Chapter 12: Production & Sales (2)

Suho picked up his phone and launched the Hunter app.

The Hunter app was an application that only Hunters could use, packed with various features.

Among them, what Suho wanted to use was the Trading Board.

A moment later, the post Suho wrote was registered on the board.

[Regular Grade Dagger Super Bargain Sale! Special Price Only Today!]

• Physical Attack 80. Lower Tier Sharpness Enhancement. Durability 100 dagger. Only 8 million won today. Limited to 5 per day, 1 per person!
• Trading Method: Direct deal at our store. Location: Head down the road from the main entrance of the Hunter Association Building…
  Store Name: Suho Item 8 General Store.

“This should be good enough, right?”

Suho put down his phone and picked up the dagger lying beside him.

It was something he got from Tarunga.

[Sharp Dagger]

• A dagger made by a Skilled Artisan using poor-quality iron. The blade is sharp.
• Item Grade: Regular
• Physical Attack 80
• [Lower Tier Sharpness Enhancement]
• Agility +2
• Durability 100

“I didn’t expect it to be this hard to make something shoddy.”

Suho had a dumbfounded look on his face.

It was because of the dagger’s performance.

He’d asked Tarunga to have the least skilled artisan make it.

He’d even told them to do it as sloppily as possible.

Even so, it had almost come out as ‘High Grade.’

“If it had gotten any better, it would’ve been hard to sell.”

Most equipment of High Grade or higher are Dungeon Drop Items.

There are also cases where they’re hand-made by high-level Hunters in the crafting line, but those people usually mark the source of their items, so it would be difficult for Suho to just sell them off.

“Already got comments, huh.”

Comments started popping up on the post.

ㄴ Is this for real? It’s way too cheap. That’s worth at least a thousand.

ㄴ But is it really Regular Grade? Isn’t Lower Tier Sharpness Enhancement an option for High Grade?

ㄴ Sometimes it appears on top-tier Regular Grade too. But the durability’s high and the options are good—why sell it so cheap?

ㄴ Smells like a scam. Are you a newbie? All the records are saved, so if you mess around and get reported, you could lose your Hunter qualification. If this is a joke, take down the post fast.

“Is it too cheap?”

Since he was reopening the store, he’d posted it cheap to attract customers, but the reaction was hotter than he expected.

Suho quickly left a reply.

ㄴ This is a reopening special offer. From tomorrow, I’ll sell at 10 million won.

ㄴ Oh! The General Store Owner showed up. Then it’s probably not a scam. The store location’s written too.

ㄴ Right. I’ll go check it out. I needed a dagger anyway.

ㄴ I’m near the Association on business, so I’ll go right now.

ㄴ Scout, please leave a review.

Suho turned off the app.

He took some paper and wrote with a marker.

He stuck it to the store window, then went outside to check how it looked.

[Reopening Special Offer! Regular Top Grade Dagger Big Sale!]

Suddenly, he remembered the beer he’d bought at a special price.

Maybe that’s what started everything…

“Life really is unpredictable.”

Suho smiled faintly.

Just then, someone approached.

“Um, are you open?”

It was a young woman.

Judging by her outfit, she looked like a Hunter.

“Ah, yes. We’re open.”

“Are you the one who posted on Hunter app?”

So she was someone nearby?

“Yes, are you here for the dagger?”

“Yes. Can I see the item?”

“Come on in.”

After inviting the customer inside, Suho handed her the dagger.

The customer took the dagger and examined it closely.

After a moment.

“Wow, amazing! I’ll buy it! I have to buy this!”

She seemed almost too pleased.

Suho couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

“Excuse me, the options are just like what I posted on Hunter app, so why are you so surprised?”

“You use the app, so you’re a Hunter. Did you Awaken recently?”

“…That’s right.”

“With equipment, especially weapons, options aren’t everything. Depending on the shape, how you use it changes a lot. But this dagger has a perfect center of gravity, and the handle shape is the best. It fits right in your hand—the grip is amazing!”

“Ah, I see.”

