CH 23

However, contrary to what was expected of the treasures immediately, the place that led was another small room. 

Only desks and chairs with antique designs were placed in the room.

“All of the 7th basement floor here is being used as a storage room.”

Seo Dojoon took out three S-Class contracts from the sub-space.

“Please sign this contract before going inside.”

Haeun received the contract and read it.

<Confidentiality Pledge>

– The Ahyeon Guild (hereinafter referred to as “A”) and the visitor Jung Haeun (hereinafter referred to as “B”) enter into a confidentiality agreement as follows.

It was a document warning me that it wouldn’t be fun to go around talking about what I saw in this safe. Even the penalty for breaking the contract was written in great detail. I think I need to be this meticulous to be a guild leader.

“Dojoon, do I have to do it, too?”

“Yeah, Hyung writes it too.”

Kim Hyunseok grumbled that he was disappointed but eventually vowed. When Seo Dojoon signed the remaining blanks, the part where the name was written on the contract shone brightly and faded. Jung Sehyun also smiled and picked up a pen.

“Just visiting another guild’s item storage room is a great privilege.”

Confidentiality agreements were signed without problems.

Now, only Haeun was left. While she was about to sign, an idea came to her.

‘By the way, do the penalties in this contract apply to me as well?’

The S-Class contract has an effect that applies to all awakened people below S-Cass. If the subject of the contract is an awakened person, it is also possible to contract between an awakened person and a non-awakened person. Seo Dojoon must have taken out the most expensive contract for the purpose of applying it to everyone, including Jung Sehyun. 

But isn’t Haeun an EX-class, out of standard?

It was a benefit to get away from the application of the penalty. But—.

‘What should I do if it shows through when I sign the contract?’

She shouldn’t make a contract or suddenly catch fire while causing an anomaly. Today, he had doubts about her and made her take an awakening test, but she couldn’t give him another reason to doubt her. 

[The constellation ‘The Mutant of the Abyss’ says he doesn’t know that much and tells her to sign a contract first.]

[When it’s revealed, she’ll make her debut as a hunter, which is good because it means she’ll kill two birds with one stone] 

Haeun, who had numb feet, trembled and moved the pen.

It was seen as a scared civilian who signed an S-class contract for the first time for Seo Dojoon and Kim Hyunseok. He felt a little sorry, but it was unavoidable for security reasons.

Instead, Seo Dojoon decided to give Haeun a little help in choosing an item.

Fortunately for Haeun, there was no problem. Haeun let out a sigh of relief. Seo Dojoon collected all the contracts.

“Then we will go in.”

The vault door was finally opened.

A small round hall appeared when he opened the door connected to the small room. There were a total of seven doors connected to the hall. The door that Haeun and the party had just opened was connected to the entrance to the outside, and the other doors seemed to be divided according to the use of the item.

“Can I look around?”

Haeun asked with an excited face.

“Of course.”

Haeun opened the door on the far right. It was the room where the armor was stored. Haeun’s eyes widened as she saw the inside.

It was truly a treasure trove. It was so well organized that it felt like a huge museum. It seemed that if they sold everything, they could buy even a small island.

“Isn’t that Medusa’s shield?”

Haeun pointed to the shield hanging on the wall and shouted. The huge shield with the head of a woman with snake hair engraved on it was definitely a famous legendary item made by Hephaestus Workshop in Greece.

“Huh? But I heard that the U.S. has Medusa’s shield….”

“It’s a replica made in the same workshop.”

It was a replica.

“The shape is the same, but the performance is slightly inferior. It will be about the level of a quasi-sacred product.”

“Oh, come to think of it, the same thing here….”

“It is used to train new hunters. They are a precious power that will be the future of Ahyeon Guild, so they can’t get hurt. For a first-time awakened hunter, even these items are enough.”

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ shows dissatisfaction, saying there is a reason for bringing them here.]

[He asks why there are so many replicas and if this is fake storage.]

Haeun looked around the large room once again. That is to say, there are both real and fake products here. Medusa’s shield alone had three of them. Given that there are so many of the same item, it is unlikely that there will ever be a small number of replicas.

‘There are so many, how can I choose the best one here?’

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ burns his will to find the best item for sure.]

‘What did my dad say?’

Whenever Haeun went to the workshop, she remembered what her father often said.

“Haeun-ah, shining doesn’t mean everything is good.”

There is a saying among hunters that if you want to get the most precious, you should choose the most shabby. This is because the higher the rating of the item, the more simple the design becomes rather than fancy.

However, in the case of the general public, they tended to think that the higher the item’s rank, the more colorful it would be. In particular, that prejudice became stronger after the behind-the-scenes story about <Bloody Fairy>, an epic item that disappeared from the mystery program aired every weekend morning, was aired.

