Late night, Hunter Association meeting room.
An emergency meeting was convened to discuss the authenticity of and countermeasures for the Rocket Store, which has been heating up the hunter community today.
The atmosphere among the team leaders gathered for the meeting, presided over by the situation room team leader, varied.
Some questioned whether this matter was appropriate for an emergency meeting, while others’ eyes sparkled at the new information.
“Is everyone here? We will begin the meeting. Team Leader Ahn, please start the briefing.”
At the words of Situation Room Team Leader Yun Tae-seong, the Information Team Leader stood up and headed toward the screen.
“As far as the Information Team has determined, we have confirmed that the Rocket Store is indeed real. Please check the relevant data.”
“Additionally, while it is still in the realm of speculation, it is estimated that the Rocket Store only appears under special conditions known as crisis situations. That is all.”
The moment Team Leader Yun Tae-seong took the microphone to lead the main meeting.
Someone spoke up first.
“I’m not sure if this is a matter for an emergency general meeting.”
Team Leader Seo of the Top-tier Raid Support Department spoke up while crossing his arms.
As the leader of the team that supported the Tower raids for Korea’s top-tier hunters, his influence among the team leaders was strong.
“As stated in the report, I acknowledge that the Rocket Store will be helpful to low-rank hunters. However, at the level of simply taking items from the System Store and reselling them, the potential for further development seems, by no means, significant.”
“However—”
“I haven’t finished my sentence yet.”
He cut off Team Leader Yun Tae-seong and continued his argument.
“The top-tier hunters I support rarely face actual crises. Even if they do encounter a crisis situation, it’s not something that can be solved by buying a potion or two. Furthermore, as far as I have personally confirmed, not a single person among the top-tier hunters has experienced the Rocket Store to date.”
The meeting room buzzed at Team Leader Seo’s statement.
They were raising a fundamental question about whether this matter was important enough to require a meeting of team leaders.
But Team Leader Yun remained calm.
— Please be quiet, everyone.
As the voice imbued with mana spread through the microphone, the meeting room fell silent in an instant.
“I believe the Rocket Store is an ability that should not be dismissed as merely a peddler reselling goods.”
Team Leader Yun Tae-seong calmly rebutted Team Leader Seo’s opinion.
“Clearing the top floors of the Tower within the time limit is important, but satisfying the second condition is also a crucial task. In that regard, the Rocket Store will drastically increase the survival rate of low-rank hunters, increasing the possibility of hunters challenging the Tower more than any carrot the Association has provided. And I believe the potential of this ability is more than what Team Leader Seo thinks.”
Team Leader Yun Tae-seong operated his tablet to bring up a new screen.
It was content discovered by a situation room team member who had been monitoring the community right before the meeting.
“This content is not in the meeting materials I distributed. Just before the meeting started, an interesting review was posted in a community. It’s a review about hiring a Barbarian as a mercenary through the Rocket Store.”
The meeting room froze for a moment.
“A Barbarian? Is that for real?”
“Due to time constraints, the Information Team has not yet been able to verify the authenticity, but since similar testimonies exist, we see it as highly credible.”
“It is true.”
As Team Leader Ahn chimed in, murmurs broke out everywhere, and the team leaders who had been questioning the need for the meeting fell into a deep silence.
As if they couldn’t believe Yun Tae-seong’s words, they were reading the review on the screen for themselves.
Team Leader Yun Tae-seong waited a beat until their excitement subsided slightly, then dealt the final blow with a composed voice.
“I believe you all realize what this implies by now. Not only have we confirmed for the first time the existence of these other races that we had only speculated about, but the Rocket Store’s ability to handle them as mercenaries has potential for development beyond what we can even imagine, far exceeding the level of simply buying and selling goods.”
The atmosphere in the meeting room was reversed in an instant.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward Team Leader Seo.
“I’m convinced.”
At Team Leader Seo’s declaration of surrender, the room buzzed for a moment.
