Chapter 32: The Lavish Giver (1)

I gazed wistfully in the direction Iratu had vanished, then continued, “For now, you should focus on recovering mentally and getting some rest.”

After all, he’ll be dying plenty as my meat shield, trap detector, and bait in the days to come.

If that’s the case…

Manager Mi, who had been speechless with shock, finally managed to utter a single sentence:

After constructing the Cursed Spirit and dispelling Iratu’s staff, I spent the next two days resting, abstaining from any significant activity. The process had once again consumed a considerable amount of Mana. Moreover, Seo Yeon-hwa had been injured during the dispelling ritual, forcing me to rely solely on natural regeneration for recovery, which took quite some time.

Even after two full days of rest, I still needed to recover 80 more Mana. It was becoming clear that having an enormous Mana pool wasn’t always an advantage.

“Hmm… Taegoon-nim must be struggling with this too,” Manager Mi remarked, pulling up the chat window beside me.

“Even barely maintaining the Status Window Synchronization Rate is tough enough, and now you need at least two days of rest after every battle.”

She had a point.

I lowered my gaze to check the bottom of the Status Window.

Although my individual stats haven’t increased in the past 14 days, my Synchronization Rate has risen by 5%. This is thanks to acquiring a new Skill. The Synchronization Rate increases whenever the user grows stronger.

It won’t be difficult to raise the remaining 5% within the time limit.

But I have another goal in mind.

Time remaining until Special Reward eligibility: 16 days

If I achieve the Synchronization Rate goal faster than the remaining time, I’ll unlock a special quest to upgrade one of the Status Window’s functions.

To obtain this, I need to move a little faster.

And perhaps this Special Reward will reappear when the next Synchronization Rate target is set.

As my level increases, my growth will naturally slow down.

Achieving my Synchronization Rate goal would inevitably take longer than expected.

“Considering that,” I muttered, “I need to minimize the time it takes to recover Mana as much as possible.”

I nodded.

Activating the Parsley Market in my Status Window, I muttered, “That’s why I’ve been looking into Mana Cultivation Scrolls.”

Mana Cultivation is a passive Skill that enhances the natural regeneration rate of Mana. It can be acquired through either natural awakening or a Skill Book.

However, even A-class Hunters have less than a 1% chance of awakening it naturally.

As for Skill Books, obtaining one is like plucking stars from the sky, and their prices start at a minimum of 10 billion coins.

I searched the Parsley Market, but…

“The sellers here are all like this…”

It wasn’t easy to find what I needed, even here. Mana recovery skills seemed to be considered high-tier magic, and for some reason, only arrogant, haughty mages were selling the scrolls. Even when I tried to negotiate politely, the prices were absurdly high, making them impossible to afford.

Honestly, I thought the coins I had were a considerable amount.

I had 1,050 Coins, replenished with High-grade Essence Stones obtained from hunting Cursed Spirits. Adding the single Mid-Grade Magic Stone I’d saved from the last recharge brought my total to 1,248 Parsley Coins, including the 98 I already had.

Furthermore, this recharge leveled up my “Growing Shopping Addict” trait, even though no skills were triggered. From the next recharge onward, I’d have a 10% chance to earn an additional 10% bonus coins.

For a fleeting moment, I felt as if I’d conquered the world.

But the reality was that even with this amount, buying a single Skill Book was still out of reach.

“The world truly belongs to the wealthy,” I sighed.

To be precise, they weren’t people, but beings.

I muttered to myself as I scrolled through a post titled “Ultra-Luxury Dragon Lair for Rent: 3.56 Billion Coins per Month (Management Fees Included).”

“It’s okay, Taegoon-nim!” Manager Mi patted me on the shoulder. “You’ll be a multi-billionaire soon enough, if not a multi-millionaire!”

“You think so?”

“Of course! With your personality rivaling even that of a Black Dragon, it’s definitely possible!”

Is that a compliment or an insult?

“Come to think of it, has anyone commented on that post yet?” Manager Mi asked.

“That one?”

“The one you posted on Parsley’s Pen Palogue!”

Ah, right.

The jet-black crystal I’d discovered in a hidden chamber of the Demon Sealing Cave.

Two days ago, I posted a question about the crystal’s purpose on the community forum, “Parsley’s Pen Palogue.”

