Item Duplication Rune.
Lee Taeseong knew exactly what this was without even having to read the description.
‘It’s an item that duplicates things from the Dream World!’
The Dream Realization Rune allowed him to bring items from the game into reality, but it had a limitation: he could no longer use that item within the game.
The Magma’s Fang was a prime example.
He wanted to use that item, which amplified fire-type skills, in both the game and reality.
However, if he had to choose, it was more necessary in reality, where he only had one life.
‘That’s why I chose it for reality… but now I don’t have to choose, do I?’
The same applied if he obtained an incredibly powerful elixir.
He could consume one himself, duplicate it, and then sell the copy.
**[Dream Item Duplication Rune]**
**You can duplicate items from within the dream and bring them to reality.**
**However, duplication and realization may be impossible depending on the item’s level.**
**Required SC: 100,000**
The price was 100,000 SC.
It was certainly expensive, but it was an investment worth making.
‘My remaining score is… cutting it close.’
He had recently earned a massive amount of score by completing five consecutive missions, but he had spent a lot of it on purchases while waiting for the Dream Shop to unlock.
Still, it seemed he could just barely afford to buy one.
*Tring!*
**[You have purchased the Dream Item Duplication Rune.]**
Taeseong set everything else aside and bought the duplication rune.
The place to use it was obvious.
The Spirit Ring.
He had been stuck on how to mass-produce the elixirs, and this was the perfect solution.
If Abysson, who resided within the Spirit Ring, could directly observe the magic circles while Taeseong acted as his hands and feet, there would surely be significant results.
‘I don’t know if Master Abysson will be the same in reality… but since I’m duplicating and bringing him over, even if it doesn’t work, he should still be fine in the Dream World.’
In that case, he would have only lost his 100,000 SC investment.
It would be a shame, but it was a gamble worth taking.
One could never know the true value of something without trying it.
***
Taeseong went straight home, logged into the Dream World, and used the rune to bring a copy of the Spirit Ring into reality.
When he placed the Spirit Ring on his hand in the real world, gray smoke billowed out, taking the form of a robed wizard.
Abysson looked around with a puzzled expression.
“What is this place?”
“Do you recognize me?”
“Have you finally lost your mind? Well, the successor of the Flame Emperor might go crazy at a young age, but even if you’re mad, find my son before you lose it completely.”
He recognized him perfectly.
There was no need to ask anything else.
Taeseong briefly explained the situation.
He told him that he had used a special power in reality to copy and bring the Abysson from another world to this place.
“So, you mentioned before that since your debt of gratitude wasn’t fully repaid, I could ask for additional favors. I’d like you to continue helping me here.”
“Ha, haha… I heard that strangers come from another world, but now I’ve come to another world myself?”
Abysson didn’t even seem to hear Taeseong’s request, his eyes filled with wonder as he constantly scanned his surroundings.
As an NPC, he was aware of the existence of “Strangers” and knew they lived in a different world.
Dimensional barriers were a field of the unknown that even a Great Mage could not comprehend.
Some mages had tried to investigate this “other world,” but they had all given up quickly.
“No Great Mage or Magic Tower of this era has ever set foot in this world. Hahaha! I, Flame Master Abysson, am truly advancing toward becoming the greatest Great Mage!”
Abysson let out a boisterous laugh.
Wizards were, by nature, people filled with immense curiosity.
Taeseong immediately set off for the factory again.
Throughout the journey, Abysson’s eyes sparkled as he took in everything around him.
High-rise apartments, cars driving on the street, people’s clothing, traffic lights, electronic billboards, and neon signs… everything in the modern world looked like magic to him.
“By what principle does that hunk of iron move so fast? I don’t feel any mana from it.”
“That’s called a car. I don’t know the exact principles myself…”
At first, Taeseong tried his best to explain.
He needed Abysson’s help with mass production and would need to exchange favors and gratitude periodically in the future.
However, Abysson’s curiosity was bottomless, and Taeseong’s knowledge was shallower than expected.
He might have ridden in cars or planes, but he couldn’t explain the mechanics of how they moved.
If he had been a science major instead of a liberal arts one, he might have known…
So, eventually, he changed his response to a single sentence.
“Is that a question? Then that’s one favor credited.”
“Are you asking about this too? This is already the several-th time. That’s another favor.”
“This, too…”
One question, one favor!
Consequently, Abysson couldn’t just ask anything anymore.
If he wasn’t careful, he might end up as a slave spirit who spent his entire afterlife doing nothing but repaying favors!
“You… you petty brat!”
“So, stop asking so much. I didn’t know you were such a chatterbox, Master Abysson. You were so quiet in the Dream World.”
“I’ve seen that world until I was sick of it, so I had no reason to talk.”
“I’ll tell you about my world slowly. It’s no fun if you learn everything at once.”
“…That is true.”
It was a lazy excuse from Taeseong, but Abysson was largely convinced.
For a spirit with no lifespan, nothing was more difficult than having one’s intellectual curiosity completely satisfied at once.
“Fine. Let’s go for now.”
They arrived at the factory site once more.
With Abysson present, they could begin the work of creating an automated process for mass production.
“A factory? The equipment made of iron is damn large. Compared to that, the method isn’t that complex.”
Abysson wandered around in his spiritual form, quickly grasping the factory’s structure.
Although it was his first time seeing mechanical devices, he quickly realized how they worked after watching them operate on electricity.