Since the only equipment he’d used was Dwarf-made, he thought that was just normal.

The things originally sold in the store were mostly mass-produced consumables anyway.

“Yes, this is a really good item. So, actually…”

“Would you be willing to sell me two?”

Now that he looked, the customer had daggers hanging from both sides of her waist.

She must use dual daggers.

“It’s limited to one per person…”

“But you said you’d sell more tomorrow? Then just sell one at 10 million won.”

She was asking so earnestly, there was no reason to refuse.

“Alright. Let’s do that.”

“Ah, thank you so much. Hehe.”

The customer smiled happily.

Suho smiled too.

It had been so long since he’d seen someone so happy to buy something from him that he’d forgotten what it felt like.

“It’s rewarding.”

The customer soon paid for the items.

Suho cheerfully saw her out.

“Thank you for your purchase.”

***

A few days passed.

The regular routine of checking on the Dwarves and selling items continued.

Ziiing—

His phone vibrated.

-Jung Hyunsu: Suho hyung, hello. The Dungeon schedule got moved up a bit. Can you go to the next Dungeon this weekend?

It was a message from Jung Hyunsu.

At least twice a month.

That was the content of the Contract.

Getting another Dungeon in just a week was a bit fast.

But there was no reason to refuse.

The faster he got stronger, the better.

-Won Suho: It’s not a problematic Dungeon, is it?

-Jung Hyunsu: Of course not. It’s a Sangwangryeon-owned Dungeon, and it’s been verified several times.

-Jung Hyunsu: I just wanted to hurry a bit, so it got moved up. When I go with you, leveling is fast and it’s not hard, so I wanted to go again soon. Haha.

-Won Suho: Alright, let’s go this weekend.

-Jung Hyunsu: Okay, hyung. I’ll send you the detailed schedule and Dungeon info.

-Won Suho: Got it.

“I’ll have to close the store this weekend.”

Suho recalled his sales over the past few days.

He’d consistently sold 50 million won worth of daggers every day.

They sold out completely every single day.

Partly because the supply was low, but there was another reason.

The first customer who bought two daggers had posted a Review on the board.

ㄴThis is amazing! I hesitated for a while, but I don’t regret buying this! Center of gravity! Grip! Even the design! The perfect harmony of all three! The durability is solid, and I bet I could sell it used and still get my money back. But I’m not selling lol

The Review included photos and even a video of her swinging the dagger.

ㄴ I bought this too. It’s really good. Best value for money.

ㄴ I bought one too lol. Friends who are hesitating, don’t wait. Hurry and go buy it. Seriously, buy it.

ㄴ This is a masterpiece for Lower Class Hunters. You can use it until you graduate from the second floor.

Customers who bought the item left comments.

One comment in particular made Suho a bit nervous.

ㄴ This is really good, but the only downside is the small quantity. If you go late, it’s all sold out.

ㄴ But it’s a bit weird. They keep making the same item, so it must be a crafted item, right? But it’s way too good for the grade. It’s the kind of quality you’d expect from a high-effort Golem in the crafting line. But why would a Golem go to such trouble for something like this? They’d use expensive materials to make expensive items. And they’d engrave their name on it too.

ㄴ Right. Judging by the quantity, it seems like someone’s making it alone. Strange. Is it a newly Awakened crafter?

ㄴ If a newbie is this good, Sangwangryeon would recruit them. The other Guilds would drool too.

‘Good thing I limited it to 5 per day.’

If he’d stacked up dozens and sold them all at once, there definitely would have been problems.

Fortunately, the following comments helped dispel unnecessary attention.

ㄴ Who cares where it’s from, as long as the item’s good? Maybe the General Store Owner picked it up from a Dwarf or something. Just go buy it.

ㄴ I wish I could pick one up. Preferably from an Elf.

ㄴ I want a Succubus. Haha.

ㄴ If it’s other races, it’s gotta be the Myoin Tribe. I wanna pick up a Myoin Tribe, meow.

ㄴ Why is the mood like this all of a sudden lololol

“The comments are going off-topic. Good.”

