Chapter 16
The Black Cloud Society.
It's an assassination group and information organization run by Dark Star Reine.
Following the nature of its leader, the Dark Star, it was naturally an underworld organization.
Because of this, most people in the light world didn't know its true nature.
And this <Blue Orchid General Store> was also part of that Black Cloud Society.
"It's better to tell me what you know. Unless you want your neck to fall off here."
In other words, it's the Black Cloud Society's Academy Branch 1.
Of course, very few people knew about it.
Apart from members of the Black Cloud Society and the principal, Euphoria, who even they couldn't avoid,
Probably no one else knew about this place.
Knowing this, the store manager pointed a black dagger at me.
"It would be better to lower that dagger from my lord."
When the manager pointed the dagger at me, Hwa-ryeon didn't stay quiet either.
She wrapped fox fire around her hand, aiming at his solar plexus.
It was a situation where both were targeting each other's vital points.
"Don't worry, I didn't come here as an enemy."
"Don't talk nonsense. How did a kid like you find this place? Are you from the Sword Faction? Flashbolt Society? Or... did the academy send you?"
He was already convinced that I had received information from some organization.
It was natural, in a way.
For a mere academy student to find this place, there had to be some backing.
It's safe to say that there's no chance for an ordinary student to find this place alone.
What should I do in response to him?
I had thought of an excuse for this.
"I'm a shaman."
"I know. Your name is Kang Shin-woo, there's been a lot of talk about a shaman appearing after a long time. I didn't know you had this kind of backing though."
"And I'm also a familiar spirit shaman."
As expected, they had already obtained information about me.
I was also the runner-up at the academy.
Above all, I was one of only about 10 shamans in the whole world.
They probably investigated a lot since a shaman had appeared after a very long time.
Well, it's unknown whether they even investigated my past that I don't know about.
"I can see souls and control them."
"So?"
"Isn't there an object imbued with shamanic power here? I ordered my familiar spirits to find shamanic power, and as a result, I came here."
I didn't know if there was an object imbued with shamanic power.
But there was probably a high chance there was.
I could actually feel shamanic power inside the store.
For a place like the Black Cloud Society, the probability of having objects imbued with shamanic power was extremely high.
"Then how did you know the password?"
"They say that spirits with weak egos often repeat actions they frequently did in life."
"Are there many spirits around this general store?"
"Not many... but quite a few."
Half of it was truth and half was a lie.
As it was part of the Black Cloud Society, an underworld organization, there were quite a few dead spirits.
But they didn't say the password or anything like that.
Most of the spirits seemed to be those of people killed by them rather than members of the Black Cloud Society.
But there's no way for the manager to know that.
This is what's called information asymmetry.
'You need Spirit Eyes to communicate with ghosts.'
There was no description in the original work of the manager having Spirit Eyes.
"I have no connection with the Sword Faction, Flashbolt Society, or the academy. I'm just a customer."
"Even though you're an academy student?"
"That's not what I mean."
So when I looked him in the eye and spoke confidently,
After looking at my face for a moment, he removed the black dagger that had been pressed against my neck.
"I'm Baek Rim, the branch manager of the Black Cloud Society's Academy Branch."
He had judged that I wasn't a threat.
With those words, he headed towards a small room in the corner of the general store.
It meant to follow him.
Seeing that he had withdrawn his hostility, Hwa-ryeon also erased the fox fire wrapped around her hand.
"To point a sword at my lord's body..."
"He probably wouldn't have really cut me. It would be hard to deal with Euphoria."
No matter what the reason might be.
Would Euphoria leave alone someone who killed an academy student?
Absolutely not.
The source of my confidence came from there.
Unless Baek Rim was someone without backing,
In the original work, he was someone who thought about the organization, and I trusted that.
Anyway, after a brief conversation, we followed Baek Rim to the small room.
A shabby small room like the interior of the store.
Only after opening a dusty trapdoor in the corner of that room,
We could enter the proper Black Cloud Society store.
"Call if you need an explanation. But if you touch items without buying..."
"I know, don't worry."
The interior of the store wasn't very large in size.
However, the interior itself was decorated in black with an antique style.
And the quality of the items displayed there was different.
No, it was full of incredible items that would be unfair to even compare.
'Most of these are things I don't know.'
In the original work, I came to the store many times.
But of course, it didn't explain each item one by one.
If it had explained everything in detail, it would have become a wiki, not a novel.
Because of that, there were many items I didn't know about.
Among them, there were some quite good ones.
For example, something like this.
+++
Name: Ring of New Life
Grade: A-
Description: A ring solidified with the energy of plants and trees.
