Chapter 10
“...A foreign identity?”
Just moments ago, I had seen the surreal sorcerer world and the grand underground workshop one after another.
At this point, I thought I wouldn't be surprised by most things anyone said.
But what came out of Seo Ji-an's mouth was distinctly out of place.
"What, you're saying we should launder my identity like in a movie?"
When I asked bluntly, Seo Ji-an waved her hands and laughed.
"No, not like that. I'm not talking about forging passports or anything. I mean a shield the Four Great Families can't legally lay a finger on. That's what you need."
She shifted her posture slightly and tapped the table lightly with her fingertips.
Then she lowered her voice a notch and smiled meaningfully.
"A Chinese sorcerer from the 'Tianshan Sect (天山派).' How about it?"
The Tianshan Sect?
It sounded like something straight out of a wuxia novel.
"I don't even speak Chinese. There's no way that would work..."
“It will! The Korean Four Great Families and that side have an implicit non-aggression pact. Besides, there's a rumor that people from the Tianshan Sect hardly ever go outside because of secrecy, so it's perfect for a disguise.”
She added with a bright smile.
"I happen to have some connections over there. You'd just disguise your identity as one of them, and carry out your actual work here with this workshop as your base. The Korean families can't casually lay a hand on someone from the Tianshan Sect anyway, so from your perspective, Do-hyun-nim, you'd just keep working as usual..."
I didn't understand every detail of the sorcerer world, but the more I listened, the more convincing it sounded.
More than anything, it was Seo Ji-an's face.
She looked genuinely fired up about this.
The faster she talked, the bigger her gestures became, and there was a kind of conviction in her eyes.
For some reason.
At the very least, my instincts told me she didn't seem like the type to lie or stab me in the back.
"...Ji-an."
"Yes, Do-hyun-nim."
"May I ask you one thing?"
"Of course."
I took a moment to choose my words.
"If it's that dangerous, why do you want to work with me, Ji-an?"
From the sound of it, this woman wasn't part of any family either.
Wasn't she taking on the risk of becoming a target for the Four Great Families herself?
Seo Ji-an hesitated for a moment at my question.
A finger on the table twitched lightly once.
Then she lifted the corners of her mouth slightly.
"Life is all high risk, high return, after all."
"..."
"And... I don't really have any other choices left, either."
A shadow fell over the eyes that had just been shining a moment ago.
Despite her forced smile, there was a look in her eyes that suggested some deep story.
Should I ask, or not?
While I hesitated, she brushed the mood away and returned to her usual high-energy tone.
"Anyway! You don't need to think too seriously about it! I'll take care of all the remaining dangerous and annoying stuff for you!"
Her beaming smile was so shamelessly natural that I almost wondered if that strange look from a moment ago had been my imagination.
Well, there was no need to pry into her deeper circumstances.
One thing was clear: this woman was staking a lot on me, too.
'Right, so that's how it is......'
I was starting to make up my mind.
I didn't know even the basic common sense of this world, and if I made something, I had no way to sell it.
And this kind of facility.
Wouldn't it be hard to find a place with facilities like this anywhere else?
In the first place, I had always hated being tied down to anything.
That's why I'd played solo in the game without joining any guild.
Then, well.
No need to think any longer.
"Hehe. Do-hyun-nim, don't feel too pressured—please think it over carefully before you answer. Well, someone with your skill would probably have more than a few places trying to recruit you..."
"I'll do it."
"...Pardon? Do what?"
"I mean I'm signing Seo Ji-an as my exclusive broker."
"Really?!"
Seo Ji-an shot up in surprise.
"This quickly? Really?! You're serious?!"
Her eyes sparkled brilliantly.
She must have been extremely happy.
She hurriedly took a bundle of keys from her suit pocket and placed it in my hand.
"Here, these are the workshop keys! Ah, you can use the room all the way at the back on the second floor. I've already set it up with a bedroom and shower, too."
Oh-ho.
If I wanted to, it really seemed like I could handle everything from here.
"Th-then I have something I need to take care of quickly, so may I step out for a bit? I'll contact you right away if anything comes up!"
"Yes. Go ahead."
She bowed and hurried out.
Creeeeak, clack.
The heavy iron door closed.
And then, immediately.
─Kyaaah! Amazing! This is insane!!
The excited cheers from beyond the iron door, where Seo Ji-an was jumping up and down, came through clearly.
Maybe because my spiritual power had grown stronger, my senses were picking it up more clearly.
"Ahem."
As a veteran broker, she'd probably done contracts like this before.
She must have been ridiculously excited.
I let out a small dry laugh and stood up.
I glanced over the tools neatly lined up on the new workbench.
I wanted to inspect everything, though.
...Tomorrow.
Fatigue suddenly washed over me.
Come to think of it, that made sense.
Too many things had happened today.
