Growth Desire (2)
[Urgent Sale] [Handle With Care] [For Research] [Legendary] [Cursed]
< Death Spear Forged by a Curse >
→ This is a legendary spear afflicted with a powerful curse that rapidly drains life force just by holding it. The curse is so strong that even I cannot hold it for more than ten seconds.
For now, it’s tightly wrapped with sealing items, so it’s fine, but if you remove the seals, you may not be able to handle it.
To get straight to the point, even an S-rank curse removal skill could not lift the curse, so I’m selling it urgently.
To be honest, I’ve been told the spear itself was created through the power of the curse, so the only way to remove it would be to destroy the spear. That’s why I’m selling it this cheaply.
Since lifting the curse seems virtually impossible, I do not recommend purchasing it for direct use as a weapon. If you later request a refund for that reason, I will simply ignore it. I recommend it only for someone with curse-related abilities for research purposes, or at most as a display item.
You all know that selling a legendary-grade weapon under these conditions makes no sense. I’ve already spent tens of millions just sealing it.
I will ignore frivolous offers, and if you spout nonsense, I’ll track you down and smash you. Only serious buyers, please.
(Seller) Taewang Gwanggaeto
(Price) None.
(Condition) Exchangeable for a Unique-grade large melee weapon or heavy armor.
“…Ah… maybe…”
Seon Yul stared intensely at the listing he had found on the market app. In that instant, countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
If, by any chance, this works…
He felt he might be able to hunt monsters more safely and more reliably than he had expected.
***
Taewang Gwanggaeto
He was a well-known mana user in South Korea.
Among users, he was called “Gaeto” for short. He was a Hunter-class user.
Not only was he among the top tier of Hunter-class in skill, but he was also highly active, frequently entering what had now become the most dangerous region in the world, North Korea, and steadily hunting monsters there as an active Slayer.
‘Slayer’ referred to users who hunted monsters independently, without belonging to a nation or organization.
They sometimes operated in teams or even guild-sized groups, but their ultimate goal was always the same: hunt monsters and obtain spoils.
They either grew stronger using those spoils or made enough money to live comfortably.
Gaeto had acquired this legendary spear two years ago.
At the time, he had been overjoyed, as if he had won the lottery.
But afterward, he discovered the spear carried an overwhelmingly powerful curse. The legendary spear became useless, neither usable nor discardable.
After spending hundreds of millions of won on transport and sealing costs and gaining nothing in return, he finally put it up on the market about six months ago.
However, the spear had already become widely known after “Wolverine” mentioned it once, and as a result, no one submitted a trade request.
Back then, Wolverine had posted a photo on social media saying he had been asked to help move a heavily cursed legendary spear. He went without thinking much of it, but the moment he grabbed it, he felt for the first time since awakening extreme fatigue and dizziness.
He had merely held and moved the spear, yet it drained so much of his stamina that he felt exhausted for days. He revealed that the curse was so powerful that even he might not be able to handle it.
Because of that, the spear Gaeto owned became famous as the weapon that even Wolverine had given up on.
He couldn’t sell it.
His listing filled with mockery:
“Even Wolverine gave up on it.”
“A suicide spear.”
“You’re trading that for this condition?”
“Not even worth a unique-grade item.”
If the comments hadn’t been anonymous, no one would have dared speak so boldly out of fear of Gaeto. But since they were anonymous, he could do nothing.
In the end, Gaeto gave up trying to sell it and left the spear in the corner of his safe, forgotten.
Then today, a trade request arrived via market notification.
He had even forgotten he hadn’t removed the listing, so he hurriedly logged in.
“What the hell… Is someone buying this? And offering a Unique-grade greatsword?”
“Is this guy insane?”
Even Gaeto knew his trade condition was excessive.
He had written it out of irritation, figuring he wouldn’t trade below that anyway.
But when a request actually came in, he couldn’t help being flustered.
“Oh, there’s an additional condition… Hmm.”
He read the strange extra condition attached to the offer.
When he finished, he tilted his head.
“What kind of condition is this…? It doesn’t look difficult. Why would they attach something like this?”
He considered the deal seriously.
There was nothing disadvantageous to him.
The extra condition was odd, but not problematic.
“Fine. I’ll just handle it now. I can’t leave it in the safe forever.”
Legendary-grade items were incredibly valuable.
Despite the mocking comments, legendary items were never truly objects of ridicule.
Trades were rare, not because they were worthless. But because almost no one ever wanted to sell them. The price was essentially whatever the seller demanded.
Selling it like clearance stock left a bitter taste, but he had no choice.
“Fine. I’ll sell it. If I don’t know, I probably never will.”
With a deep sigh, Gaeto made his decision.
***
The trade proceeded through the community mailbox.
Gaeto attached the spear to a message and sent it.
The buyer replied, attaching the offered item.
Once both parties confirmed the items and pressed “Complete Trade,” the exchange would finish.
If either party canceled midway, all attached items would return to their original owners, making fraud impossible.
Since Gaeto had to fulfill the additional condition first, he went to carry it out.
The request was simple.
Go to a specific location and move an empty desk there to a designated spot.
The intention was incomprehensible, but it wasn’t difficult.
He inspected the desk thoroughly for hidden mechanisms, but it was just a crude, solid desk.
“Why move this to the middle of North Korea?”
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand the buyer’s request. But since the deal had already started and he had been told not to ask questions, Gaeto had no choice but to pick up the desk and head north.
