Level 1 Player (MT Novel) - Chapter 59

Chapter 59. Auction of Legendary Items

The Chinese government pretended to have nothing to do with what happened.

– This is an arbitrary decision by the top ranchers!

– The Chinese government did not give such an order.

An explanation followed:

– Fallen North Korea is territory without an owner, and South Korea arbitrarily just appropriated it for itself! But this is not an occupation or anti-human action.

Everyone is starting to put the blame where it hurts.

– South Korea, on the contrary, should be grateful to China.

– The Chinese top-rankers laid their lives on the altar to fight the Water Snake, and it was only thanks to them that the monster was already at death’s door. South Korea simply took advantage of this and effortlessly dealt a decisive blow to the monster.

– The Korean government should share all the spoils from the Water Snake with the Chinese government.

Not only did they not compensate or apologize for bringing the monster into foreign territory, but, on the contrary, they now demanded to share the spoils because of their greed!

The whole of Korea was unanimously enraged. Public opinion around the world also left much to be desired, but even so, China continued to press its case.

Protests of all things Chinese in Korea followed. China was turning its people against Korea.

In addition, Korean companies operating in China also began to be pressured, threatening to impose an even higher tax on Korean goods. The import and export of goods from Korea have decreased. They promised that they would start checking all Korean companies in China for law-abidingness, and much more.

This wasn’t the first time there had been all this thuggery, just like before the First Cataclysm. But many things were different from the past. For example, the credibility and stability of the Chinese market – China still hasn’t taken the grooves of progress into their own hands since the Second Cataclysm. They have a huge territory compared to other countries, so the change did not reach all corners of the power. Monsters raged in some parts of China, so factories here and there were forced to suspend operations.

Although the Second Cataclysm brought many problems that affected the whole world. For example, few people were able to return to their previous pace of life or adapt to the new one, which hit the economy very hard. No matter how big the market is, if it is not stable, everything is useless. What good is investing money and building factories, importing and exporting goods if some monsters can freeze an entire economy in a jiffy?

China has always boasted the largest number of Players in the world. And they also maintained the best level of security in the dungeon world with the Aaa level. But they were inferior in spatial gate control skills to the Korean Players, despite their smaller numbers. The security level of the Korean dungeons at that time was two levels below that of the Chinese, Aa2.

The international community could not help but look at China and Korea differently. The security level in the Chinese dungeons instantly dropped to the Baa level, while the security level in the Korean dungeons immediately went up. The Korean dungeons were now Aaa-levels. And after all, not only the level of safety has risen, but also the level of confidence in the country, as the two are related to each other.

Korea, this time having successfully completed a raid on Water Snake, received positive feedback on its Players, who were given the status of the best in the entire world. And now with the disappearance of North Korea, the Achilles heel of what Korea has always been called a country with a temporary armistice has also disappeared.

By reclaiming North Korea’s territory, both its territory and its population have increased. And North Korea’s dungeons proved to be a storehouse of minerals and treasure, immediately increasing their value in the eyes of the Players.

Right now, many financial companies were taking funds and coming to visit Korea in person. A safe country that was able to fend off a surprise monster attack, a country that is making rapid progress. In the case of investors, Korea is simply ideal.

In the end, all of China’s threats toward Korea proved fruitless.

***

After my battle with the Water Snake, I returned to Seoul and diligently restocked merchandise at the buy-sell window.

While I was busy doing this, my sister, Choi Hyun-ji, was keeping an eye on the warehouse of the electronic goods store. It was all littered with huge camping batteries. Not without my help, I decided to buy more this time.

The international society was saying something about the situation in China and Korea, but I was not involved. After all, I’m not a politician or a businessman, but a simple Player.

“Will this have any effect on the purchase of items for the Players?”

* * *

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The entire Special Forces unit that participated in the Water Snake raid was given something special, namely the right to join the auction of items looted from the battle against the Water Snake. The government had already given a reward to everyone who had participated in the battle against this monster, but all that remained was to divide up the loot. Most likely, after the auction was over, some portion of the amount would be transferred to my account.

“How I wish I could buy something…”

But I didn’t have the money for legendary level items, the price of which was likely to reach billions of won.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be stingy.”

I’d already gotten enough after the battle with the Water Snake, which I was quite happy with.

The phone rang. It was Shin Yun Ah.

– Hello.

– It’s Shin Yoon Ah.

– Ah, yes, Yoon Ah. Is there something you need?

– You’re always up to your ears in work. Can’t I disturb you without a special reason? – Even through the phone receiver, I could see her sullenness.

– Of course not. But you have something to do with me, that’s why you called, isn’t it?