Like him, the people who had looked down on the Rocket Store finally realized the fact that this might be a significant key to changing the fate of humanity.
“We must not lose this ability user to overseas interests. Each team, please cooperate fully on this matter. That is all.”
Team Leader Yun concluded the meeting by strongly requesting cooperation while meeting everyone’s eyes.
There were no further objections.
The solemn team leaders nodded wordlessly.
“Team Leader Yun!”
As the meeting concluded and people were about to leave, the door burst open and a subordinate rushed in.
His gaze was fixed only on Team Leader Yun Tae-seong.
“I have an emergency report regarding the Rocket Store!”
At the subordinate’s statement, the people who were about to leave the meeting room flocked to him, unable to suppress their curiosity.
“What’s going on?”
“What is it?”
The subordinate looked troubled by the barrage of questions and looked at Team Leader Yun Tae-seong as if seeking rescue.
Team Leader Yun nodded and said.
“It’s alright. Disclose it to everyone.”
Once Team Leader Yun’s permission was given, the subordinate connected his tablet to the meeting room screen.
“This is information just received, the authenticity of which has been confirmed. It states that hunters who have used the Rocket Store once or more are now able to use the Rocket Store at all times, even when not in a crisis situation.”
The meeting room was once again enveloped in silence.
Disbelief flashed across everyone’s faces.
“What? Is that true?”
Even Team Leader Yun Tae-seong, who had maintained his composure throughout the meeting, could not hide his surprise as his eyes widened slightly.
***
Aside from Kargar’s mercenary hire, I checked the rewards for the other requests.
Narcia’s magic shop ticket, two of the Halfling’s special candy sweet potato pies and the related recipe, and a rare-grade iron sword.
They were all rewards with their own value, but compared to Kargar’s mercenary hire, they looked different than before.
In particular, the one that caught my eye was the rare-grade iron sword, the reward for the Dwarf’s request.
“It’s not bad, but it’s a bit disappointing.”
Certainly, a rare-grade sword would have great value to hunters.
However, compared to the merit of being able to hire a Barbarian as a mercenary, it wasn’t special.
“It lacks that unique something of the Dwarf race.”
A rare-grade sword was an item that could be sufficiently obtained outside even if it weren’t for the Rocket Store.
“This is a bit of a shame.”
The moment I was about to be disappointed, I noticed a small icon blinking in the corner of the screen.
“Reroll chance?”
Out of curiosity, I pressed the icon, and a warning message appeared.
[Would you like to replace this request with another random request? The Mana Stones received as payment will be moved to your inventory.]
My answer was, of course, positive.
Instantly, the screen flashed with a brilliant light.
[Special Request: Give Life to the Dry Roots]
Requester: Dryad
Content: Our World Tree has withered due to the long-parched land. However, the seed containing the final life is still waiting for a warm touch. Please plant this tiny seed in your world.
Reward: World Tree Seed
“A World Tree Seed?”
While working as a porter, I had heard that rarely, things like the fruit of a World Tree were discovered in top-tier rifts.
The value was, of course, infinite.
“But they’re giving something like that for free?”
I slowly read through the new request to see if anything was missing.
Come to think of it, unlike the other requests, the word “Special” was attached to it.
“What’s a special request?”
The moment the question arose, another system message appeared before my eyes.
[! Warning: This is a special request that appears with a rare probability. As the requirements are difficult, the reward becomes rarer. If rejected or rerolled, the request will disappear. Please choose carefully.]
Unlike general requests, there was a warning that the request would disappear forever if rejected or rerolled, and that the reward would be rare because the requirements were difficult.
“But this request isn’t particularly difficult, is it?”
The request to simply plant the World Tree Seed seemed simpler than any request I had received so far.
Deciding to strike while the iron was hot, I accepted the request immediately.
[You have obtained a World Tree Seed as a reward for accepting the special request.]
[Affinity with the Dryad race increases.]
