Chapter 30: 30

“Please wait a moment . ”

The man bowed towards Su-hyeun, excusing himself and walking off with a skip in his step toward somewhere else .

No, by the time he turned around the corner, he actually started running . Su-hyeun waited just for a while as per the man’s instructions .

Soon enough, the staff brought out another employee donned in a suit . It seemed that this person was of a higher position .

“Hello . I’m Lee Kyeong-jong, in charge of ether stone trades . ”

He looked to be in his thirties and had a handsome face that could pass off as an actor . Lee Kyeong-jong reached his hand out and shook hands with Su-hyeun before taking out his business card .

He held the position of a department head . He was quite successful considering his young age . If he was in charge of ether stone trades at an auction house of this size, he would be someone most influential here .

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting . Let’s get you seated and continue . ”

“Thank you . ”

Su-hyeun followed Lee Kyeong-jong into a spacious room . On the doors of the entrance, the enormous words “Premium Client Room” were printed on it .

All this treatment just for a handful of ether stones . He could not imagine . Of course, that was something that Su-hyeun had not expected .

In the era where Su-hyeun had lived in, ether stones were not this precious and valuable . Due to the persistent dungeon outbreaks, the supply of ether stones had increased significantly; thus, it was treated to be a more valuable resource than gold . Although the price wasn’t too low, it was at a different level as compared to now . Up until this time, the ether stones were too priceless to be even bought with money .

As Su-hyeun and Lee Kyeong-jong sat side by side, a female employee walked into the room . She served a tray with two cups of coffee and left shortly, and that was when Lee Kyeong-jong spoke .

“I heard that you are here to sell the ether stones . ”

“Yes . ”

“Did you personally join in the dungeon attack yourself?”

“I’m a C-rank awakener . ”

Lee Kyeong-jong looked somewhat surprised at Su-hyeun’s answer . Perhaps it was because of Su-hyeun’s rank and the quality as well as the number of ether stones which he had brought along with him .

A D-rank awakener . It was what Su-hyeun had felt of Lee Kyeong-jong’s standards .

He was at the level where he could begin to feel magic, but Lee Kyeong-jong chose to earn money through ether stones instead of working as an awakener . In some ways, it was a wise choice . Even without risking his life by climbing the Tower of Trials, he could also earn money just by using ether stones . Perhaps he could get to where he was now at this age with his title as an awakener .

“Can I see the ether stones?” Lee Kyeong-jong asked point-blank without beating around the bush .

He seemed to have judged that it would be better to deal with it quickly instead of going in circles .

Su-hyeun took out the stones kept in his pouch .

“Here they are . ”

As soon as the ether stones appeared in front of him, Lee Kyeong-jong’s eyes sparkled .

As the magic level of the dungeon increased, the value of the ether stones harvested would increase exponentially because the ether stone was filled with the dungeon’s magic .

“It’s quite… a huge stone . ”

As most ether stones were of the same size, Lee Kyeong-jong picked one up from the pile and looked closely at it .

It needed to be assessed for Lee Kyeong-jong to know its exact value . Still, its value was usually proportionate to its size .

Most ether stones found in the red level dungeons were the size of rice grains . Those harvested from the orange level dungeons were slightly larger . Still, only ether stones the size of a small marble could only be found in dungeons no higher than a yellow level .

“Did you just walk into a yellow level dungeon?” Lee Kyeong-jong asked half-doubtingly .

There was no reason for Su-hyeun to find excuses or lie about it . He nodded his head .

Lee Kyeong-jong’s eyes sparkled once more .

If it was of this standard, the ether stones would be on the lower mid-grade at the very least .

Yellow level dungeons had difficulties with rare cases of completion . It would require over 10 B-rank awakeners for the dungeon attack, or they would need help from an A-rank awakener .

Even so, there seldom were high-grade ether stones, so they weren’t worth much . So to match the tastes of the auction house’s clients, Lee Kyeong-jong definitely had to get his hands on these ether stones .

But the problem was, how did a C-rank awakener obtain ether stones of this size? Lee Kyeong-jong had a short conflict before posing his question .

“This ether stone… are you sure you obtained it through legal means?”

It was a situation where he could only have his suspicions . It was understandable . It would be the same if it were Su-hyeun .

“Yes, I’m sure . ”

But besides this, there was nothing else he could add on .

If he had to come up with an excuse…

Who would even believe in that?

With that reason alone, there was no other way to persuade him that it was obtained legitimately .

Lee Kyeong-jong seemed to be in conflict with Su-hyeun’s reply . As the silence grew, Su-hyeun stood up from his seat .

“I’ll look into other places . ”

He could have sold the ether stones at any other place . As if implying this, without any hesitation, Su-hyeun reached out for the ether stones which were in Lee Kyeong-jong’s hands .