***
If asked what the most dangerous region in the world was, most would answer North Korea or parts of Africa.
To state the facts plainly: North Korea no longer exists as a country.
It collapsed about ten years ago.
Fourteen years ago, when gates began appearing worldwide and monsters poured out, North Korea was already unstable.
Then two massive raid-level monsters appeared simultaneously, creating a catastrophe.
In desperation, North Korea launched dozens of nuclear weapons onto its own land.
The nuclear weapons had been launched with the intention of wiping out the colossal raid-class monsters and the vast monster horde that had already formed an enormous wave, all in a single strike… but in the end, it proved to be an incredibly reckless decision.
It was a mistake born from ignorance, made in the early days of the Great Chaos, when humanity still did not understand the nature of monsters.
As a result, none of the nuclear missiles were able to penetrate the monsters’ mana fields. They detonated uselessly in midair.
Rather than harming the monsters, the aftermath of the explosions inflicted even greater damage on humans. The fragile order that had barely been maintained collapsed completely.
What followed was nothing short of a catastrophe.
The monsters ran even more rampant, and North Korea was destroyed almost instantly, falling into near-total anarchy.
In the process, the number of Gates across North Korean territory increased even further.
From the outside, everything unfolded too quickly. There was neither the time nor the means for other nations to properly observe or intervene in this chain of events.
By the time they had made some preparations, it was already far too late.
And so, the two countries bordering North Korea directly, China and South Korea, had no choice but to completely abandon it and seal off their borders.
Ten years ago, North Korea became nothing more than a monster territory.
The one small stroke of luck was that the Gates somehow absorbed all the radiation from the nuclear explosions. However, this only raised new concerns. Many wondered how the Gates might change after absorbing such radiation.
In truth, humanity has never been able to eliminate all Gates.
Among them were certain Gates that, for unknown reasons, could not be removed.
These unremovable Gates came to be called “Dungeons,” and they were placed under strict management.
While it is rare for an entire nation to become a complete dungeon-state like North Korea, every country possesses and manages a significant number of Dungeons.
These Dungeons also became crucial sources of magic stones.
One of the main reasons South Korea has recently been recognized as one of the world’s top five powers is, ironically, North Korea.
Just as oil-producing nations in the past wielded oil as a tool of geopolitical power, in this new era, a country rich in magic stones has become powerful in its own right.
For that reason, the South Korean government manages North Korean territory much like an oil-producing nation would manage its oil fields.
Only individuals authorized by the state are permitted to enter North Korea, and all magic stones acquired there must be sold to the government.
Naturally, taxes are deducted in the process.
However, taking public sentiment among Users into account, the government does not interfere with other loot obtained there.
For these reasons, entry into North Korea is strictly controlled.
Even if you are a User, unless you belong to a corporation or organization, you must at least hold Hunter-level certification to be granted access.
In any case, because Gaeto was officially licensed, he was able to stride confidently into North Korea with a desk slung over his shoulder.
The immigration officers gave him a few puzzled looks, but there was no legal basis to deny entry simply because he was carrying an ordinary desk.
And so, he walked deep into North Korea to fulfill the buyer’s bizarre request.
At this point, the transaction was practically 100 percent complete.
***
Among the many experiments he conducted, the one Seon Yul focused on the most was the entrance.
He carefully considered and tested various aspects: the conditions required to open the entrance to Absolute Space, how the entrance would be fixed in place once opened, and whether its shape and size could be adjusted.
First, let’s summarize the results of these tests
- The entrance cannot exceed a radius of two meters. However, it seems that this size limit gradually increases as the level of Absolute Space rises.
- The shape of the entrance can be adjusted freely. While it cannot be expanded beyond its maximum size, it can be reduced within that limit. In other words, both the size and shape can be modified at will, as long as they remain within the allowed range.
- When the entrance is opened in midair, its coordinates become fixed in space. However, if he concentrates intensely and creates the entrance while fully attaching it to a specific object, the entrance becomes fixed to that object itself.
- An entrance fixed to an object will move along with the object when the object moves.
- To fix the entrance onto an object, he had to place his palm directly on the object and focus with extreme concentration. In contrast, creating an entrance in midair required only that the location be within five meters and within his line of sight. It could be done easily under those conditions.
- This maximum creation distance also appears to increase slightly as the level of Absolute Space rises.
To uncover these mechanics, Seon Yul conducted countless experiments.
In particular, test number 3 had nearly led him to give up. At first, it didn’t seem possible at all. But after spending an entire day focusing and pushing his concentration to its limits, he finally succeeded.
Thanks to this discovery, he was able to resolve the question of ‘How do I approach monsters?’ far more easily than he had expected.
The one who had requested the trade from Taewang Gwanggaeto was Seon Yul.
He was the one who had asked Gaeto to carry the desk into North Korean territory.
The reason for making such a seemingly absurd request…
Naturally, it was because he had attached the entrance to the desk.
After fixing the entrance in place like that, Seon Yul entered Absolute Space and waited for Gaeto to move.
Entering North Korea this way was effortless.
And since he could exit at any time through the emergency exit he had already installed in his studio apartment, there was effectively no problem.
The risks were extremely minimal.
There were very few variables.
And if anything seemed even slightly dangerous, he could simply retreat and close the entrance.
Thus, the first hunt of the safety-first Seon Yul was about to begin.
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