“Brat. Duplication is difficult for now, but I think I can make this bigger.”
“That’s enough for me.”
Even just making mass production possible was a huge step.
“Guild Master! I’ve brought him!”
At that moment, Kang Woo-joo arrived with a person.
They needed to modify the factory equipment, but they couldn’t just tinker with it blindly, so he had brought an engineer who was knowledgeable in the field.
From then on, following Abysson’s instructions, Taeseong modified the magic circles one by one to enlarge the refining furnace and worked with the engineer to connect the furnace to the factory equipment.
“You idiot! Not that! You have to twist the mana in a more open direction! Argh, how frustrating!”
“……”
In the process, he was constantly scolded by Abysson for knowing nothing about the basics of magic…
Regardless, there was progress.
After working through the night, they succeeded in converting the entire factory into an automated elixir production facility.
Adding security magic to the premises was a given.
*Vroooom!*
*Clank, clank!*
Kang Woo-joo had purchased a large quantity of the necessary herbs from a 24-hour mart.
As the factory began to operate, elixirs started to be produced one by one.
“It worked!”
Taeseong grinned broadly as he watched the elixirs being produced in neat rows.
***
[The first batch has been completed. Please provide the address where you wish to receive them, and we will send them there.]
This was a message from the Taeseong Guild.
“Hah. Truly incredible.”
Gu Sang-min, the Guild Master of the Colossus Guild, sat in his office and marveled.
Rookies were born every year.
During Gu Sang-min’s first year as a Hunter, the media had made a huge fuss about the birth of a legendary Hunter.
Since then, he had received plenty of praise as he established his guild and rose to success.
So, when he first heard about Lee Taeseong, his thought was simply, ‘Ah, this year’s rookie is a decent one.’
Among those called Super Rookies, there are those who are true geniuses and those who are just mediocre.
After a few years pass and their results are analyzed, the geniuses soar while the mediocre ones stay in ambiguous positions.
When Kang Woo-joo appeared last year, people called him the best rookie in years, but Lee Taeseong had gone one step further.
His skill in performing missions alone was overwhelming, but his secondary abilities were even more outstanding.
From treating a high-ranking American Hunter to the ability to mass-produce elixirs artificially—those facts alone made him incredibly valuable.
If possible, Gu Sang-min wanted to bring him into his guild by any means necessary.
Unfortunately, that was impossible, so he planned for the next best thing: building a close relationship.
Gu Sang-min grabbed his coat and spoke to his secretary.
“I’m heading out for a moment.”
“Where are you going, Guild Master?”
“Taeseong Guild.”
Since they were making their first deal with such an amazing guild, he didn’t want the relationship to be one where they just received packages and transferred money.
‘The more often you show your face, the closer you become.’
Just like personal relationships, business relationships grew closer through frequent meetings and conversations.
Who knew?
If they became close like this, he might gain the right to buy even one more elixir than other guilds in the future.
Thus, Gu Sang-min set off for the Taeseong Guild’s location.
The location was Pangyo.
He knew it well.
It was because the Taeseong Guild was using the free rental office provided to Super Rookies by the National Hunter Association.
The Colossus Guild was in the same building.
In fact, they had an office on the same floor.
Gu Sang-min had received it during his own Super Rookie days, and the Association had continued to provide it.
Since he often spoke with IT companies in Pangyo, he kept it as a branch office for the Colossus Guild, and some staff and guild members worked there occasionally.
***
After packing the first batch of elixir bottles into boxes, Taeseong moved them to the Taeseong Guild office in Pangyo.
Since administrative processing had to be done at the office, he intended to handle the shipping from there as well.
He called in Kang Woo-joo and two newly recruited guild members to help move the boxes.
In the midst of this, someone was looking at Taeseong with displeasure.
It was Kim Seon-ung of the Colossus Guild.
He glanced at Taeseong with eyes full of jealousy.
‘A Super Rookie? He’s just a brat who hasn’t even been doing missions for a month.’
The fact that he had entered a major guild like the Colossus Guild proved that he was a top-tier person in the Hunter industry.
But that was the limit of Kim Seon-ung’s potential.
The fact that his nominal office was at the Pangyo branch instead of the headquarters proved it.
Hunters didn’t strictly need to commute, but all skilled Hunters had their offices at the headquarters.
Therefore, Kim Seon-ung was envious of Taeseong, who was already being hyped by the media as a Super Rookie, and at the same time, he felt jealous.
‘Should I try provoking him once?’
No matter if he was a Super Rookie or whatever, he was surely lacking compared to a veteran like himself who had completed dozens of missions.
There might be a difference in talent, but several years had already passed since he awakened.
The problem was how to pick a fight without it being too obvious…
Kim Seon-ung loitered in the hallway where the Taeseong Guild office was located, glaring at the door.
It was at that moment.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“Who’s talking to me—Gi-Guild Master!!?”
Frowning at the sudden informal speech from behind, Kim Seon-ung turned around and was startled to see the massive frame of Gu Sang-min.
Why was the Guild Master, who was so high up that it was hard even to look up at him, here?
Gu Sang-min strode forward, grabbed Kim Seon-ung by the back of the neck, and glared at him.
“Do you want to die?”
“Ke-keuk… Why, why are you doing this…”
“Why? You’re asking because you don’t know? Why are you staring over there with those murderous eyes? Do you want me to pluck them out?”