“Now that you’ve come all this way and checked the letter, I shall grant you a reward.”
Avison quickly composed his complicated emotions and spoke.
Tracking his son’s traces was a new request; the original task was simply to come here and check the letter.
“In that case, do you happen to know anything about alchemy?”
“Are you asking about the art of alchemy?”
“How did you know?”
“It is obvious. I saw you taking an alchemy cauldron from the Golden Alchemy Furnace not long ago. So, what are you curious about?”
Lee Taeseong first asked if it was possible to replicate the alchemy furnace.
“I tried copying the magic circle on the bottom plate of the furnace as a test. Then I tried infusing it with mana, but it didn’t work at all. I was wondering if there was a problem…”
“Enough!”
Avison shouted before Taeseong could even finish.
“Don’t be ridiculous…! Do you honestly think an engraved magic circle will work just because you copied it?”
“Is that how it works?”
“Anyone who has learned even the basics of magic would know that is impossible!”
Despite Avison’s shouting, Lee Taeseong merely shrugged.
He didn’t feel particularly offended.
‘I’m a Hybrider, though.’
Unless a user was as wealthy in the real world as Jang Xuan, it was impossible for them to enter a Magic Tower from the start.
Therefore, there was no reason to feel inferior for not knowing magic.
At Lee Taeseong’s words, Avison’s face contorted.
“…Dammit. That sounds exactly like what the Flame Emperor used to say.”
A memory from the past flashed through Avison’s mind.
— That fire magic is pretty strong. Do you do it like this?
— Wh-How can you produce such powerful flames…! Don’t tell me you’ve learned magic too?
— No? I just saw it and followed along. I’m a Hybrider; why would I study magic?
The man had been a monster who used his ridiculous talent to modify and use magic he had seen only once in his own way.
It was because of him that Avison had risked his life trying to catch the man while he was still alive.
For a split second, it felt as if he saw the phantom of the Flame Emperor in Lee Taeseong.
“Like master, like disciple… Tsk. Regardless, drawing the magic circle identically won’t make it work. A mage has to activate it personally.”
“Hmm… that’s a shame. Then, is it possible to add security so others can’t use it carelessly? I’d also like to engrave an additional formula to protect it.”
Once word of the alchemy furnace got out, there would surely be forces trying to steal it.
While he intended to take precautions, he wanted to ensure that even if someone took it, they wouldn’t be able to use it.
“Applying a concealment formula should work. It’s not difficult, but that also requires a mage to do it in person.”
“Oh, man.”
“Instead, I can teach you a security formula simple enough for even you to apply. Shall I tell you that much?”
“Yes. Please.”
It wasn’t exactly what he wanted, but it was better than nothing.
‘Maybe I should learn magic myself.’
However, users usually learned magic as skills; they didn’t study and delve into magic formulas.
Therefore, he wasn’t sure if learning it would actually allow him to perform like a real mage in the real world.
‘I’ll have to think about this.’
“By the way, this isn’t the end of the reward, is it?”
“What?”
“You’re not planning to call it even by just teaching me one simple formula, are you?”
“…Fine. Tell me if there’s anything else you want later.”
Avison also knew that teaching one simple formula wouldn’t satisfy the terms of the contract as a proper reward, so he conceded easily.
***
*Pshhh—*
Lee Taeseong logged out of Dream World and emerged.
He left his house and headed toward the factory site.
He had learned how to engrave the security formula from Avison.
Since he believed in striking while the iron was hot, and because it wasn’t that difficult, he planned to get to work immediately.
Upon arriving at the factory, he went straight to where the alchemy furnace was located.
The alchemy cauldron sitting in the corner and its baseplate were engraved with all sorts of magic formulas.
‘He told me to engrave it here.’
Lee Taeseong pulled out a sword and drew a line on one side of the baseplate.
He had been told that engraving the security formula was easy enough for even a non-mage to do.
— Just add one line next to the magic circle and flow a specific pattern of mana that only you know into it.
After that, you just have to input the pattern periodically.
He was told this was the basic security formula for all magic circles.
*Hummm—*
‘Done.’
Lee Taeseong smiled as he finished engraving the pattern and confirmed that the magic circle was functioning normally.
Now, even if it were stolen, the thief wouldn’t be able to use it.
Of course, it would be best if it wasn’t stolen at all, but he would have to think about how to guard against that.
After completing the engraving, Lee Taeseong went to the factory office.
“Oh!? You’re here, Guild Master!”
Kang Wooju, who was busy doing something inside, jumped up and gave a salute.
“Is everything going well?”
“Yes. Thanks to Manager Song’s help, negotiations with the guilds are mostly finished. We just have to adjust the detailed schedules now.”
Under the leadership of Kang Wooju and Song Sangyeop, deals to sell the elixirs to the guilds had been concluded.
The transaction price wasn’t actually a big problem.
No matter how expensive it was, the large guilds could afford to pay any amount.
Additionally, there were medium-to-large guilds that had contacted them after checking the samples a bit later.
They had also expressed their desire to purchase.
“We’re going to be swimming in money now!”
How many guilds had reached such a path to success so quickly after their founding?
Unless they were created through sponsorship from a major corporation, it was safe to say there were none.
“That’s good.”
Lee Taeseong grinned.
Now, all they needed was to enable mass production.
Lee Taeseong didn’t intend to sell this elixir only in Korea; he planned to sell it to every Hunter in the world.
Once the effectiveness was proven domestically, rumors would slowly spread, and then all sorts of guilds would come running with piles of cash.
Furthermore, this was only the beginning.
