I Was a Porter, but My Mana Is Infinite? Episode 5
The moment he woke up early in the morning, Seongu checked his phone.
The sale of the magic stone he had put up for consignment the day before had concluded.
[The sale of 29 F-rank magic stones has concluded.]
[Highest Bidder: Irukeyo]
[980,000 won each]
[Total: 28,420,000 won]
[After deducting the 15% consignment fee, 24,157,000 won has been deposited.]
[We look forward to continued transactions with you.]
Added to the money he already had, the leading digit of his account balance changed.
[33,209,000 won]
It was an amount that made his eyes snap open even without washing his face in cold water.
As expected, Hunter was called the best job for a reason.
Even in front of the crappy shower that alternated between hot and cold, he hummed a tune.
‘Once I earn money, I need to get proper lodging first.’
As he came out shaking his hair dry, he ran into a large man.
It was Gangwongu, who worked alongside him as a dungeon porter.
To be exact, he was an F-rank Hunter.
Despite having a physical enhancement ability, he worked as a porter.
‘Didn’t he say it was because he had no talent for combat himself?’
“Yo. You’re up early?”
“Yes. Are you going to work today?”
“This afternoon. Ah, right. Do you remember what I told you?”
He had mentioned a few times that there was a big job and asked him to join.
“You mean the C-rank dungeon raid, right?”
“Right. They pay 500,000 won per day for that. If it goes over 8 hours, they count it as two days, plus 0.1% of the magic stone sales.”
“Oh. That’s a really good deal.”
“Right? When they asked who was in, I immediately reserved two spots for you and me. The schedule will be out within a week, so look forward to it.”
If this were yesterday, it would be news that made his ears perk up.
For today’s Seongu, it was merely a schedule that consumed time.
Even if only because he was grateful to Gangwongu for securing the spots, he didn’t refuse.
‘A C-rank dungeon will be helpful even if I just observe.’
“Thank you.”
“Sure. If you’re thankful, buy me some gukbap later. With extra meat.”
He patted his shoulder and walked away.
* * *
Seongu got dressed and left the goshiwon.
The robe stained with goblin blood emitted a foul stench.
“Sniff, sniff. I should change this soon too.”
Seongu headed straight for the Hunter Management Bureau.
Today, as always, it was crowded and busy.
He went straight to the Dungeon Management Department and looked through the dungeon list.
[E-rank]
[Forest of Greenery]
…….
“There it is.”
He applied for a raid through the computer and confirmed that it had been finalized.
Perhaps because people were packed at the Gate Relay Station, there was a wait of about 15 minutes.
‘I guess I can just walk slowly.’
In front of the Gate Relay Station, stalls were lined up in a row.
Since they sold cheaply without fees by not listing at the auction house, one could find good-quality items at low prices if they walked around looking.
“Selling items from F-rank to D-rank. Check them out!”
“Selling magic stones that can raise your stats! Definitely cheaper than anywhere else!”
Hawkers shouted here and there.
No one stopped Seongu, who was dressed in shabby clothes.
Even so, Seongu wasn’t discouraged.
If there was anything different from yesterday, it was that his pockets were full.
‘Should I buy a robe to wear?’
Happily, a robe was hanging at one of the stalls.
It came down to the knees and even had a hood attached, so it looked good for covering his face.
The merchant organizing his wares glanced over.
He had a bushy beard.
“Looking at the robe?”
“Yes. How is this one?”
“Anything’s better than those rags you’re wearing.”
“I suppose so.”
He put down the leather and walked up to Seongu, lowering the robe.
“It’s an E-rank Robe of Penance. Try it on. Then you’ll know for sure.”
“May I?”
“Of course.”
The moment the robe draped over his body, he realized what the merchant meant.
It was as light as wearing nothing, and he could feel a coolness.
“It’s a magic item?”
The merchant was surprised to see Seongu speak so nonchalantly.
“You must have considerable mana. That’s right. It’s a magic item. It has E-rank pollution prevention and temperature regulation, stealth ability that erases scent and presence, and though it’s F-rank, it even has added physical and magic resistance. That’s not all. Put your hand in that pocket.”
“Here?”
It was barely big enough for one hand, yet his arm slid in up to the elbow.
“Subspace?”
“Right. Hehe. It’s only about three pyeong of space, but it even has subspace magic. With just this robe, you don’t need any other armor, hehe. It’s the best item for beginners raiding low ranks!”
A magic item of this caliber would easily go for hundreds of millions to billions of won.
Seongu took off the robe with an expression full of regret.
But the merchant misunderstood his expression.
“Still, you endured quite a while. Your mana must be greater than it looks?”
Hearing the merchant’s words, Seongu guessed why this robe, despite having such outstanding abilities, was hanging here all alone.
“The mana consumption needed to maintain it is enormous?”
“Exactly. Because of that, I’m selling it at a 50% discount.”
‘No wonder. I thought it was strange from the moment I saw the word “penance” in the item name.’
The merchant subtly gauged his reaction.
He seemed desperate to sell it somehow.
Seongu’s mind began whirring.
