Chapter 78: A Simple Business (3)

“You’re borrowing coins?”

Indeed, wherever money flows, there will always be loan sharks.

“My eye for people has never been wrong.”

“Why?”

“If Taegoon-nim sold it himself, he could earn a few more coins.”

Well, that’s true.

I had actually planned to do that myself, but I found the perfect person at just the right time and changed course.

The reason?

“It’s too much hassle.”

After some research, I discovered that Void Threads dissolve within a week no matter how you store them.

Moreover, when I checked a few recipes in the Phil Damrok, I found that the amount used in cooking was less than half a gram.

There was no way to stockpile large quantities, nor was there any need to.

Naturally, regular buyers would purchase small amounts in multiple transactions.

“Aah, then if Taegoon-nim wanted to handle all the sales himself…”

“I’ll have to be glued to the Parsley Market trading screen all day.”

It’s just too inefficient to spend all day dealing with incessant chat notifications and emotional labor, all for a slightly better deal, especially when it comes to selling Void Threads.

Therefore, it’s much better to entrust distribution to a seller with a reliable buyer network and focus on other tasks.

As I was conversing with Manager Mi, the chat window popped up again.

With the crisp sound of coins multiplying, my Parsley Coins more than doubled in an instant.

Yes, this is money cloning.

Still awestruck, the chat window popped up again before me.

Cool, very cool.

Just before finalizing the deal…

I paused before replying.

No, to be precise…

From now on, I’ll have to make it possible.

“Shit.”

A low curse escaped my lips.

When I turned around, I saw Ko Youngmin standing there, looking miserable under the dim glow of the glowing stones.

His pallid complexion made me turn my gaze in the direction he was staring.

Creeeeeee.

In the vast training ground on the lowest floor of Hwiryung Headquarters, I saw ten Void Spiders nestled in every corner, spinning their webs.

Oh, aren’t they cute? They’re so well-behaved.

As I watched the adorable spiders with satisfaction, a voice reached my ears.

”…Hunter Lee Taejun?”

“Yes, President?”

“They’re not going to cause any trouble, are they?”

“No, they won’t. I can’t speak for the other spiders, but…” I glanced at the swarm queen in my hand and smiled. “Our spider won’t bite.”

”…It really won’t bite, right?”

Skeptical eyes turned toward me.

Well, given the Void Spider’s house-sized body and Venomous Fangs that could easily tear a person apart, such a reaction was understandable.

As long as I’m holding the swarm queen hostage, it definitely won’t bite.

Zzzt.

The swarm queen in my hand.

It possessed enough intelligence to attempt negotiations.

The moment I made an eye gesture, the queen immediately grasped my intent, summoned its swarm, and ordered them to weave a spiderweb.

Flick.

The swarm queen, its eight eyes gleaming as if seeking praise, was placed back into the Cogwheel Dimensional Gate.

I turned to Ko Youngmin.

“Instead of building webs, those spiders will unravel the webs and leave them tangled like balls of yarn. Once thirty of these Void Thread balls are made, please inform me.”

“Ah, so one tangle forms each day?”

“I don’t know the exact interval. It varies by individual and their condition. You’ll have to check daily.”

“Then we should assign a guild member to handle it…”

“No.” I smiled and shook my head. “The President must personally come down and check. Don’t burden the other guild members who are busy with expeditions.”

“Well, I’m quite busy with various tasks myself. In fact, I’m currently handling all the duties that should be handled by Vice Guild Leader Lee Taejun. Plus, I haven’t finished cleaning up the aftermath of the big incident in Macheon…”

”?”

I tilted my head, puzzled.

Ko Youngmin, who had been grumbling with discontent, hastily waved his hand.

“Ah, no, not at all. I’ll check it out, of course! It’s not like it’s difficult!”

“Exactly! Just think of it as raising a few chickens.”

”…Understood.”

Ko Youngmin replied, swallowing hard.

I took one last look around the ‘workshop’ spread out before me.

There really was no place quite like this.

Built on the site of an Erosion dungeon, it could sustain monsters solely through its environment.

Since Void Spiders primarily feed on Mana, there was no need to provide them with additional food.

Moreover…

“There shouldn’t be any legal issues with keeping monsters here, right?”

“None at all. Naturally, breeding unconfirmed species would be prohibited, but…”

There’s no need to worry about that.

I anticipated this and sent a video of a Void Spider hunt from an action cam to International Headquarters two days ago.

Thanks to that, the Void Spider was officially registered as a monster with International Headquarters yesterday.

