Chapter 4: The Infinite Campfire

The 1st floor was treated as an introductory level for hunters.

Slimes were the only things there, and even they were unpopular because they were filled with acidic fluid.

Although skins from 1st-floor slimes were the most effective, modified slimes were more popular because their mucus was easier to obtain.

Furthermore, even if one managed to get 1st-floor slime mucus, it was usually in small quantities and often contaminated with acid, making it not very cost-effective.

However, such 1st-floor slime mucus had appeared in the auction house.

[Anonymous: Slime Mucus 1kg]

[※ Clean mucus with almost no acidic fluid from 1st-floor slimes]

[Time Remaining: 11:38:11]

People were shocked to see it listed in kilograms rather than grams.

The even more surprising thing was that it wasn’t just one listing.

[Anonymous: Slime Mucus 1kg]

[※ Clean mucus with almost no acidic fluid from 1st-floor slimes]

[Anonymous: Slime Mucus 1kg]

[※ Clean mucus with almost no acidic fluid from 1st-floor slimes]

[Anonymous: Slime Mucus 1kg]

[※ Clean mucus with almost no acidic fluid from 1st-floor slimes]

People were astonished as they saw the 1st-floor slimes lined up in the auction house.

The system cannot list lies.

This meant that 1st-floor slime mucus had truly been released in kilogram units.

This alone was shocking enough, but the reason people were even more interested was because of this.

[Anonymous: 1st Floor Campfire Set.]

[※ Forming a safe zone within a certain area when lit.]

[Caution: May be deactivated if poorly managed.]

[Time Remaining: 11:21:27]

The campfire set was like pouring oil onto an auction house already burning hot with the torch.

It was only natural to be more attracted to a complete item rather than an incomplete one.

Because of that, all eyes were inevitably focused on the campfire.

Above all, a description starkly different from the torch made people even more interested in the campfire.

[***: 1st Floor Torch]

[※ Monster intrusion is restricted within the area reached by the light.]

[Caution: May be deactivated if poorly managed.]

The descriptions were clearly divided between ‘Formation of a safe zone’ and ‘Monster intrusion is restricted.’

Consequently, the firepower that had risen to nearly 100 million was forced to flock toward the campfire set all at once.

-Doesn’t the campfire set have the same effect as the 1st floor?-

Re: If you look at the description, ‘Formation of a safe zone’ is clearly written there.

-Wow… they’re going to be sitting on a pile of money as soon as they clear it perfectly.

-Even if it’s not the campfire, there are plenty of places that would welcome them the moment they reveal their identity.

-True.

-But couldn’t they just use it themselves?

It seems like it would be needed later.

-Right.

They’ll probably regret selling that later.

Although it would be traded at a high price, money wouldn’t be an issue for an anonymous person who achieved a perfect clear.

People thought the seller would regret selling the campfire, shedding tears of blood later.

Regardless of that, the price of the campfire rose at an insane rate.

‘Safe Zone’

The sense of security coming from that phrase made top-tier guilds open their purses.

While the torch felt like something to test out, the campfire felt like a ‘must-buy’ item.

Unlike the torch, which had slowly risen over half a day to hit 100 million, the campfire shot up into the hundreds of millions in an instant.

-It’ll easily surpass a billion.-

-Of course. Torches will likely appear later, but that’s the only one.

-Re: If it goes well, it could even reach 2 billion.

-For now, even if you can’t use it on the highest floors, it’ll be worth the money as it can be used effectively in the mid-floor training sections.

-If there was a certainty that it would work on high floors, 10 billion would have been a joke.

-True, true.

The interest in the campfire was explosive.

The time limit was only half a day.

There wasn’t even any greed to somehow extend the auction time to squeeze out as much money as possible.

It was a confidence that seemed to know it would be bought at a high price anyway, setting only the basic auction time.

The time during which the amount stayed stagnant grew longer as everyone tested the waters, but it began to soar steeply starting from when less than an hour remained.

-Surpassed 1 billion!-

-It just passed 1.1 billion.

-Crazy. The speed is suddenly getting so fast.

-Because the time limit is approaching.

As the deadline drew near, the auction amount began to skyrocket.

It easily surpassed 2 billion in an instant, and when 10 minutes remained, it began to jump in units of nearly a billion.

-Is this right? Even if it’s a campfire, is it right for an item that might not work on high floors to hit 10 billion?-

-It’s like scratching a lottery ticket.

Even if it doesn’t work, you can use it when training on the mid-floors, and if it does work, you hit the jackpot.

-True, true.

-Units of 10 billion are just a joke to top-tier guilds.

-Worry about yourself instead of worrying about top-tier guild funds.

High-ranking hunters were the ones buying and selling weapons worth tens of billions.

To them, 10 billion?

It was an amount well worth spending.

By the time 5 minutes remained, the names of the highest bidders began to change frequently in increments of hundreds of millions.

It seemed everyone wanted to remain anonymous, participating with animal names or strange nicknames.

Because it passed so quickly, Hunternet was silent, with no posts even about who bid how much.

With less than a minute left, it sprinted through the final stretch, soaring in units of billions again.

And so, the final winner was….

[Sky Mountain: Winning bid of 19.37 billion won!]

Although a nickname was used, it was obvious at a glance who had won the bid.

-Sky Mountain took it.-

-If it’s Sky Mountain… well, they have a lot of money.

-They’ll test it right away, right?

-Yeah.

They’ve always released the performance results after testing new items immediately, so they’ll probably do the same this time.

Just as they expected, Sky Mountain, the number one guild founded by the number one ranked hunter in Korea, went straight into testing.

The results also came out immediately in less than an hour.

[Effective in the 30-floor range.]