“But Dad, the Bloody Fairy was so pretty?”

“That’s because people processed it. It’s a high-grade item, but if it’s beautiful, it should be considered more ominous.”

<Bloody Fairy> was a pair of delicately crafted red earrings. The central jewel is the nucleus of the double-headed snake, an S-Class boss monster. If you wear the earring, you can copy the skills of those who are hostile to you regardless of your grade. Even F-rank hunters will be able to use S-rank skills. 

But instead, the user had to offer some of their life span in return.

Despite the ominous cost of using it, many wanted to get their hands on this item. Even if the awakening level goes up by one level, the world changes, and they can’t help but covet it.

It passed through many people’s hands, and the more it passed, the darker the red core received the user’s lifespan. In addition, the simple design has changed through several owners into a very colorful one.

The earrings that remained in the last photo taken before disappearing were so beautiful that people admired them even though they knew it was cursed objects. 

Now no one knows who has it, or if it still exists in the world.

‘Anyway, I have to choose the best one for Sehyun.’

Weapons are not necessary because there is a person at home who can make Legendary items. Then—.

“Where are the skill amplification items?”

Haeun immediately asked what she wanted.

Seo Dojoon also noticed that she was trying to pick out an item for her younger brother Jung Sehyun. 

Skill amplification items were rarer than other items and were on the high price side. However, if this incident can build a close relationship with both Haeun and Jung Sehyun, it wouldn’t be bad if he handed over one of them. He decided to help Haeun out because she had a hard day.

He thought, above all, that Haeun couldn’t make a decision without someone’s advice as an unawakened person. 

“I will guide you.”

Haeun came out alone again with Seo Dojoon. Jung Sehyun and Kim Hyunseok also went their separate ways, so there was no one there. As she strode forward, Haeun hesitated. 

‘By the way, where is the exit?’

Since it is a circular hall, all the lengths looked the same.

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ says that Haeun should know that she is bad with direction.]

‘Everything looks the same, so it’s confusing!’

She was following Seo Dojoon from behind so she wouldn’t get lost, but the constellation stopped her.

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ whispers that she should go to the room at 11 o’clock in Haeun instead of that room.]

‘Why? What do you feel?’

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ answers that there is something Haeun might like.]

When the constellation said that, she became curious. Haeun grabbed the hem of Seo Dojoon’s shirt. Seo Dojoon turned his head as if asking why. Haeun pointed to the room the constellation pointed out.

“Seo Dojoon-ssi, I want to go to that room first.”

“There are no amplification items there, but…”

“What is this place?”

“It’s a collection of items that don’t have any special features. Some are scheduled to be disposed of.”

In a word, it meant useless items. 

However, those words rather convinced Haeun. There seems to be something great out there. Didn’t Jung Jinho also tell Haeun? He said to choose the old and shabby one.

“Let’s go over there first!”

“All right.”

The door snapped open.

The first thing that greeted Haeun was the smell of dust. Unlike the other rooms, this place seemed to have been neglected for a long time. White dust piled up on top of the items roughly piled up like a mountain. There were also several large bags of useless items. It was completely dark with no light. 

She has only one chance to select an item. Haeun carefully looked around.

‘What about Epic?’

[The constellation ‘Mutant of the Abyss’ says that there seem to be no epic items.]

[Most normal or rare.]

‘I thought there might be something I would like. What is it?’

What the Constellation pointed out was an old snake statue with a lot of worn and corroded exterior. It is a picture of a snake climbing up on a large sword. 

“Mmhm.”

She doesn’t feel any special characteristics other than the impression that it is rough.

Seo Dojoon, who noticed Haeun’s gaze, opened his mouth.

“It’s a reward from the S-Class dungeon <90th Day>.”

“S-Class?”

She was surprised. It was a statue that a street vendor could sell, but it was from a fairly high-grade dungeon.

“But why are you keeping it here?”

“It was a reward, but it had no function other than a decorative element.”

The Ahyeon Guild’s laboratory has already conducted a test, but the result came out that it was just an ornament. He couldn’t just throw away the items from the dungeon, so he kept it for now. 

Seo Dojoon personally lifted the snake statue to show that it was not dangerous. 

For a moment, the eyes of the snake sculpture seemed to flash. It must have been because of the reflection of the fluorescent light, but it felt strange.

“Hmm… Can I touch it?” 

Seo Dojoon nodded and handed the statue to Haeun. There won’t be anything special happened.

Haeun carefully picked up the statue. As expected, there is no response.

But the moment Haeun tries to put the statue down—.

Pat—.

The figures of the four people on the 7th basement level of the Ahyeon Guild have completely disappeared.