And then…

“Ah, don’t worry . I’ll buy them . I’ll buy the stones . ”

Lee Kyeong-jong’s lips which were shut tight spoke . As if the ether stones were already his, he retrieved his hand while keeping it tightly clenched . With this, the negotiation preparation had ended .

“How much are you thinking of selling them?”

After a short pause, Lee Kyeong-jong started the negotiations personally . As much as the ether stones were not valued accurately, it was up to the seller to call the price .

“You can name your own price . But…”

Su-hyeun showed the ether stone held in his hands to Lee Kyeong-jong .

At the same time, Lee Kyeong-jong had just realized the ether stone in his hand had disappeared .

Cold shivers went down his spine . Su-hyeun took one of the ether stones and placed it in his pouch .

“Now open this pouch, and after you have assessed the ether stones…”

As if he wouldn’t show Lee Kyeong-jong the ether stones in advance, Su-hyeun blocked the opening of the pouch tightly with his hand .

“I’ll only accept your asking price for just once . ”

He would leave immediately if he did not like the named price . There wasn’t a second chance .

A complicated calculation started going on in Lee Kyeong-jong’s mind .

—Deposit 640,000,000 .

—Balance 640,012,200 .

A deposit transaction showed up on Su-hyeun’s mobile phone . After waiting for a moment when the negotiation ended, the staff ran towards the nearest bank to make the deposit .

He had made his confirmation . Su-hyeun nodded his head and took out the pouch .

“Thank you for the pleasant deal . ”

“It was the same for me . ”

Lee Kyeong-jong reached his hand out towards Su-hyeun . Su-hyeun shook his hand .

640 million . It was the best amount that Lee Kyeong-jong could offer after making various complicated calculations in his mind .

If they had bought this huge amount of ether stones at once, they could have left a considerable amount of margin . As the ether stones were auctioned off, they could have also earned a significant amount of commission .

Above all, obtaining these ether stones would be a massive lure for their clients as well . This alone made it worthwhile to have the ether stones . It was a satisfactory deal for both parties .

But Su-hyeun seemed to be quite calm seeing the amount on his mobile phone .

It had been quite a while since he had an interest in money .

Either way, the value for money would have dropped to that of tissue in a few decades .

Besides, he had earned a lot back then . In his previous life, he had earned so much that this amount didn’t seem significant in his bank account .

It wasn’t too far from the era when there were over 20 awakeners on the world’s top 100 financial business leaders list .

“If you have other products for sale in the future, please do not hesitate to contact me . ”

“I’ll hope for it to be of this amount the next time too . ”

There was no implication of decline . Instead, he had set the minimum amount to be of a similar level for the next deal .

Lee Kyeong-jong laughed awkwardly as cold sweat trickled down his forehead .

The dealing method had been the same, depending on whether the single calling price was satisfactory or not . If it wasn’t satisfactory for once, Su-hyeun would head for another dealer without second thoughts .

He still had to wait and see if Su-hyeun would be a big fish or just a minnow . But, Lee Kyeong-jong felt that Su-hyeun’s presence was strangely huge .

On the outside, Su-hyeun seemed to still be in his early twenties .

But his aura and gaze, as well as his tone, never felt the same . It was as if he was a high-profile awakener who had several decades of experience .

S-rank awakener, Yoo Jin-sung .

The world-renowned top awakener in Korea .

He had felt the same presence from Su-hyeun when he had met Yoo Jin-sung for the first time . It was a mystery as to why he could have felt that way when Su-hyeun was just a C-rank awakener .

Su-hyeun walked towards Gangnam Station to check on his deposit transaction . How would Shin Su-yeong react if she saw how much he had earned this at one go?

But he had achieved his goal as expected . Su-hyeun took out the other ether stone that he had kept in his bag .

[Highest-grade ether stone . ]

Quite a ridiculous item .

It was of a different level from the ether stones which he had sold to Lee Kyeong-jong earlier . In fact, the only similarity was its name .

There were two reasons as to why Su-hyeon devoted himself into his level varying dungeon wholeheartedly . Firstly, it was to prevent disasters from happening in Gwangju again . Secondly, it was to obtain this item .

The value of the highest-grade ether stone would continue to rise not only for now but also in the distant future because this alone would also make a great tactical weapon .

There were rumours that a billionaire who coveted its power kept the ether stone by his side just to maintain his youth .

The highest-grade ether stone itself was such an incredible item .

In fact, the summoner that Su-hyeon had fought was no different than an empty skeleton . It had maintained its lifespan with the life stone, but it was ultimately a mere skeleton . The only reason why the summoner was able to have a fight briefly with Su-hyeun was by making use of the magic from the highest-grade ether stone .

It had such powers when it wasn’t enhanced by men, so what would its capabilities be after being enhanced?

Su-hyeun was well aware of its capabilities . In fact, he had even encountered it before .

The Sacred Sword, Balmung .

An item named after the holy and sacred sword that had slew dragons .

It was the same sword that Su-hyeun had used in his previous life, made with the highest-grade ether stone .