As the announcement came out that the safe zone functioned perfectly on the mid-floors, people began to get excited.

[Fire management required in the 40-floor range.]

[Fire management is difficult in the 50-floor range. It appears materials are needed to maintain the campfire’s power.]

In an instant, they announced the results up to the high floors that could be safely verified.

Then, Hunternet went into an uproar.

This was because it was determined that although management was necessary as one went higher, it was effective as long as it was managed well.

-In this case, spending nearly 20 billion wouldn’t be a waste.-

-Re: If they can just find a way to enhance the campfire, they’ve hit the jackpot.

No sooner had those words been spoken than Sky Mountain immediately offered a solution.

[Temporary enhancement is possible with a torch. Continuous fuel supply is also possible through wood smeared with 1st-floor slime mucus.]

When all the experiments were finished just a few hours after the winning bid, a frenzy broke out.

This was because it seemed the campfire would be extremely useful on high floors if it could be used sparingly.

-From the perspective of ‘Anonymous,’ this must be so regrettable.-

-Yeah.

They could have climbed easily…….

-Right.

Sky Mountain is the only one who hit it big.

Hunters were now feeling sorry for Min-hyuk, who had hastily sold the campfire.

In particular, hunters who were conquering the mid-floors and above knew very well how much of a cheat item building a safe zone was, so they felt as much regret as if they had sold it themselves.

In the auction house and on Hunternet, where a storm had just passed, posts filled with envy for the Sky Mountain guild members and pity for ‘Anonymous’ were the main focus.

However, far from feeling regret, Min-hyuk had nothing but a wide smile on his face.

“This is crazy.”

He woke up to find a massive amount of money accumulated.

Since the 1st-floor slime mucus also sold for several million won per kilogram, the total amount combined with the campfire approached nearly 20 billion.

[Would you like to deposit the amount into your Hunter Market account?]

“Yes.”

[The amount, excluding a 2% transaction fee, will be deposited into your Hunter Market account.]

Although a fee was taken, a smile naturally formed on his face as more than 19 billion won was deposited all at once.

Just then, a warning window popped up.

[※ If you move the amount from the Hunter Market account to a real-world account, a 23% tax according to the contract between the system and the Korean government will be deducted and deposited.]

[The Hunter Market account cannot be used in reality. If you wish to link it with a real-world account, please go through the registration process at the Hunter Management Bureau.]

[To save on taxes, please officially register as a hunter with the Hunter Management Bureau.]

[Upon registration, you can receive a partial refund of the deducted amount.]

[If not registered with the Hunter Management Bureau for more than 2 years, part of the deducted tax will be donated to the Hunter Market.]

[If you want additional tax savings, conquer the gate designated by the Hunter Management Bureau….]

[If you want additional tax savings, secure items designated by the Hunter Management Bureau….]

[Additional tax savings….]

The system kindly even informed him of tax-saving methods.

“Tax savings…….”

If he didn’t want to give away money, he either had to obediently inform the state that he was an awakened person or live only using the Hunter Market.

The guidance message was so detailed that one might think it was from the National Tax Service.

In fact, even when hunters first appeared, the system had built an independent society.

However, despite the consideration shown, hunters did not conquer the tower as they were supposed to and instead used the system only to commit crimes.

Actually, it didn’t matter to the system whether the tower was conquered or not.

If they chose to pay the price for not conquering the tower, what could be said?

However, using the system it built for crimes?

Perhaps its pride was wounded, for one day the system officially made a deal with the governments of each country.

It provided a limited connection between the Hunter Management Bureaus and the system.

The idea was to help with registration so the state could manage them and to prevent the system from being abused as much as possible.

Therefore, each country was still doing its best to prevent the system from being abused.

Of course, in the past, some countries stood by and did nothing.

For such countries, the system itself reduced existing benefits, and only then did they come to their senses and cooperate as much as possible so that the hunter system could function properly.

The result of that was the Hunter Market and Hunternet, which were closely connected to the real world.

He pondered for a moment, but soon shook his head and stood up.

He had enough money saved up from working hard.

Moreover, since most daily necessities and food could be handled through the Hunter Market, there wasn’t much need for real-world money.

Therefore, it was enough to think about it later.

“Ugh! For now, shall I try entering the tower?”

When it became possible to repeatedly conquer the 1st floor as time was up, Min-hyuk went straight inside.

Min-hyuk, who slaughtered the slimes much more easily than when he first entered, again listed the byproducts he brought from inside on the auction house.

At the same time, he also listed the campfire set that had brought him a huge sum of money on the auction house.

“The reaction is certainly fast.”

As soon as Min-hyuk listed it, the auction house message board began to blow up.

-What’s with this campfire set?-

-He’s listing it again?

-Was it something you could keep getting?

-This is crazy…….

The auction house message board fell into shock.

With Sky Mountain taking the first campfire set, the auction house, which had become relaxed, began to experience a storm once again.

-We’re taking it this time! Everyone, back off!-

-Nonsense.

It’s us this time.

-Do you even have the money?

We’re collaborating with an overseas guild this time.

-It’s us this time.

You guys take the next one.

For your information, we’ve joined hands with one of the world’s top 10 guilds.

-Everyone, get out!

We have Middle Eastern money.

With the appearance of the second campfire set, major guilds began to appear from the start.

Usually, the auction house firepower tends to decrease from the second time onwards, but this time was different.

Large guilds, having loaded their money with the intention of burning even hotter than the first time, began to rush in fiercely.

Watching that, he smirked.

The worry he had earlier about whether to save on taxes felt futile.

“Whatever, I’ll just pay some tax.”

The word ‘tax’ began to disappear from Min-hyuk’s mind.

The auction price of the campfire, rising in real-time before his eyes, filled that empty space.