Chapter 53: Precious Artifact Hall (2)

“You’re Taejun, right?”

I was currently wearing the Human Skin Mask, which drastically altered my appearance from the one revealed during my recent B-rank assessment.

But as expected, Che Yerim, the co-CEO of Shinwa and an S-Class Hunter, smiled warmly and continued, “You’re wearing something fascinating on your face. It doesn’t seem like a regular mask. Anyone who saw you would think you were a completely different person.”

She stepped out of the limousine.

“Secretary Yoon, return to headquarters immediately and bring my brother to Gangnam. He has an interview scheduled for ‘Hunter of the Day.’ It’s time we started exposing that brat to the media. How long is he going to keep spouting that outdated Bushido nonsense?”

“Understood, President.”

“Report him immediately if he tries to slack off.”

Vroom.

As the limousine disappeared from sight, Che Yerim, dressed in a sharp business suit, turned with effortless grace.

Her puppy-like features were undeniably charming.

A pristine white hand extended toward me.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Che Yerim.”

“Thank you for coming all the way here despite your busy schedule.”

“Not at all. I was the one who suggested we meet in the first place.”

That was true.

“I’ve been wanting to meet Taejun in person for a while now. Even before your impressive performance in the Cursed Territory expedition, I’d heard stories about you from my brother and Seonah.”

“Ah.”

“Shall we head inside, then?”

With that, Che Yerim and I began walking through the surprisingly quiet shopping mall.

A short while later, we found ourselves in the elevator ascending to the top floor.

Che Yerim, who had been quietly observing me, suddenly tossed out a playful remark.

“Taejun, you’re definitely more ordinary than I expected. Oh, I don’t mean that in a bad way.”

The Shinwa Co-CEO tapped her lips thoughtfully, her expression intrigued.

“It’s just… I thought you’d exude some kind of extraordinary aura. Considering what’s publicly known about you, combined with what I personally know about your exploits…”

You effortlessly cleared a B-rank evaluation that had been significantly raised in difficulty.

You single-handedly subdued a high-ranking vampire noble, rescuing your teammates.

You neutralized a notorious group of Villains alone, without sustaining a single scratch.

These were tales beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

But me, Lee Taejun?

Though I’m the sole possessor of the Current Status Window on Earth, I’m otherwise just an utterly ordinary commoner.

“It seems I unintentionally raised your expectations.”

“Hmm? Honestly, I prefer Taejun’s ordinary vibe. Oh, I hope Seonah won’t get insecure if I say that.”

“Lee Seonah?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

Che Yerim chuckled and shrugged. “Never mind. Anyway, you mentioned wanting to use the Precious Artifact Hall today, right?”

“Yes, I need to urgently acquire a few items.”

“Have you been here before?”

“I’ve visited occasionally.”

Located on the top floor of Line Square, the Precious Artifact Hall was a Hunter-exclusive market owned by the Shinwa Guild. It was a place where any item not prohibited by the International Headquarters could easily be obtained. It was also the perfect place to acquire the “materials” needed for Necromancy training.

But there was another problem.

Ding.

The elevator doors opened on the top floor.

I stared at the entrance of the shop, emblazoned with the sign “Precious Artifact Hall.”

The Precious Artifact Hall was firmly sealed behind a solid barrier.

A holographic sign at the entrance displayed the message: “Currently in Product Preparation Period.”

Right, this was the problem.

The Precious Artifact Hall took a week-long break once a month for product preparation.

Given the vast number of items they acquired from across the globe, they needed a dedicated inspection period to verify and prepare them for sale.

During this time, entry was strictly prohibited to anyone except authorized personnel.

So, under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be allowed in either.

“Come on in, Taejun,” Che Yerim said with a bright smile, gesturing toward the employee entrance.

“Today’s a special opening just for you.”

“Are you sure that’s okay?” I asked.

“Why the sudden formality? Didn’t we settle this last night?” Che Yerim asked.

She was right.

Last night, based on a text from Che Soohyun, I had contacted Che Yerim and asked if I could use the Precious Artifact Hall today. After all, managing the hall fell under Shinwa’s “external affairs.”

Fortunately, Yerim readily agreed, but on one condition: I had to accompany her.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect you to ask me for a favor so soon after our first contact, Taejun,” the Shinwa Co-CEO said, winking behind her sunglasses.

“It just worked out that way. I apologize,” I replied.

“Don’t worry about it. I was the one who told you to reach out if you needed anything in the first place.”

“I’ll try not to bother you so often in the future,” I said.

“Hey, don’t be like that. After everything you did with the Cursed Territory incident, Shinwa owes you more than you think.”

Che Yerim waved her hand dismissively. “You can contact me anytime.”

Well, if she put it that way, there was no need to insist further.

“Then, I’ll excuse myself.”

I entered the Precious Artifact Hall through the staff-only entrance and immediately suppressed a gasp of awe.

The space easily exceeded a thousand pyeong (approximately 3,300 square meters).

Rows of display cases stretched out across the luxurious, jet-black marble floor, illuminated by evenly spaced, luminous stones hanging from the ceiling. Within these cases lay countless items, skill books, and various pieces of equipment.

[ Oh ho, now this is quite a sight! ] Manager Mi typed.