He’d gotten nervous when someone mentioned Dwarves.

Suho put down his phone and looked around the store.

Nothing had really changed, but thanks to the customers, the place felt more lively.

“Business is finally going well.”

Thanks to that, yesterday he was able to buy a new type of ramen.

He even bought some more expensive premium ramen and osori.

He’d also bought eggs to send along for them to add in.

“Everything’s going smoothly.”

If he earned a bit more, he should feed them something more nutritious.

Muttering to himself, Suho opened the Dimensional Panel.

[Red Hammer Dwarves]

• Affiliated Dimension: ESKHJ-0702L
• Members: 1,045
• Satisfaction: 77/100

The population had increased again.

They’d said there would be about two thousand in total, so this trend would probably continue for a while.

“Let’s keep it up just like this.”

The money was coming in smoothly, and the Dwarves’ migration was going well.

No real worries.

“It’s about lunchtime. I’ll close the store for a bit.”

He’d check on the Dwarf Village while eating lunch.

A moment later, Suho, with a bowl full of cereal, headed for the refrigerator.

“Let’s see what the Dwarves are up to.”

He opened the freezer.

Right in front, Bold was sitting.

“When is Giant coming?”

Judging by how he was muttering, he’d been waiting for quite a while.

What was going on?

“I’m here. Is there a problem?”

“Ah—you’re here!”

“Yes.”

“Just a moment, Giant. The Chieftain told me to call him when you arrived.”

He waited for a moment.

Bold brought Tarunga over.

“Tarunga, what’s the matter?”

“Giant, I’m afraid I have to trouble you again.”

So things had been going too smoothly after all…

“What happened?”

“We’re out of dagger materials. We’ve already melted down all the scrap iron from weapons dropped by the Orcs, but there’s nothing left to use. We melted down all the broken tools and equipment a while ago too. I’m sorry.”

Ah, that’s right!

Suho realized he’d forgotten something.

“I totally forgot about getting more metal.”

They’d talked about it a few days ago, but things had been going so well, he’d forgotten.

He’d gotten so caught up in the fun of ‘doing business’ that he lost track of time. He hadn’t expected the dagger materials to run out this quickly, either.

“How should we get more?”

The simple way would be to buy some metal tools to melt down.

They didn’t need a huge amount right now, so that should be enough for the time being.

Of course, it wasn’t a perfect solution.

The Dwarves would use some up themselves, so the problem would come back later.

Should he try to get some metal ingots from somewhere?

The best would be to solve it over there in their world—

Then he wouldn’t have to buy and carry heavy metal, or run around looking for it.

Before taking action, Suho asked Tarunga.

“Is there any way to get metal on your side? Like digging a mine?”

“In fact, we’ve already scouted several Ore Veins nearby. Dwarves always look for ore veins wherever they go…”

“Then can’t you just dig them up?”

“That’s not something that can be done in a day or two. We’d need a lot of manpower. Even after the next group arrives and we have more hands, just digging would take at least several months.”

Digging?

Maybe there was a way.

“Are the ore veins far from the Village?”

“Some, like the Iron Ore, are quite close.”

“Could you point out roughly where?”

“Over there, by the mountain ridge next to the Village.”

Tarunga pointed to a ridge beside the Village.

Suho shouted cheerfully.

“Let’s dig right now!”

***

Suho rummaged under his bed and found his toolbox.

“I bought this for nailing once, then just shoved it away. I almost regretted buying it.”

He picked up the item that had been sleeping in the toolbox.

“Never thought I’d use the drill for this.”

Suho grabbed his electric drill and headed for the refrigerator.

***

Brrrrr—

He felt a vibration.

Brrrrr—

Brrrrr—

The shaking didn’t stop, and continued for quite a while.

The Balanca Mountains trembled.

Krrrr—

Somewhere in a cave deep in the mountains.

A being coiled up inside let out a displeased breath.

Brrrrr—

The tremors continued.

Boom—!

The pitch-black cave lit up.

It was because of two massive, vertical streaks of yellow fire.

Soon, a strange, resonant sound echoed through the cave.