“It definitely wasn’t there this morning,” I muttered.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected much. Parsley’s Pen Palogue seemed more like a repository for rambling, stream-of-consciousness drivel than a reliable source of information. It was a digital dumping ground for idle thoughts.

“Still, might as well bump the thread, just in case,” I muttered, checking the forum.

“Huh?”

My eyes widened.

[ Anyone know the purpose of this crystal? Please comment! ] +1

A bright red “+1” had been added.

“Yeah, right,” I muttered.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected anyone to reply at all.

I quickly checked the post.

Hmm, could this person really know something?

Still, I couldn’t blindly trust them. The ID and the whole thing seemed rather suspicious.

I retrieved the draft sale post from my temporary listings.

The pyramid-shaped crystal still emitted an ominous glow.

Holding it up, I asked Manager Mi, “What should I do?”

Alright, just having a conversation wouldn’t hurt.

Returning to the post, I searched for the ID “Star-Shaped Demon Ball.”

Soon, a single sale post with no items listed popped up.

I immediately tapped the post to open the chat.

Star-Shaped Demon Ball: Yykkkk. Well, here’s the thing…

I stared intently at the Status Window, my eyes sparkling with anticipation. This item was so rare that even the advanced analysis function of the Current Status Window couldn’t decipher it. It must be something exceptionally scarce across all dimensions.

But then…

A gambling item? I stood still, unable to immediately grasp the meaning.

The Star-Shaped Demon Ball opened the chat window again.

Now I understood why the Current Status Window wasn’t displaying any information about the Crystal. It simply lacked the ability to analyze it.

Well, let’s ask a few questions then.

An abysmal probability. Even in the worst gacha games, the initial enhancement success rate is usually around 80-90%.

And then there’s me, Lee Taejun…

Throughout his 27 years, this man had never experienced good luck in any game of chance, be it gacha pulls or item enhancements.

Naturally, the probability of his first enhancement attempt ending in spectacular failure was overwhelmingly high.

With a quiet sigh, he typed into the chat window:

Just as he was about to exit the chat after expressing his gratitude, Star-Shaped Demon Ball typed:

Well, at this point, he had nothing to lose. He might as well go for it.

Star-Shaped Demon Ball: [ Wait a moment. This item has incredible potential, so you’ll need special materials for enhancement. ]

Suddenly, a notification chimed, and the other player registered an item.

The image in the chat window showed a pinch of jet-black powder, resembling graphite.

Tapping the image brought up the item’s information and its average market price on the Parsley Market:

“Five thousand Coins per gram?”

That was an astronomical price.

In real-world terms, it would be equivalent to 500 million won (approximately $400,000 USD) per gram.

And since there were none currently available on the market, the price was essentially whatever anyone was willing to pay.

Naturally, I had no intention of wasting my precious Coins on risky enhancements.

Besides, I didn’t even have 5,000 Coins to begin with.

“I don’t have enough Coins to pay for something like this.”

The Star-Shaped Demon Ball chuckled.

In reality, the item only cost 1 Coin—the minimum price set by the Parsley Market to prevent free giveaways.

He’s actually giving it to me for free.

The Remnant didn’t seem harmful either. If it were dangerous, my Status Window would have automatically warned me.

Immediately afterward, a dimensional portal opened beneath my Status Window, and a small cloth pouch popped out. I grabbed it and peeked inside.

Inside was a single, pitch-black diamond, no larger than a millet seed. It appeared to be made from processed graphite, the same material used in the drawing.

Following the Demon Ball’s instructions, I touched the tip of the triangular pyramid-shaped crystal.

Click.

The tip flipped back, revealing a perfectly sized hole, just big enough for a single Remnant.

I glanced briefly into the crystal’s pitch-black interior.

Then, I dropped the Remnant I was holding into the hole.

Immediately afterward, nothing seemed to change.

But about five seconds later…

Woooong-

“Oh.”

A faint light began to emanate from within the crystal, accompanied by a gentle vibration. The intensity was comparable to a smartphone on silent mode.

Another five seconds passed.

Pshh.

With a soft hiss, like air escaping, the vibration ceased. The faint purple glow vanished as if it had never been there.

”…Well, figures,” I muttered bitterly. From every angle, it was clear the enhancement had failed.

Yet…

First successful enhancement of a gamble item!

The Status Window popped up immediately afterward.

Remarkable Growth (S) activated!

Huh?