If even Manager Mi, who had dismissed Shinwa’s state-of-the-art training room as a “glorified chicken coop,” was impressed enough to type that, it spoke volumes.

[ This place is truly enormous, ] I thought.

I had occasionally visited this hall during my time with the Bicheon Guild.

Of course, back then, I was only scouring for expired, low-grade stamina potions—the kind guild members would send me after or to treat injuries.

It had only been two months since I was limping around with a bandage on my thigh, jostled by the crowd as I desperately searched for potions.

But now…

I stood beside the Shinwa Co-CEO, facing the Precious Artifact Hall—a place opened exclusively for me.

“President, I’ll start looking for items right away.”

“Go ahead. I’ll wait here.”

Che Yerim nodded, smoothing away her initial discomfort. “If you don’t mind me asking, is there anything specific you’re looking for?”

I replied with a meaningful smile. “I’m searching for Holy-attribute items.”

“This should be enough for now.”

I’d been wandering through the Precious Artifact Hall for two hours. Checking the items I’d swept into my duffel bag, I nodded.

“Come to think of it, my standards must have gotten pretty high.”

Slinging the duffel bag back over my shoulder, I muttered to myself as I surveyed the endless rows of items.

This was one of the largest item markets in Korea, if not the world. Naturally, it was brimming with S-Class items worth billions of won each, Unique-Grade artifacts with prices that defied reason, and even Mythic-Grade treasures beyond measure.

Yet, after two hours of browsing, nothing had truly caught my eye.

Perhaps that was inevitable.

After all, my standards were set on otherworldly items—ones that simply couldn’t be found on Earth.

Even a quick glance at the Parsley Market right now reveals:

With such terrifying items being listed in real-time, how could I possibly be satisfied with anything ordinary?

Of course, the prices are equally staggering.

The Dragon-Forged Dragon-Slaying Sword alone is priced at a whopping 15 million Coins—equivalent to 1.5 trillion Korean won in cash!

So, I need to start earning essence stones—essence stones I can exchange for Parsley Coins.

Well, if I keep accumulating essence stones at a 10:0 profit-sharing ratio after joining the Hwiryung Guild, I’ll eventually amass enough Coins to buy even those terrifying items outright.

As I daydreamed about becoming a Coin tycoon and turned to enter the Precious Artifact Hall, Manager Mi’s chat window suddenly popped up.

“Scrap? Ah, I see.”

I immediately understood what she meant. In the Precious Artifact Hall, overflowing with dazzling treasures, there were very few items that could genuinely be described as “scrap.”

Since I had plenty of time to spare, I headed to the far left corner of the hall, where the “scrap” was displayed.

As I approached, Manager Mi’s chat window tilted back and forth.

Unlike the other treasures displayed on dedicated racks or counters in the Precious Artifact Hall, the scrap metal before me lay inside a special glass case, resting on a soft, crimson cloth.

“Exactly.”

I nodded, focusing on one of the artifacts within the case. It was a dilapidated Hwando sword, barely holding its shape, its blade broken in the middle, old, and rusted.

Next to it was a plaque that read:

I offered a brief explanation.

“These are weapons used by the 1st Generation Hunters who were active during the early days of the Great Change.”

That’s right.

The items on display were those with a Durability Value.

Originally, they possessed performance at least two tiers above their inherent rank, but once their Durability reached zero, they were completely destroyed like this.

And with current technology, it’s impossible to restore an item destroyed by Durability depletion.

Of course, I knew now.

The impossibility of Durability restoration only applied to Earth.

Another dimension.

At least, the Parsley Market had confirmed that other dimensions teemed with ability users whose powers were beyond Earth’s wildest imaginings.

Therefore, I could potentially restore and reuse even the Moon-Slaying Blade, the legendary weapon that had cleaved a calamity-class monster in three strikes.

“But there’s no need to go to such lengths just to acquire a weapon.”

After all, the items on display here weren’t for sale.

Even as I thought this, I activated the Analyzer in my Status Window and directed it at the Hwando before me.

It was purely out of curiosity.

These were weapons that had dominated an entire era, their names still echoing in legends and even appearing in balance games like the “Hunter Weaponry World Cup.”

Destroyed Moon-Slaying Blade (Durability 0/0)

A Ring-Hilted Greatsword once wielded by an unnamed general. Legend has it that he stood on a bridge and single-handedly slew five to six thousand Barbarians with this blade.

As expected, no detailed information came to mind.

Still, uncovering the hidden stories behind these weapons was intriguing, so I continued examining the armaments of the First-Generation Heroes.

Finally, I reached the end of the display case.

“What’s this… are they knuckles? They’re so mangled, I can barely even tell what they’re supposed to be!”

The last weapon on display consisted of two lumps of iron.

They were so battered that their original forms were nearly impossible to discern.

The surface was mottled with rust, resembling mold, and one of the iron lumps was so deformed that its original shape was unrecognizable.

Of course, I knew what these chunks of scrap metal were.

I immediately pointed my Analyzer at it.

The simplest explanation I’d ever seen for an item.

”…Huh?”

But I couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment.

Right below the explanation about its Durability being fully depleted, an entirely unexpected phrase had been added: