UTC 15

Chapter 15

Having emerged from the pocket dimension, I began searching for the supplies I needed.

“Luckily, they’re not too expensive…?”

Most of the items could be easily obtained from the tower.

However, acquiring them by myself on foot seemed difficult.

Most of them required going to specific floors, and since I had just started clearing the 11th floor, it seemed unlikely I could get them on my own.

I roughly calculated the cost based on market prices.

“30 billion…?”

Individually, the items didn’t seem very expensive, but collectively, they were astronomically costly.

I had been happy earning 10 billion, and now the expenditure was three times that.

This didn’t even account for the money needed for magic crystals or drone production, which made me sigh deeply.

“In that case, I guess I’ll have to rely on monster byproducts after all.”

If I couldn’t make enough money from disposing of monster byproducts…

I might have no choice but to leave the city unattended for a while.

Neia wouldn’t like it, but without money, there was nothing that could be done.

“For now, with this 10 billion… let’s buy the materials for drone production and crafting, and the magic crystals.”

I was about to prepare to go out when I hesitated.

“Hm… would that look a bit suspicious?”

Officially, I was a player who had only just awakened fifteen days ago.

And yet, here I was, suddenly buying large amounts of rare minerals and magic crystals.

“Anyone would find that suspicious…”

Neia couldn’t pinpoint me immediately.

But once suspicion arose, it would only take a moment for it to catch up to me.

Of course, Lucid operated under basic secrecy principles.

Since it was just a site that facilitated handovers and acted as a mediator, without requiring real-name accounts, there was little chance of being tracked.

But the current situation was distinctly different.

As I pondered a good approach, a face came to mind.

“Baek Jinseong… now that I think about it, he’s an option, isn’t he?”

After roughly a day of calculating my expenses, I headed back to Neia.

When I reached the Core Center, a massive amount of byproducts was loaded onto carts.

“Carrying all this in the inventory would be impossible…”

Each item was stored in stacks of 99, but the basic inventory space was extremely limited.

“Can’t be helped, huh? Neia, can you move this just to the front of the mid-slope there?”

That’s the advantage of a pocket dimension:

You can take out what you need, when you need it.

If I moved it just near the entrance, I could discreetly carry it into the inventory bit by bit.

After confirming the byproducts were loaded near the entrance, I spoke to Neia.

“Start producing the drones. As for the Seaz Runner, postpone production until more resources come in, and focus on the others first. Can you handle that?”

『Yes, that is simple.』

As a temporary measure, I handed magic crystals to Neia from my inventory.

30 lowest-grade and 40 lower-grade crystals.

Combined with the remaining energy, it would be enough to run the factory for about three days.

At the same time, I sent Baek Jinseong a letter specifying only the meeting place and purpose.

The next day, when I arrived at the destination, Baek Jinseong greeted me energetically.

“Welcome, sir!”

“Yes, I have a first request for you.”

“Yes! I won’t disappoint! You want me to get some items for you, right?”

I nodded and handed over the item list.

“By the way, is your broadcast on right now?”

“The broadcast… is on.”

“I see. Then our conversation is being transmitted too, right?”

“Yes.”

I spoke to the camera.

“Selling monster byproducts. The list is as follows.”

I handed only about a third of the byproducts to Baek Jinseong and returned to my room.

“If I were there, it would just cause unnecessary commotion.”

People would gather to see me rather than the items.

I had no desire to be a clown, and it would obviously interfere with the sale, so I stayed out of it.

Then I monitored the situation through Baek Jinseong’s broadcast.

He began with the first item.

『These are Lava Hound claws. Sold in stacks of 99, price: 5,000 gold. Anyone interested?』

Lava Hound.

A dog-shaped monster from the 40th floor, with tough hide and fire attributes.

The claws were strong and sharp, often used as crafting materials.

• How does Neia have Lava Hound claws?
• I know she’s still a 10th-floor player.
• Is she crazy? She has 99 of them, so she couldn’t have obtained them from hunting.

