The meeting point was the same officetel as last time.
I carried the enormous contrabass case with one hand.
Even though my body was devoid of muscle, this much weight barely registered.
This was due to the all-stat bonuses I had painstakingly accumulated.
The reason I was using only one hand was simple.
The broker believed I had only one hand.
It would be awkward for both of us if the deceased were to suddenly resurrect at their own funeral.
Therefore, I had already transformed my hand into sand and carefully tucked it away in my pocket.
Ding-dong.
The moment I pressed the doorbell, the steel door promptly swung open.
Behind it stood the broker, his face as gruff as ever.
With broad shoulders, tattooed forearms, and sunglasses obscuring his eyes, he was an imposing figure.
The broker’s brow furrowed the instant he saw me.
“Come in.”
His voice was cold and dry.
There was no trace of the affectionate uncle who had deluged me with emojis on Telegram.
The stark contrast in his demeanor was enough to make me feel dizzy.
“What dangerous stunt have you pulled this time?”
His hard-boiled tone continued.
Despite looking like a mobster, his manner of speaking was akin to a detective interrogating a criminal.
I simply shrugged.
“There was nothing dangerous at all.”
“Then what’s that?”
The broker’s gaze shifted to the enormous case clutched in my hand.
I opened the case, revealing its contents.
“….”
The moment the battle-axe came into view, the broker’s expression hardened.
An ominous aura subtly emanated from it.
He, too, seemed to recognize at a glance that this was no ordinary item.
****
‘This is….’
The broker inwardly clicked his tongue.
It was a battle-axe, imbued with an ominous aura that seemed to ripple from its surface.
As he listened, it was indeed a Unique-grade item, just as he suspected.
How on earth had this mere child managed to acquire such an item?
The broker fell silent for a moment, then spoke in an even lower voice than before.
“Where did you get this?”
“I got it after defeating the 10th-floor boss. Why?”
The girl before him answered curtly, as if it were nothing remarkable.
He asked no further questions after her response.
‘The 10th-floor boss, huh….’
In his estimation, it seemed plausible that the child had indeed entered the Tower.
An item of this caliber was not something that could simply be stolen.
However, even if she truly was a Hunter, there was still a problem.
There was no way this child could have defeated the 10th-floor boss alone.
No, that would be impossible for anyone.
‘But there’s no way she would have been given item priority in a party….’
The broker’s contemplation deepened.
No party, regardless of their composition, would readily hand over a Unique item to a child like her.
He knew the type of individuals who called themselves Hunters all too well.
They were superhuman thugs, capable of anything for profit.
If one lacked the power to protect themselves, they would be lucky to escape with their lives, let alone receive an item distribution; more often, they would be stripped of their belongings and left for dead.
Dying in the Tower left no corpse behind, making it an ideal location for murder and concealment.
‘I think I understand the situation now.’
A solution soon formed in his mind.
The child before him must have, by either good or ill fortune, stumbled into a party attempting the 10th-floor raid.
‘They probably never intended to share the rewards from the start. They must have planned to use her as cannon fodder.’
Yet, conquering the Tower rarely went as planned.
Especially when it came to a boss floor.
‘And that party would have been annihilated.’
The reason for the party’s downfall could have been anything.
Alternatively, even after successfully completing the raid, issues with item distribution could have led to them killing each other.
The broker secretly surmised that the latter possibility was more likely.
‘At any rate, it seems certain that the boss was defeated… so internal strife likely broke out afterward. Yes, that must be it.’
A Unique item.
For a small-fry C-rank or D-rank Hunter, it was like hitting the jackpot.
Would a party that used such a child as a pawn truly distribute items fairly?
The broker shook his head.
Having barely survived the boss battle, what followed was a horrific scene of mutual slaughter.
What must this child have thought and felt in that moment?
‘She must have thought she needed to survive.’
A complete picture formed in the broker’s mind.
A civil war that resulted in mutual destruction.
This child was also a Hunter. Having climbed to the 10th floor, she must have witnessed all sorts of terrible things.
At the moment only one person remained, she must have realized there was only one way for her to live.
With her single remaining hand, she would have cautiously gripped a dagger, approached, and stabbed the person in the back.
After that, she would have rummaged through her comrades’ corpses and taken this axe.
‘A terrible business.’
He observed the girl from behind his sunglasses.
The dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t slept for days. Her cold, curt demeanor. The recklessness that often accompanied those who dabble in illicit activities.
These were surely the after-effects of such experiences.
A flicker of sadness and pity passed through his eyes, hidden behind the sunglasses.