'She said it was the room at the very back on the second floor.'
I went up the narrow staircase built into one wall, and a long corridor came into view.
Doors stood neatly lined up on both sides.
"...This doesn't look like a space built for just one person to live in."
Well, that was something to think about later.
I walked to the very end of the hallway and turned the doorknob.
A much tidier room than I'd expected came into view.
Gentle indirect lighting, neatly arranged bedding, and even a small wardrobe along one wall.
Before I even had time to look around, I collapsed straight onto the bed.
Thud—
"..."
It was too soft, too plush.
It felt like my whole body was sinking into it all at once.
"...So this is what an expensive bed feels like."
Because I had work to do again tomorrow.
So I closed my eyes.
***
Before I knew it, daylight was seeping in through the crack in the window.
Looking down outside, I saw the streets of Dokkaebi Market beginning to bustle again.
A pale, dawnlike light spread through the entire underground space. Yet I couldn't see a single light fixture anywhere on the ceiling.
It must have been an enchantment designed to draw in and reflect the natural light from outside. Even underground, it was pleasantly bright, like a morning on the surface.
"Time to get up."
I took a quick shower and put on one of the new clothes hanging in the wardrobe, a loose black T-shirt.
For now, there was something I needed to do.
I went down to the first floor of the workshop and looked around the workroom again.
Looking at it again.
'Just looking at this setup makes me feel satisfied.'
The gleaming furnace and anvil, the top-class tools filling the walls—there wasn't a single flaw anywhere.
I also quietly opened the materials room door I'd missed yesterday.
"...Huh."
My mouth dropped open on its own.
Special alloy ingots were stacked neatly by grade, and beside them were beast hides and bones I'd never seen before, along with tightly packed rolls of some unknown, tough fabric.
Just looking at it was enough to make me full.
First, I cut one of the tough black fabrics that caught my eye down to a suitable size.
I tied it into a shape that could lightly cover my face.
"This should do."
I muttered while looking at my face in the mirror, half hidden.
Since I was going to be living under a false identity, walking around with my bare face exposed wouldn't do.
"I guess it's about time I headed out too."
I started to turn, then stopped.
"Oh right, almost forgot."
I put the black silk pouch Seo Ji-an had tied for me, the suppressor charm, back around my neck.
Only after confirming that my energy had settled did I step out through the iron door.
*
The streets of Dokkaebi Market I faced once more were still just as crowded.
The paths were way too confusing.
I was already the type who got lost easily, but here even internet maps didn't work, so I had to rely solely on memory.
After wandering around the similarly looking alleys over and over, I barely managed to get out onto a broad street lined with shops.
“...Ah, here it is.”
Among the bizarre stalls, one modern-looking device stood out.
Yesterday I was too distracted and only glanced at it on my way past.
This was really an ATM, wasn't it?
Come to think of it, this sorcerer world was still a world that ran on money in the end, so having something like this wasn't strange.
I looked at the small plaque fixed above the machine.
[Dokkaebi ATM - Dokkaebi Market Branch]
‘...What a straightforward name.’
Dokkaebi ATM, huh.
And seeing that it even had branches, there must be a headquarters somewhere and other branches spread around too.
I got the feeling this hidden world might be rooted all over the country more than I'd expected.
I opened my wallet and took out the envelope of payment I'd received yesterday from the head of Cheonhwadang.
Come to think of it, I had asked Seo Ji-an earlier whether I could just use this money as is.
I took out my phone and checked the message window.
―Hehe, I'll handle the detailed fund processing, so you can just use it comfortably!
―There's a 'Dokkaebi ATM' in Dokkaebi Market, you know? If you put it in there, it'll go in nice and clean on its own!
―Large sums are better if I process them separately, but for small amounts that's much more convenient! (A rabbit sticker puffing out its nose with a huff.)
‘...Convenient, my ass.’
I stood before the machine and looked at the screen.
Currency options were neatly lined up across the top of the screen.
Starting with Korean won, then dollars, yuan, and yen.
And even currencies written in characters I'd never seen before.
[Jeongeun (錠銀)], [Yeongseok (靈石)]—it even let me choose mysterious currency units like those.
‘...Let's see. Ah, here.’
[Transfer in Korean won (KRW)]
I took half the payment out of the envelope.
My hand trembled slightly.
‘...This really is going to work, right?’
I couldn't help suspecting that I might somehow mess something up.
It wasn't going to start beeping all of a sudden and have employees swarm out yelling about an 'abnormal transaction detected,' was it?
Even pointless images flashed through my mind.
Well, what could I do?
For now, I had no choice but to give it a try.
Carefully, I pushed the stack of bills into the cash slot.
Ssshh—
[Counting the money.]
The machine swallowed the bills for a while, then brought up a perfectly normal screen.
‘...It works?’