When Baek Jinseong revealed the claws, viewers were astonished.

The black claws sparkled like obsidian.

• Huh? What’s this? The quality is amazing.
• I’d believe it if someone said they were freshly harvested.
• No way, I have to buy this.

One viewer rushed out.

A player originally from the 40th floor personally traveled to Peronta to buy the item.

High-floor players rarely venture into neutral zones.

The reason was penalties.

Each neutral zone crossed incurred a 10% stat penalty.

The penalties were temporary, disappearing upon returning to the original floor, but high-level players usually had expensive gear, making them cautious.

Players would sometimes exploit weaker players, so they avoided unnecessary risk.

Another reason high-level players avoided lower neutral zones:

They couldn’t repeatedly farm floors unsuitable for their level.

Going down to help or assert influence was difficult, so there was no reason to appear.

『Huh?』

The viewer who received the item was shocked.

He rubbed his eyes and double-checked the items he had received.

『What’s the matter?』
『Jinseong… no, Mr. Jinseong. Is… is there more of this?』
『There is, actually.』
『I’ll buy it all.』

The player’s sudden action sparked curiosity among other viewers.

• Why is he acting like that?
• Is there something special?
• Huh? He’s sitting down there.
• I have to check it out too.
• I’ll go too.

Even I, watching through the broadcast, was amazed.

I opened the pocket dimension and checked the inventory.

Was there something special?

【Lava Hound Claw】

• Grade: C
• Has a chance to inflict burn on the target

Reluctantly, I used my phone to check a community for detailed information.

And then I understood the difference.

“No way… it originally didn’t have burn ability?”

It was different from the materials I had obtained from boxes before.

“What’s the difference? Because it’s directly processed or obtained as byproducts?”

It wasn’t just that.

If it were a difference from the source, materials from South America, where Eclipse was based, should have had these special options too.

I checked hunting videos of Lava Hounds on MTube just in case.

Then I immediately understood.

“The appearance is slightly different.”

I didn’t know exactly why.

The ones I had seen yesterday through the hologram were bigger and had more elaborate hides.

Whatever the reason, Baek Jinseong’s byproduct sale attracted a flood of viewers.

Peronta was instantly crowded with spectators.

Baek Jinseong scratched his head in confusion.

『No more Lava Hound claws?』
『Sell me some too, even in small quantities.』
『Let me at least take a look.』
『Showing it… well, here it is…』

When Baek Jinseong placed one sample on the display, people’s eyes lit up.

One viewer exclaimed in surprise.

『I’ll pay double, so 10,000 gold for a stack of 99!』
『Hey, don’t cut in line! I’ll take one too!』
『Sorry, this is the last set of claws for today.』

Baek Jinseong was stunned at the gold piling up in the inventory.

Other items remained, and yet an enormous sum had accumulated.

4 billion…?

『Next item.』

Viewer chat exploded.

No doubt, another extraordinary hide had appeared.

• Wow, this time it’s hide.
• The hide’s amazing too.
• That guy’s buying again? Is he rich?

『Lava Hound hide. Selling in stacks of 10, same price.』

As soon as Baek Jinseong showed the item, bidding began.

『I’ll pay 5,000 gold!』
『What? I’ll pay 10,000! Sell it to me!!』

Even without seeing up close, the claws’ fame ensured a successful sale.

After selling even the bone fragments, Baek Jinseong scratched his cheek while watching the ecstatic viewers.

『Yes… I’ll sell the same items again tomorrow. Interested viewers, come by.』

Watching Baek Jinseong’s sale until the end, I was quite shocked.

I had estimated that selling all byproducts would bring in only 20 billion if fully sold.

Yet, with these special effects revealed, it seemed I could easily make more than double that.

Even after using the proceeds to restore the city, I’d have at least several billion left.

“They say death isn’t guaranteed…”

I was already imagining filling up resources with the surplus.

Ding—

A notification popped up.

[Special assembly activated.]
[Congratulations, 1 newly created drone has awakened a special power.]

“Hmm?”