He let out a heavy sigh and changed the subject.
“Let’s appraise its value first.”
The broker carefully began to assess the axe.
The girl sat on the sofa, awaiting the evaluation.
After a short while, he shook his head and spoke.
“As expected, it’s a Unique grade. The options are excellent… This isn’t something I can immediately value here.”
Item grades were categorized in the order of Normal, Rare, Unique, and Legendary.
A Unique-grade item was something even high-ranking Hunters would covet.
“Are you saying you can’t buy it?”
“No, leave it to me. Putting it up for auction will earn you much more money.”
An auction.
Indeed, that would undoubtedly fetch a higher price.
However, the girl hesitated to reply immediately.
How could she trust this gruff man with an item worth at least tens of millions of won?
Faced with the girl’s distrustful gaze, the broker again felt a pang of pity.
‘How many terrible things must she have endured at such a young age… to have lost all faith in people like this?’
In her unchildlike demeanor, the broker perceived deep wounds and traces of betrayal.
He spoke in a serious tone.
“Your identity will be kept strictly confidential. I promise you that.
And I’ll give you an advance payment. Fifty million won. How does that sound?”
“What? Fifty…?”
Perhaps it was an unimaginable sum, for the child’s eyes widened.
Despite her efforts to appear composed, she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from curling upwards.
Seeing her reaction, the broker smiled inwardly.
‘She’s still a child after all.’
What if he had been planning to exploit her and undervalue it?
Indeed, children needed adults by their side. Responsible adults, like himself.
The broker once again solidified his sense of duty regarding his role.
****
The next day, at the VIP Item Auction House.
I watched the auction unfold through the real-time video feed sent by the broker.
The auction hall, visible on screen, was bustling with high-ranking Hunters and guild officials.
All seemed to be influential figures, their expensive suits and flashy accessories catching the eye.
The auction was already in full swing.
“Next up! The core of a Stone Golem, found only on the 20th floor and beyond! A Rare-grade material item! Starting bid, ten million won!”
With the auctioneer’s shout, a rough chunk of rock was placed on the dais.
Immediately, paddles rose from various corners of the room.
“Twelve million!”
“Fifteen million!”
I observed the scene with little interest.
I didn’t even have proper equipment items yet.
Material items were a distant concern for me.
The auction proceeded swiftly. The Stone Golem’s core was eventually sold for twenty million won to a tank.
Following this, a variety of other items passed across the stage.
There was a Rare-grade cloak with an invisibility function, an elixir that temporarily boosted stats, and even a rare contract said to allow one to tame monsters like pets.
But none of them managed to capture my attention.
“This next item should particularly interest all you mages out there! It’s the ‘Robe of the Silent Sage’!”
“What? A mage item?”
My eyes snapped open at the auctioneer’s words.
What appeared on the dais was a cloak imbued with a subtle blue glow.
“A Rare-grade defensive item! It comes with a highly valuable option that slightly increases mana recovery speed!”
‘Mana recovery, huh….’
I coveted it the moment I saw it.
After awakening my eyes, my mana pool had grown several times over.
However, during the recent battle against the Orc Chieftain, I had expended all my MP on a single, final attack.
What if the Orc Chieftain had a second phase?
Without any energy left to escape, I would have been completely incapacitated.
With an item like that, I could manage battles much more stably.
“No, actually, maybe the options don’t even matter….”
Let’s be honest with myself.
Perhaps I simply wanted a mage item.
How long was I expected to climb the Tower in plain clothes?
While everyday attire was best for avoiding attention, couldn’t I just fold it neatly into my bag?
I, too, wanted to flaunt a cool robe and wield a grand staff, striking an impressive pose.
…Because there was a certain romance to it.
“The starting price is fifty million won!”
“Fifty-five million!”
“Eighty million!”
But the price quickly soared far beyond my expectations.
In an instant, the bidding surpassed my entire fortune.
I muttered, dumbfounded.
“Seriously, there are only five mages here, so why is the competition so fierce…?”
Was it just because it was rare?
Curious, I searched online and found there was another reason.
A superstition had spread that wearing mage items increased one’s chances of awakening as a mage.
“That’s not an entirely impossible story….”
Well, people have awakened after eating dirt, so anything’s possible.
Just as the bidding was reaching a fever pitch, a woman casually raised her paddle.
“Three hundred million.”
At the blonde woman’s single remark, the other bidders fell silent.
In the end, the robe went to her for the hefty sum of three hundred million won.
“Oh? She’s here too…?”
The woman’s face on the screen was familiar to me. My eyes widened.