‘High mana consumption is no different from a curse to others, but not to me.’
For Seongu, who had infinite mana, it was the optimal item.
He wouldn’t need to carry around a bag stuffed with magic stones, and he could cover his face.
Equipping all these abilities would normally cost billions.
‘If I play this right, I might be able to get it cheap.’
Seongu hid his inner thoughts and turned his gaze away from the robe.
Pretending to look at other items, he let the merchant grow disappointed.
“Ahem. You look like someone raiding low ranks, so how about buying this robe? I’ll give it to you at a groundbreaking price of 100 million. At that price, I’m practically giving it away!”
“100 million? My life depends on whether I can cast magic or not, and you want me to run around in that? I’d rather hunt naked.”
“If that’s the problem, just delete some of the enchantments.”
Contrary to enchanting, the probability of the item being destroyed was higher.
“Then you should deduct that cost too.”
“Nggh. 50 million. This is really the cost price. It’s what I paid to acquire it.”
“If you acquired it for 50 million, then you got scammed, sir. This is all I can offer.”
Seongu held up one finger.
“10 million?”
“No. 1 million.”
The merchant’s face turned red and blue.
“You want me to sell it for the price of one F-rank magic stone?! If you’re going to say such unlucky things, get lost!”
“I’d much rather have a single F-rank magic stone. This thing just drains you the moment you put it on, what use is it? Basically, isn’t this practically a cursed item?”
The merchant could say nothing.
“Or is this a place that sells cursed items?”
“What?! What do you take me for! Fine. Take it for 5 million!”
As if he had been waiting, Seongu handed over his Hunter Pass.
And the moment the payment went through, he received the robe and bowed his head.
“Thank you for the good trade.”
He had acquired an item that would normally go for hundreds of millions or even billions for a mere 5 million won.
The merchant looked at the robe with regretful eyes.
“Ahem. But if you need to buy something in the future, come to me first.”
He handed over a business card with “Teolbo” written on it.
“You’ll give me a discount too, right?”
“If you become a regular!”
Seongu put the card in his pocket and walked toward the Gate Relay Station.
On the way, he threw the robe he had been wearing into the trash.
The new robe absorbed mana and emitted a faint silver light.
Something suddenly flashed through Seongu’s mind as he walked.
‘If I just choose carefully among cursed items, could I strike it big?’
There were many types of curses.
Among them, the most infamous for mages was, of course, the curse that absorbed mana.
Even when listed at the auction house, they traded at about one-tenth the price of the same rank.
There was only one reason to buy a cursed item.
‘To return it to its original state through curse removal.’
Success meant a jackpot.
Failure meant nothing remained.
The problem was that these cursed items had a high failure rate, so most of them broke.
But.
‘I don’t need to do that.’
While lost in these thoughts, he arrived in front of the gate.
Just then, a Dungeon Management Department employee was calling his name.
“Hunter Bae Seongu. Is he not here?”
Seongu went up and handed over his Hunter Pass.
After glancing at him, the employee let out a light sigh.
Realizing he was alone, he looked at him as if he were someone who had come to commit suicide.
“Is it the E-rank Forest of Greenery?”
“Yes.”
“You may enter right away.”
Swirling particles of light formed an orange Gate.
As the Forest of Greenery was a dungeon that Hunters avoided, it was empty.
‘Let’s go earn some money!’
Seongu strode into the gate.
* * *
The moment he entered the dungeon, what greeted him was, literally, greenery.
Enormous trees sprouted densely from ground to sky.
Even the sole path was covered in vines.
Squirm—
Perhaps among them were some belonging to Deathplants, as they wriggled.
‘No wonder Hunters hate this.’
Seongu stretched out both hands and cast Fireball.
Fwoosh—
The vines burned away, revealing an ordinary stone path.
It was a far better method than walking and getting his ankle caught in a surprise attack.
The heat from the flames was blocked by the Robe of Penance.
“I like it.”
As the stems burned, a Deathplant soon revealed itself.
The middle of a thick giant tree nearly 5 meters across split open, and yellow eyes flashed.
—Grrrrk!
Dozens of wooden vines bearing steel-like thorns squirmed.
One didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if caught by them.
“So this is just the beginning?”
There was no fear.
Rather, he smirked and compressed a Fireball.
It was faster and more solid than at the training ground.
[Fireball]
Kwaaaang—
The compressed Fireball, radiating a more yellowish light, drilled into the Deathplant’s eye.
Spliiit—
Late, bark-like scales rose as it curled its body.
“Too late!”
Before Seongu’s words finished, the Fireball exploded, blowing up the Deathplant.
Flesh hidden within the bark splattered in all directions.
A flame rose above Seongu’s right hand and compressed.
It was a maneuver made possible by his increased proficiency.
Clomp, clomp—
With his other hand, he picked up the magic stone that had fallen among the Deathplant’s flesh.
Seongu looked at the path of greenery spread immediately before his eyes.
The vines hanging above shook, and several trees turned their bodies.
Yellow pupils stared at Seongu.
“Come at me with all you’ve got, my money!”