Swordmaster Healer - Episode 74
TL: Boko
Editor: Ren
Chapter 25: Item Get! (1)
Though the Hunter Bureau attempted to control the spread of information, an S-rank Hunter was much too prominent for them to do so; therefore, Cha Kyu Tae's death had been spread throughout Hunter.com and the press all in one go.
Rather than 'Unlimited Power', his other title, 'Self-Defense' had returned.
Due to the Hunter Bureau's efforts, Sung Joon didn't have to go through any troublesome ordeals. Though he was requested for interviews, he refused them all.
[That asshole Cha Kyu Tae. Just because he was an S-rank Hunter, he did all the crimes imaginable. But look at him now.]
[I knew he would eventually die like this. It's karma.]
[Is this the emergence of a supernova? Haha!]
The internet reaction was hot. There was no one mourning Kyu Tae's death and most people assessed Sung Joon favorably.
The Korean government was silent regarding this incident of 'self defense'. As there was a high possibility that Sung Joon would become the next S-rank Hunter, they couldn't help but be careful around him.
There was also the fact that Kyu Tae's behavior had been unacceptable until now.
"Are you going to the training center?" Rishubalt asked, watching Sung Joon finish eating and hurriedly getting ready to go out.
However, Sung Joon shook his head.
"No, I'm going to the auction house today. I have to level up," Sung Joon replied.
"I see," Rishubalt said, nodding his head.
His 'level up' referred to increasing his auction house membership rank.
His Hunter sedan had already been fully repaired, so he thought he'd start to 'move'. After he was finished with his business at the auction house, he planned to make a stop at the Dungeon Bureau and schedule a B-rank dungeon solo play.
When Sung Joon had reached a 30% synchronization rate, Rishubalt had told him that he was qualified to enter the next Awakening Dungeon.
"It's not bad," Sung Joon said to himself, examining the state of his returned and repaired Hunter sedan.
The maintenance was complete, though he didn't perform a thorough inspection.
It seemed like Hyun Sung had used skilled mechanics as Sung Joon couldn't find any damaged areas. Because of that, Sung Joon sat in the driver's seat, feeling great.
The auction house wasn't far, so it didn't take long before he arrived at the auction house.
"Have a nice day."
Sung Joon was greeted by the guard as he entered the auction house. He had come in order to raise his membership rank, so he checked the screen built into the wall and found the auction that would be starting soonest.
There was an auction that would starting in ten minutes.
'It's action house number four.'
Since he knew where it was, he didn't need to ask the information desk clerk, so he started to walk towards it.
"The auction will be starting soon!"
He went inside auction house number four and sat down in a chair; immediately after, the MC raised his microphone and his voice rang out through the speakers.
As he waited for the auction to start, Sung Joon examined his surroundings.
Although the auction would start soon, excluding Sung Joon, there were only four other people there.
'There are unusually not a lot of people today.'
Sung Joon was suspicious, but didn't brood on it. If the competition wasn't fierce, there'd be a high possibility that the items' prices wouldn't be very high.
"You've waited for a long time! We'll soon start the auction!" the MC said, bringing the microphone to his mouth.
Sung Joon used the tablet laid before him to thoroughly inspect the items that would be sold at the auction.
'Are they combat boots?'
Rather than ordinary shoes, they looked more like combat boots. It seemed like it was design that he'd seen somewhere before in his memories, since it was an item from the other world.
"I don't exactly remember where it belongs, but it's similar to what a certain special forces in the Empire uses," Rishubalt said.
Sung Joon nodded his head. The tablet also had a bit of information regarding the auctioned items, so he was able to check.
[Unknown Shoes.]
rank.
Unknown.
The only thing he could grasp immediately was its rank.
While Sung Joon was perusing the tablet for information on the item, the MC roughly explained the outward appearance of the item. Due to the energy from the other world, appraisal was impossible, so he didn't explain the item's abilities or anything like that.
"Let's begin the auction! The starting bid will be $20,000!"
The bid started gently at $20,000. Sung Joon just waited without pressing the bell, but there wasn't a single person who made the first bid.
It wasn't that they were watching each other and waiting for the other to make the first move. The others looked as if they were simply onlookers who came to the auction.
Ultimately, Sung Joon pressed the bell first and his bid was transmitted through the tablet.
No one had bid, so the embarrassed standing MC excitedly yelled out. "We have $21,000! Do we have another?"
'I won…'
They must've really been mostly spectators as the next bid didn't come easily. Just as Sung Joon was assured of his successful bid however…
"We have $23,000!"
Someone had pressed their bell and bid. That sum wasn't small, either. However, he had actually felt that it was unusual for there to be no other bid, so without being flustered Sung Joon calmly pressed his bell, transmitting his bid.
"We have $25,000! Do we have another?" the MC excitedly yelled. It seemed as though the other bidder had been waiting for this and they pressed their bell, transmitting their bid.
"We have $26,000!"
Due to its crude appearance, the MC hadn't had any expectations for the item, but there was a fierce competition brewing; so the MC, as well as the spectators, obviously looked excited.
The auction house was getting heated. At once, the bid had raised to $30,000. Sung Joon was still relaxed, but the young man that sat far from him looked grave.
It seemed as if the young man hadn't expected that Sung Joon would compete with him.
"Ugh…"
The man shook his head furiously. It seemed like he didn't have enough money. Ultimately, he left the auction house.
"Do we have another? $31,000 is the winning bid! Congratulations!"
In the end, Sung Joon made the winning bid. The others looked satisfied from the sight and left the auction house. The workers approached the last remaining individual, Sung Joon, in order to give him his bid item.