It was the familiar bank transfer screen.
As soon as I keyed in my account number and finished the deposit, the phone in my pocket buzzed briefly.
Bzzz—
[KC Bank deposit. 2,500,000 won (Depositor: Manmul Trading Co.)]
“…….”
I stared blankly at the screen for a moment.
2.5 million won.
That was only half of the payment I'd received yesterday.
So that meant I'd brought back a five-million-won payment in one shot.
Where the heck were these people getting all this money?
When I opened the envelope that morning, my hands had been shaking too.
‘...Well. Good is good.’
I was about to turn off the screen, but stopped and opened the remittance app.
After sending money home, I immediately opened the messaging app.
Tap. Tap.
[Me: I sent this month's living expenses.]
My twenty-year-old sister, who's retaking the college entrance exam, replied immediately.
What? Isn't she studying?
[Yujin: Oh, thanks thanks. But didn't you say things might be rough for a while because you were looking for a new part-time job?]
[Me: Yeah, that's how it turned out. How's Mom doing?]
[Yujin: Same as always. I tell her to take it easy when she's sick, but she won't listen.]
[Me: Yeah. Got it for now. Text me right away if anything happens.]
I stared at the chat window for a moment, then moved my finger again.
[Lee Do-hyun has sent 500,000 won.]
[Yujin: ?????]
[Yujin: Huh??]
[Yujin: What's this??]
[Me: This is pocket money for you. You said you needed to buy workbooks and sign up for new online lectures, right?]
[Yujin: Whoa? Oppa, did you go join a deep-sea fishing boat? Or did you sell a kidney or something?]
[Me: If you don't want it, say so. Hold on, I'll cancel the transfer.]
[Yujin has received 500,000 won.]
Look at that, she took it right away.
[Yujin: Love you, oppa. Mwah mwah mwah.]
[Me: Get lost. ㅡㅡ]
Pfft.
I put my phone back in my pocket.
Well, I'd done my big-brother duty. Now there was something I really needed to do.
There was a place I'd caught a glimpse of while passing through this market alley yesterday.
*
‘Ah, found it.’
An old wooden building.
A worn signboard hung at the entrance, with [Mansang Seogak (萬象書閣)] written in brush script.
When I went inside, the thick scent of ink, old mildew, and a faint fragrance pricked my nose.
The packed bookshelves that seemed to reach the ceiling were lined with all sorts of books, from hardcovers to old antiquarian volumes, all coated in dust.
At the counter, a skinny old man wearing magnifying glasses was dozing off with a pipe in his mouth.
I quietly began scanning the shelves.
What I needed right now was the basic knowledge of this world.
No matter how much skill I'd built up in the game, if I didn't even know the names of the materials used here or the theories behind their properties, I was only half a blacksmith.
But the more I looked over the shelves, the more something felt off.
Books that looked brand new were mixed in mercilessly with ones bound in yellowed paper.
‘...He doesn't organize his books at all. No wonder this place is dead.’
Still, there was a decent variety.
I slowly wandered between the shelves, picking books as they caught my hand.
[Understanding Yin-Yang and the Five Elements]
[Introduction to Basic Sorcery]
[Practical Spell Inscription Theory - Basic Edition]
[You Can Make It Too! Starting Today, I'm a Talisman King.]
"Hmm, this should be enough to roughly sort out the terminology."
The last book I picked up didn't look trustworthy from the cover alone, but for beginners, things like this can actually be helpful.
I was just about to tuck the books under my arm and head to the counter.
'Huh?'
In a corner of the shop.
A heap of clearance books, tossed around carelessly and covered in a thick layer of dust, came into view.
A mound of old books and miscellaneous junk stacked there as if someone had thrown them away.
But inside that pile, there was something strangely drawing my eye.
No, it was more like it was drawing me in....
It was close to thirst.
A primal urge that made it feel impossible not to reach out at once.
'...What is this?'
My feet moved toward it on their own.
I crouched down and looked through the pile.
Most were miscellaneous books with tattered covers.
[Introduction to Triad-Style Formations], [100 Talismans That Don't Sell Well], [Exorcist Certification Past Exam Collection]...
Every one of them looked at least thirty years old, yellowed and buried under a thick layer of dust.
But right in the middle of it.
There was one book buried deep, crushed between the others.
I knew it instinctively.
That was it.
This pull was definitely coming from that book.
As I lifted the books stacked on top one by one, a finger-width gap was revealed in the pile.
I shoved my hand through the gap.
Scritch.
Grains of dust scraped across the back of my hand.
The cover my fingertips touched had a texture different from the others.
It was old, but strangely smooth to the touch.
Leather.
For some reason, it felt as though it had been waiting for someone's touch for ages.
Without hesitation, I yanked it out in one swift motion.
And at that moment.
Fwoooosh—!
My vision turned completely white.