The seed that appeared before my eyes was incredibly ordinary.
It looked no different from any other nut seed.
To the naked eye, it was impossible to tell if it was a special seed.
“Will it look different if I plant it?”
I immediately took out my smartphone and opened a shopping mall app.
I ordered a flower pot, potting soil, and tools to plant the seed.
When the ordered items arrived, I opened the box, assembled the pot, and filled it with potting soil.
“But will a World Tree grow well in my house?”
After finding a suitable spot by the window while entertaining idle worries, I carefully took out the small seed and placed it on top of the soil.
Then I poured a bit of the water I had prepared beforehand.
As soon as the water soaked into the soil, something amazing happened.
With a popping sound, the soil cracked, and a sprout shot up through the gap.
[Congratulations! The ‘World Tree Seed’ has germinated.]
[There is now a possibility of receiving rare requests that require materials related to the World Tree.]
[The Dryad has requested that you grow the World Tree well.]
[When the World Tree grows to a certain level, the Dryad’s follow-up request will occur.]
[The level of the Rocket Store has increased!]
[From now on, hunters who have experience using the Rocket Store even once are granted the authority to use the Rocket Store at all times.]
“Oho!”
Now my store had become a shop that could be opened even when it wasn’t a crisis situation.
But at the same time, I faced a new problem.
“I don’t have anything to sell at all times right now.”
I took a large bite of the hamburger I had ordered for a late-night snack and waited for the quests of the other races to be cleared.
Fortunately, only one glow mushroom was left for the requirement of O’Donnell, the Halfling.
And by the time I had eaten about half of the hamburger.
[The request from O’Donnell, the Halfling Survival Chef, has been successfully completed.]
[As a reward, you have obtained 2 of the Halfling’s special candy sweet potato pies and the related recipe.]
Soon, a box containing the pies and the recipe arrived on the dining table along with the typical rocket attached to a parachute.
“I can eat the pie for dessert once I finish the hamburger. Let me finish the fries first.”
However, I couldn’t help but stop my hand as it reached for the fries.
“What is it? This alluring smell?”
Thump, thump!
The sweet smell wafting from the box containing the pies tickled my nose.
Unable to resist the temptation, I set aside the remaining fries and took out a pie.
[Candy Sweet Potato Pie]
Grade: [Rare]
Category: [Special Dish]
: A dish loved by Halfling children. A dish made with Halfling specialty sweet potatoes with natural sweetness, slowly baked with high-quality fermented butter. The soft and savory taste stabilizes the mood and helps with weak mana circulation.
Setting the description aside, I first took a large bite of the pie.
The outside was baked crisp, and the inside was filled with soft and sweet potato cream.
“This is the real deal.”
The subtle scent of cinnamon powder spread throughout my mouth.
The sweetness touching the tip of my tongue seemed to strangely melt away today’s fatigue.
The warm and soft texture was so good that once I tasted it, I couldn’t stop.
Without realizing it, I ended up polishing off an entire pie in one sitting.
“Phew. I already ate a whole one??”
[The effect of consuming the special dish Candy Sweet Potato Pie has been applied.]
– Mana stat increases by +1 permanently. (Limited to 1 time)
– Maximum mana increases by 250 for the next 6 hours.
My eyes went round.
“What? My stats increase from eating a dish? It’s like some kind of elixir.”
It was something that would make other hunters faint if they found out.
I immediately tried to register the remaining pie on the Rocket Store.
However, just before registration, a new message appeared.
[Warning: This item is a limited item. Only a limited stock will be registered.]
“A limited item?”
I immediately checked the stock quantity.
It was indicated that up to 100 could be registered.
Having already personally experienced the incredible effects of the pie, I didn’t even think about hesitating.
I immediately purchased all 100 pies.
“This will definitely sell like crazy.”
Full of excitement, I registered 100 of the Halfling’s special sweet potato pies on the Rocket Store.
While looking forward to the explosive reaction from hunters that would soon erupt.