‘Because there aren’t just lowest-grade elixirs!’
Later, as his influence in Dream World grew, he would be able to bring out things like low-grade alchemy furnaces or mid-grade alchemy furnaces.
Once the Hunters got a taste of the elixirs, they would be trapped in this infinite chain and unable to move!
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Oh, it was nothing. I’m the Vice Guild Master; I just did what I had to do.”
Kang Wooju thought that doing this kind of work was only natural if he wanted to learn under a super genius.
Just then, a thought popped into Lee Taeseong’s head.
“Ah, that’s right. By the way, do you know anything about Dimensional Barrier Fragments?”
He pulled out something that looked like a transparent shard of glass.
It was an item he had obtained as a special reward from a mission not long ago.
He had meant to ask about its use, but he had missed the timing because the large-scale guild masters had swarmed him.
“Hmm… let’s see? It’s the first time I’ve seen it, too.”
Kang Wooju tilted his head as he stared at it for a long while.
Although he had entered the Hunter world a bit earlier than Lee Taeseong, he had never heard of such a thing.
“Wouldn’t Manager Song know if you asked him? He’s still at the factory.”
“Oh, really?”
Taeseong thought he had returned to the Association, but apparently not yet.
Thinking this was a stroke of luck, Lee Taeseong went to find Song Sangyeop immediately.
He was getting some fresh air outside the factory site.
“Manager.”
“Ah, Hunter Lee. You’ve arrived?”
“Thank you for helping us out this time.”
“Haha. If the Taeseong Guild does well, it means the Association is doing well. I simply did my job.”
The role of the National Hunter Association was to ensure the overall growth of domestic Hunters.
That was why they had stepped up to help this time.
If the elixirs were sold, the guilds that bought them would grow, and Lee Taeseong’s guild would grow alongside them as the seller.
No one lost out.
“It was such a large transaction that my hands were shaking when the deals were being signed. That’s why I was out here catching my breath for a moment.”
“You went through a lot of trouble.”
“I’ll organize everything into a document later so it’s easy for you to review.”
“You can leave that to Wooju. I feel bad for imposing on you any further. Also, I came to see you because I have something to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Do you happen to know what this is?”
Lee Taeseong pulled out the Dimensional Barrier Fragment, just as he had shown Kang Wooju earlier.
“!!!”
Song Sangyeop’s reaction was entirely different from Kang Wooju’s.
He jumped back, looking as startled as a human being could possibly be.
“Wh-Where did you get this?”
“I got it as a special reward from a mission.”
“Already? Which mission was it?”
“The twentieth one.”
“Wait… when did you even get that far…?”
Song Sangyeop wore a stunned expression.
He had successfully completed the twentieth mission?
Even for the best rookie of the year, his progress was far too fast.
Kang Wooju, who was the best rookie of last year, had only just completed his twentieth mission not long ago!
Moreover, the Dimensional Barrier Fragment was even more shocking.
“It’s surprising enough that you cleared the twentieth mission… but it’s even more incredible that this appeared already when it’s not supposed to show up yet.”
“Is it something good?”
Lee Taeseong asked with anticipation.
Why was the man making such a fuss over something that looked like an ordinary shard of glass?
“It’s good, all right. For ranker-class Hunters, anyway.”
“?”
“This… I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you right now. There is an international agreement to keep such matters confidential. May I contact you after I report to my superiors and have a meeting?”
Was this one item really that significant?
Since there was no rush, Lee Taeseong nodded.
“Yes. Please do that.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Since we’re together, I’ll spend my Score now as well.”
He had accumulated a lot of Score by completing five missions in a row.
He hadn’t been able to use them yet because of the elixir sales, but he decided to spend them all while he was here.
Manager Song Sangyeop was still handling the purchase of items from the Score Shop on his behalf.
Now that the guild had hired people, this work would eventually be transferred over, but for now, he intended to process the orders through Song Sangyeop.
“Yes. Please proceed.”
Song Sangyeop nodded, and Lee Taeseong opened the Score Shop to purchase the items ordered by various corporations one by one.
Semiconductors, vehicles, batteries, electrical devices, and more.
Score Shop items imbued with supernatural power were integrated into all sorts of fields.
When supernatural power was combined with Earth’s advanced technology, it produced unbelievable performance.
Since he had completed five consecutive missions this time and had nearly 300,000 points, he was able to purchase a large quantity.
It was while he was focused on his shopping for a long while that…
*Ding!*
[The cumulative Score used has exceeded 500,000 SC.]
[Skill ‘Dream’ has been activated.]
[The Dream Shop inventory has been replenished.]
[Items in the Dream Shop have been unlocked.]
[Make your dreams a reality.]
‘It’s here!’
Lee Taeseong was startled.
It had been a long time since the skill ‘Dream’ had activated.
He had been disappointed when nothing happened after he reached a cumulative 200,000 points last time, but it had finally triggered at 500,000!
Furthermore, this time wasn’t a simple inventory restock.
‘It said items were unlocked? Does that mean the items marked with question marks have been revealed?’
Previously, the Dream Shop had nothing but the Dream Materialization Rune.
With a pounding heart, Lee Taeseong opened it immediately.
[Dream Shop Purchase List]
– Dream Materialization Rune (Stock: 5)
– Dream Item Duplication Rune (Stock: 1)
– ???
– ???
[Dream Shop Exclusive SC: 24]
He quickly scanned the items.
The inventory for the Materialization Rune had been replenished, but that wasn’t what was important right now.
‘Dream Item Duplication Rune.’
Could this be…?