– Oh, all right. I need to stop talking. You’re right. I wanted to ask you something, that’s why I called.

– So what’s your question?

– Are you interested in legendary level items?

Shin Yun Ah’s words made my eyes light up.

– Of course! How can you find a Player who isn’t interested in something like that?

– I can help you buy one of those items, Hyun Seong.

– That’s fine, but there’s a condition, right?

– Of course.

– What is it? Is there…?

– Yes, that’s what you’re thinking.

– Is it a contract for life?

Not that.

– The government will do its best to get items from the Water Snake this time. Do you think there are Players who can compete financially with the government?

– But aren’t only the Special Forces squad allowed to participate in the auction?

– That’s why I called you, Hyun Seong. Out of the entire squad, you and I are the only players who report to the Association.

– Then, you, Yoon Ah, could just monopolize everything.

I didn’t understand why she called me and offered to share in it.

– I thought of that too at first… It’s just that one skill doesn’t suit me very well. I think it would suit you, Hyun Seong, much better!

– Can I check the item out before I buy it?

Shin Yoon Ah was the leader of the special squad, so after the battle she took all the items and now knows all the information about them. But we, the other members of the squad, only knew the quantity and type of item.

– Of course. But that would be difficult to do now. It was decided to reveal the item information to all squad members only the day before the auction. Well, to keep things fair. You’ll find out the day before the auction, too.

– Well, I see.

– If the information is revealed too early, there may be those who will try to be lured to their side by other nations.

– I think the poaching has already begun.

– The government is watching.

– Then I’ll give you a definite answer after I’ve seen the subject.

– I will. But I promise you, you won’t regret it!

***

[Black Dragon Punishment (Legendary)]

Active ability: changes any magic to dark magic, attack skill increases dramatically, cure skill decreases dramatically, randomly shoots lightning, no cooldown time.

“Hmm, it looks like a vampire sword.

Gives great power, but with it comes great penalties. The only appealing thing about it is the ability to throw lightning bolts. And that’s the beauty of it. You can summon lightning at will, and on the background of the lack of the need to recharge other penalties pale into insignificance. Even if you use the skill in a certain situation, you don’t have to fumble with it for long.

Water Snake used lightning as rain, occasionally defending herself from enemies with it. It didn’t need to be fixed, just thrown in the right direction.

“How I wish I had this now…”

A vampire sword and a hemolysis sword are one thing, but I couldn’t wait to see what would come out of combining it with the Breath of Thunder and Lightning.

“Is that even possible? Combine heroic and legendary levels?”

Even if it couldn’t, nothing terrible would happen. The Black Dragon skill itself is pretty appealing.

– Surely you don’t want to acquire this skill?

Shin Yoon Ah is a model fighter. Strength, agility, and stamina are all evenly distributed. Yes, willpower and magic are lower, but that’s compared to long-range fighters and healers. But when compared to close-range fighters and tanks, willpower and magic should be higher.

The power demonstrated by Shin Yoon Ah in the Water Snake raid is incredible.

– I have light skills, so my basic skills are tuned accordingly

– А!

Now I get it. The black dragon was changing the properties of magic to dark powers, so the effect of all the basic skills Shin Yoon Ah had mastered before might have just been downgraded. It’s more of a loss than a gain.

– If you, Hyun Seong, refuse to do so, it will most likely be taken over by one of the long-range fighters. The government, using the skill book as bait, wants to catch one person. So decide quickly.

Hearing Shin Yun Ah’s words, I fell into a pensive state for a while.

– If you fulfill one condition of mine, I’ll agree to take it.

– What’s the condition?

– After a while, if I pay an amount identical to the deposit, I can terminate the contract.

– Isn’t that too much?

– If that’s not possible, I just won’t take the skill.

– Then let’s do this: I won’t take an amount identical to the deposit, and from now until the day we terminate the contract, the legal interest rate will drop.

– What’s the interest rate right now?

– Five percent a year.

– Simple interest?

– No, compound interest. And I’m still giving you a good deal.

– That’s what we’ll do.

– That’s the deal. This is the conclusion of a contract. Then I’ll report upstairs and I’ll be right back.

– Thank you for your concern for me.

After the incident with Minister Lee Han Gu, the government and I had some differences of opinion. Because of that incident, I’m probably now considered a Gambler with an unmanageable temper. But now I have a chance to acquire a legendary level skill book. Before, you had to have connections in the government to get one. But I got that chance without them, which means that someone with influence over the government pushed through Soo-hyeok. The only one who could have made such a broad gesture for me was Shin Yoon Ah.

– I didn’t really do anything much.

Smiling at me, Shin Yoon Ah walked out of the office.