"Congratulations, Customer!"
As soon as he showed them his membership card, the MC congratulated him and passed him the item.
'Since he isn't really saying much, I must have a long way to go before I can enter the VIP auction house where they sell S-rank items…'
After he put his disappointment behind him, Sung Joon departed from the auction house.
On the way back to the parking lot, Rishubalt had gotten close to the shoes that Sung Joon had successfully bid on, and sifted through his memories; at the end of it, he responded with a voice mixed with certainty.
"It seems really old, but they're definitely combat boots from the Imperial Army. But they're a bit different from the norm, so… it seems as though they were used in the Special Forces," Rishubalt said.
Sung Joon replied, "Yeah, I think I remember too. I don't know from where, but it should be something that the Special Forces used."
Sung Joon put his hand on the wheel and drove back to his studio apartment. He finished parking his car and returned to his room. He laid out a thick cloth on the wide table and put the combat boots on top of it.
"Rishubalt."
Sung Joon hadn't explained, but Rishubalt understood his order.
- Verifying the existence of a new item.
Rishubalt spread his mana from his outstretched hand and Sung Joon's raised measuring tool responded. The other world energy had disappeared.
Sung Joon utilized the measuring tool's appraisal feature.
[Imperial Army Pan-Dimensional Task Force's Combat Boots]
rank.
Verifying Blink effect.
It had the Blink effect.
"Was this used by the Pan-Dimensional Task Force?"
Sung Joon examined the combat boots in detail. It seemed as if it had been used a long time ago as it was really battered and he couldn't find the crest of the Pan-Dimensional Task Force.
"Blink is a high-rank magic. Although it consumes a lot of mana, it will allow you to leave a dangerous area much more rapidly than high-speed movement," Rishubalt explained. Sung Joon nodded his head.
In fact, he'd needed a method to escape the battlefield in an emergency.
Even if he was injured, as long as he widened the distance between him and his enemy, Sung Joon was a monster that would be able to fight in perfect condition within ten minutes.
'With this, I'll be able to fight a bit more efficiently.'
Sung Joon smirked.
"Congratulations, my lord."
"Yeah, thanks."
After he nodded his head, Sung Joon went into his room and turned on his computer. He had suddenly become curious of how much an item with a blink ability cost.
Rishubalt, who had recently become familiar with the internet, also seemed curious, as he silently approached the side of the monitor.
When he searched Hunter.com for information on items with a blink ability, there was a list of information regarding the market price. When he found it, Sung Joon was completely astonished.
"The cheapest one is $10 million…?"
The cheapest item that had a blink ability looked like shoes and cost $10 million. He had expected that it would be pricey, but Sung Joon couldn't help but be astounded at the price, which had surpassed his expectations.
"Congratulations, my lord."
Rishubalt congratulated him once again.
In other words, Sung Joon had bought an item that cost $10 million for $30,000. Sung Joon's body lightly shook from the bubbling joy.
"This is… not bad…"
Sung Joon smirked.
Rather than a simple collection, it felt like he had scratched a lottery scratcher with a high chance of winning. Especially since it felt like he had won the first place prize.
"Rishubalt."
"Please speak, my lord," Rishubalt replied. Sung Joon turned his gaze towards Rishubalt.
"Let's test it."
Sung Joon was as excited as a kid who had just been bought a new toy.
A few days later, he got an appointment for a C-rank dungeon solo play. With his rank and his rating, Sung Joon would even be able to solo a B-rank dungeon, but in order to test his combat boots item, he chose the lower difficulty C-rank dungeon.
He planned to test the blink ability inside the Boss Room and then enter the Awakening Dungeon.
"You can go in now."
Sung Joon showed the standby Dungeon Bureau worker his Hunter's License and after the verification procedure was finished, he entered the dungeon.
He followed behind his drone and as he energetically walked through the dungeon, monsters appeared.
Despite the fact that a group of Orcs had emerged, Sung Joon rushed forward without stopping. The instant he passed by them, the Orcs spurted blood and fell.
Sung Joon advanced without ceasing, eventually arriving at the Boss Room.
The Boss was an Ogre and there were no minions.
"This seems like a great environment to test your blink," Rishubalt said, and Sung Joon nodded his head.
Then Sung Joon approached the Ogre, slowly closing the distance between him and the Boss.
The Ogre had noticed Sung Joon and started running towards him.
The Ogre shrieked and when it swung its huge battle axe, Sung Joon drew his mana and opened his mouth.
"Blink."
Sung Joon disappeared. The Ogre swung his battle axe where Sung Joon had just been, but Sung Joon had already disappeared, so the Ogre ended up swinging through air.
The Ogre was taken aback. Sung Joon appeared behind him. He swung his sword and his blade cut deeply into the back of the Ogre's neck.
Koong!
The Ogre weakly fell.
- Verifying assault, measurement complete. C-rank dungeon, clear.
The measuring tool responded.
After Sung Joon had absorbed the mana from the Ogre's corpse, he gathered the magic stone and put it into his dimensional pouch.
"How do you feel about its performance?"
"The casting speed is fast, but mana consumption is huge. I should avoid using it unless it's a dangerous situation."
Sung Joon gave a calm assessment of the combat boots item's ability, 'Blink'. It seemed like he would use it when he wanted to escape and reorganize himself or when he wanted to deliver a deathblow.
"Are you opening the Awakening Dungeon?" Rishubalt asked, and Sung Joon smirked.
"Of course I am."
//