An ominous crimson liquid, one might say. Yet it was contained in a glass bottle. The aura emanating from the crimson liquid was unsettling.
“As expected, you are aware. That’s correct.”
Was that mysterious gaze of Shimun interpreted differently?
“DS. The accurate name is Dragon Serum, a potion that is called.”
Seo Wiryong nodded alone, extending it out.
“Dragon Serum?”
“Yes. It is the finest potion on the Continental provided exclusively by the Spear King Zhang Liqiu’s faction.”
The finest potion of the Continental. Shimun’s eyes sank at those words.
Because.
‘In my previous life, there was no potion like DS on the Continental…’
Shimun, who had frequent dealings with the Continental in his previous life, naturally had a deep knowledge of the Continental’s exclusive potions.
However, this potion called Dragon Serum was unfamiliar to him.
Moreover.
‘The Continental usually uses Hanja for the items they create unless it’s unavoidable.’
Perhaps due to their peculiar pride in their language. The Continental mostly used Hanja for the items they produced. In can also be seen by the way they call promising rookies ‘Reserve Force’?
But Dragon Serum?
Of course, there was nothing strange about it.
“So this potion is exclusively produced by the Spear King Zhang Liqiu’s faction?”
“Yes.”
A potion exclusively produced by Zhang Liqiu. Just this made it clear what kind of content it contained.
“There are other elixirs with unknown recipes even in guilds like the Dragon Blood Elixir…”
As Shimun said that, Seo Wiryong’s gaze subtly shifted downward. It was natural. The Continental was not just any small or medium-sized guild.
It was a guild known as one of the top two in the world alongside American Dreams in the United States. For such an essential piece of information like guild elixirs not properly shared, it was embarrassing.
“Next time, if the opportunity arises, I’ll ask for other elixirs as well.”
Shimun received the DS handed to him. Was it that he noticed the consideration?
“… Yes. Thank you, Shimun-nim.”
Seo Wiryong expressed his gratitude with a bow. Shimun replied with a smile.
Swoosh.
The crimson liquid in the glass bottle rippled softly.
‘Dragon serum….’
There was no need to activate the information in Odin’s Eye separately. Just looking at the potion called Dragon Serum was enough.
“Quite the name,” he thought.
It was dripping with pure Dragon Force, which was easy to perceive due to the presence of information and Dragon Force in the potion. Ordinary people would hardly sense it.
The information screen of the Dragon Serum was checked by Shimun. Then.
“Huh?”
“Shimun-nim?”
His eyes widened.
“Why are you like this? Is there a problem?”
“Seo Wiryong-ssi, am I the only one who can’t see this?”
“Hmm?”
Shimun held out the Dragon Serum to a bewildered Seo Wiryong. Seo Wiryong stared at the Dragon Serum with a puzzled look.
“Oh!”
His eyes widened in surprise. The reason was simple.
“I, I can’t see the information screen!”
“Is that so?”
The information screen of the Dragon Serum. It didn’t even appear in its rudimentary form. It was common knowledge that all products made as byproducts of the Galaxy Arena would have an information screen, even if they were not part of the production system.
Seo Wiryong was not ignorant of this fact.
“Why isn’t the information screen appearing, what is this made of….”
The absence of the information screen caused great confusion. Shimun asked calmly.
“Where did you get this?”
“Before departing to this place, vice-guildmaster gave it to me as a gift, saying it would help enhance abilities.”
“Enhance abilities?”
“Yes. Since the rental fee is about 43 billion, I wanted to make a good impression during the contract negotiation…”
Unable to bring himself to say the word ‘bribe,’ Seo Wiryong trailed off, bowed deeply, and apologized.
“I’m sorry, Shimun-nim. Seo Wiryong is showing a less-than-honorable side today.”
“It’s okay.”
Shimun waved his hand lightly and looked at the Dragon Serum.
“The current vice-guildmaster is Zhang Wanchi. He is Zhang Liqiu’s uncle.”
It was the same in his past life. Zhang Wanchi is a person of Zhang Liqiu. Therefore, the Dragon Serum he sent could not be fake. Shimun, watching Seo Wiryong biting his lip, asked him,
“Seo Wiryong, have you ever seen this potion called Dragon Serum before?”
He wondered what Kim Shimun is trying to ask about. Seo Wiryong sighed softly and lowered his head.