Currently, its power has decreased a bit as that energy has scattered, but it's still full of vitality.
Effect: Acquire skill, 'Emergency Revival'.
However, the ring is destroyed after the skill is activated once.
+++
Ring of New Life.
Its effect skill, Emergency Revival, was an incredible skill.
A one-time use skill that recovers not only the physical body but also some of the inner energy when in a near-death state.
In other words, it was like an extra life.
'It's useless if you die instantly though.'
If not for that, it's a skill that can revive you once.
It was worth buying.
"The price is..."
[70,000,000 won]
It was expensive.
But considering the value of this item, it was relatively cheap.
And I had the financial means to buy it.
'Why am I trying to protect this world again?'
As I keep saying, the reason I'm trying to protect this world.
It's because of the huge house I'm living in and the money.
Money is so abundant that I'm willing to risk my life for it.
I'm protecting the world because there's an astronomical amount of money beyond my imagination in my bank account.
So buying this much wasn't a big deal.
"Please prepare this for me first."
After saying this to Baek Rim, I continued to walk around the store and picked out a few more items.
In total, I collected 2 more items.
[You have acquired the item, 'Armband of Strength'.]
[You have acquired the item, 'Fire Spirit Grass'.]
The Armband of Strength, an activation-type item, was an item that temporarily greatly amplifies physical strength when used.
Fire Spirit Grass, a consumable item, is a spirit medicine that increases the total amount of positive energy and shamanic power when consumed.
'Pretty good.'
This was enough.
Probably, if I properly consume the Fire Spirit Grass too, there will be about a 1.5 times difference compared to my previous self.
However, if there's one thing to be disappointed about,
It's that there wasn't a weapon I liked.
It's not that there were no swords at all, and the quality was quite good.
But compared to the weapons I plan to get later, there were some shortcomings.
It wasn't cheap either.
You could say the merit was lacking compared to the price.
So I couldn't choose a weapon.
'It can't be helped even if it's disappointing.'
I can get one later anyway.
So just as I was about to leave the store,
"My lord, please look at this."
Hwa-ryeon said this while pointing to an item.
The item she pointed to was a mineral slightly larger than a fist.
I could feel a strange energy from it, it seemed to be what I had felt from the outside.
+++
Name: Soul Light Stone
Grade: A (There's a lot of room for change as it's currently a raw material.)
Description: A mineral created by gathering and compressing souls.
It has the effect of greatly increasing otherworldly power.
+++
Although the description was short because it was still a raw material, I understood what kind of ability it had.
Otherworldly power.
In other words, it had the effect of increasing shamanic power, spiritual energy, and demonic energy.
'Not bad.'
It was a bit of a shame that it was raw material.
But that's something that can be made.
I could probably make a weapon if I go to 'that place'.
Whether they'll accept me... I'm not sure.
"I'll take this too."
After choosing the Soul Light Stone as well, I immediately went to Baek Rim and paid for everything at once with my card.
It worked.
This card has no limit.
Anyway, after swiping an amount I couldn't have imagined before, I immediately took those items and went outside the building.
With a happier heart than ever before.
"I'll come again next time."
"If you tell others, your neck will fall off."
"Let's keep it a secret between you and me, mister."
After leaving the store with a very friendly greeting,
My destination was not home, but the academy where classes had just ended.
To be more precise...
The clubroom of the 'Workshop Club', the academy's forge.
I headed there.
#
"Kang Shin-woo..."
After Kang Shin-woo left,
Baek Rim, who went back behind the counter and sat down, muttered like this.
He was an interesting kid.
And a dangerous one too.
"To think his ability was at that level."
He had never met a shaman before, so he didn't know their abilities were at that level.
To be able to get information even from dead people.
There's no greater advantage for those involved in espionage.
The dead can't speak.
It's an ability that breaks that principle.
Moreover, it's hard for others to silence them because they're already dead.
Unless you're a psychic, it's impossible to interfere with ghosts.
It meant he was optimized for information gathering.
'I hope he doesn't do anything strange.'
What would happen if such a person became an enemy?
Baek Rim felt annoyed just thinking about it.
That thought was about 'Kang Shin-woo' as a person, separate from him being a shaman.
"I should contact Dark Star first."
This wasn't an issue to end here.
At the very least, it was a matter to report to Dark Star, the leader of the Black Cloud Society.
And not just to Dark Star.
It was also something to send to Lucia, her successor who's currently attending the academy.
Thinking this, Baek Rim wrote the information as favorably as possible while sending it.
Dangerous, and possessing outstanding abilities.
But at the same time,
'Interesting.'
It was interesting.
He genuinely thought so.