“Therefore, there are no legal issues. Hwiryong is a guild licensed to raise monsters, after all. Though it’s a bit regrettable.”

“Regrettable?”

“Ah, no, nothing.”

Hwiryong has many hunters who specialize in summoning undead-type summoned beasts and taming monsters.

As a result, it is one of the few guilds Alliance Headquarters has authorized to raise monsters within their main office.

“Of course, if these things ever escape the main office, I’ll be solely responsible for the consequences… Haaah!”

The Hwiryong Guild Leader abruptly jumped mid-sentence.

Behind him, a leg of the Void Spider, which had been weaving its Void Thread, had brushed against the back of his neck.

But I didn’t look in that direction.

[ Spider Enthusiast has sent you a message. ] - Notification from Parsley Market

The notification popped up right on time, saving me from having to look.

[ Spider Enthusiast: ] Passing Porter, the Void Thread you entrusted to me two days ago has been sold. Please check when you have time.

The seller responsible for the intermediate distribution of the Void Thread.

It was a chat message sent by Spider Enthusiast.

Below it were attached all the Parsley Market chat logs and transaction records from the past two days, detailing every interaction with buyers while selling my Void Thread.

When he first mentioned sending me the sales records, I was half-convinced.

But when I checked, there were at least 100 transaction records, given the quantity sold.

The chats began with phrases like “Let’s negotiate” and “I’ll make this a fair deal…”

As I scrolled through the dizzying chat logs, my conviction solidified once more:

Business should always be left to the professionals.

With a satisfied smile, I tapped on the chat window.

10 coins equaled 1,000,000 won on Earth.

Even if it meant safely acquiring the goods and selling them…

The labor cost of dealing with the Villains lurking throughout Parsley Market was far too low.

Thus, I tapped the chat window again.

Well, first impressions can be misleading, and the Status Window Temperature was high, so I figured it was best not to dwell on it.

Therefore, even though I’d been paid upfront before,

now that some trust had been established, there was no longer any need for that.

After giving a rough overview of the workshop’s current situation, I asked how long it would take to gather enough Void Thread to match the amount I had just sold.

I closed Parsley Market with a sense of satisfaction.

Although we couldn’t extract thread from the swarm queen, ordinary Void Spiders produce about 30 grams of thread per harvest. This means we now have a reliable income source of 300 grams of Void Thread per month, or 3,000 coins.

“Hunter Lee Taejun?” Ko Youngmin stared at me with an uneasy expression. “Um, what have you been doing all this time?”

The Status Window is invisible to others, and to Ko Youngmin, it’s just a status window showing stats. So he probably just saw me tapping the air and smiling faintly.

“If you don’t need anything else from me, may I go back now?”

The Void Thread needs to be collected only once a month anyway. So there’s no need to send Ko Youngmin down into this spider den every day. But the mere thought of him leaving now annoyed me.

I smiled and nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Ah, are you coming up with me? Yes, then let’s go together.”

Ko Youngmin hastily turned around, as if he couldn’t stand the sight of the house-sized Void Spider any longer.

I spoke up as he walked away.

“Ah, I just remembered something I wanted to ask.”

“What now…?” Ko Youngmin turned to face me, his expression worried.

Well, now that the post-processing was neatly taken care of, it was time to move on to the next target.

“The address of our first Guild Leader’s residence.”

Go Geonho, the first Guild Leader of Hwiryong and the Nine Heavens Bone King. He said he had a welcome gift prepared for me.

The Synchronization Rate target had been updated again, and since the bonus quest was related to Blood Magic skills, this was the perfect time to find Go Geonho. He was proficient in both Undead-type skills and Blood Magic, and the only Hunter in Korea authorized to use Blood Magic.

“Uncle?”

“Yes, you mentioned it last time. The first Guild Leader prepared a gift, didn’t she? So, I thought I’d visit her today.”

Ko Youngmin replied with a troubled expression. “Ah, but you’ll have to wait a bit longer.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Well, the thing is… Uncle’s residence isn’t somewhere you can just drop in anytime. Have you heard of Dae Hwa Island?”

Dae Hwa Island.

Located at the western tip of the Korean Peninsula, it was once just another island in a common archipelago before the Great Change.

But after the Great Change, it became infamous for all the wrong reasons.

It was the first land to be transformed into another world after failing to stop a Dungeon Break.

Now, Dae Hwa Island itself was practically one giant dungeon.

“But…”

“You don’t mean… the Nine Heavens Bone King’s residence is there?”