too.’
He gripped the hilt tightly.
With this, he felt confident that he could instantly slice that golem from the ninth mission into pieces — the one he’d had quite a difficult time getting a Perfect score on.
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