“Unless you mean Dragon Blood Elixir, then I might not know, DS is an elixir I’ve never actually seen before.”
“It sounds like a very rare elixir.”
“That’s right. It’s an elixir given only to the close aides of the Spear King.”
“Hmm.”
Kim Shimun stroked his chin for a moment. If it was an elixir that enhanced abilities, he would have only given it to his close aides. In other words, it meant it was a medicine that could never be given to unreliable people.
‘So, this Dragon Serum is originally an item without an information window…’
An item without an information window. In other words, it means an item that has not been approved by Galaxy Arena.
‘It’s a kind of illegal item.’
If it was a legitimate item, it would have been used for power expansion long ago. Didn’t it even have the effect of enhancing abilities? Starting from its high price to various other uses like luring famous rankers, it could have been used in many ways.
Nevertheless, Zhang Liqiu limited the Dragon Serum to his close aides. This means, ‘it’s an item made from materials not approved by Galaxy Arena.’
It was a very credible speculation. In past arenas, hadn’t the dragons occasionally violated the rules of Galaxy Arena surreptitiously?
‘Come to think of it, the power that corrupted the World Tree belonged to the Dragon Emperor Nidhogg.’
The power contained in this Dragon Serum was at a similar level to the power that corrupted the World Tree. In other words, ‘the power in the Dragon Serum is no different from that of the Dragon Emperor.’ This meant that Zhang Liqiu was not connected to just any ordinary dragon, it meant that he was connected to a Dragon Emperor.
‘I’ve gathered more information than I thought.’
He hadn’t even properly pressured Seo Wiryong and the moderates, yet he had obtained this much information already. Of course, from Seo Wiryong’s perspective, it was just a bribe brought for contract negotiations.
Kim Shimun glanced at Seo Wiryong, who was looking around cautiously.
“It’s a pleasing gift. Please relay my thanks to Vice-guildmaster.”
“Huh? Oh, yes, I will definitely pass it on.”
“Since I’ve received the gift, I should give something in return, right?”
“In return…?”
Even though this was a bribe given to reduce the rental fee, what kind of return was he talking about? Despite Seo Wiryong’s doubts, ‘Even though the moderates are likely busy with expanding their influence, they still play such tricks.’
Kim Shimun’s heart was quite cold.
‘If I were an ordinary player, I would have probably praised DS.’
Although it’s worth it to doubt at least once since the information window doesn’t appear, the origin of the medicine is Vice-guildmaster, a top guild in the world…
The efficacy of enhancing abilities alone was enough to squash any doubts. However, knowing that it was based on the power of a dragon, on the level of a dragon’s blood.
“This potion is bound to be special in some way.”
It was clear to Shimun that it would be poisonous to ordinary players in any form. In fact, from Shimun’s standpoint, it wouldn’t matter even if he drank it.
“After all, I have the blood of the dragon god.”
Dragon God Tiamat. Nidhogg’s energy, whic had corrupted the World Tree, had already submitted and been absorbed by Shimun. To someone like him, this Dragon Serum might not only enhance his abilities but also boost his Dragon Force and related abilities, just like during the incident with the World Tree.
– Perfect timing. I have just the place to put this high-purity Dragon Force to use.
“How is it? Have you figured it out?”
As Shimun gently touched his chest.
– Yes, yes! I’ve figured it out.
The Philosopher’s Stone, who had finished understanding the Dragon Serum, replied in a cheerful voice:
– The quantity of the Dragon Force is substantial. If we amplify it through duplication, the golem will be able to operate just fine!
The golem production. Because of the draconium used as the base, there was not enough Dragon Force to operate it.
“Thank you very much. It’s a timely contribution since it is something I needed.”
What was intended as a scheme by Jonglee Tribe’s Su Jak to spy on them turned out to be advantageous. So, naturally, it had to be repaid in kind.
“What… does ‘repayment’ mean, Kim Shimun-nim?”
“Oh, quite literally. I can’t just leave something so valuable lying around due to my personality.”
With a smile, Kim Shimun looked towards the back and saw that Park Jinwook, who had been waiting, had approached.
“Jinwook-ssi, are you ready?”
“Yes. There was no need to prepare, actually. Before she left, she told me that you could use it as much as you want.”
With a slight chuckle, Park Jinwook took something out of his inventory.
“This… is!”
Seeing it, Seo Wiryong’s eyes widened in surprise. Of course, it would.
Sarakh.
A voucher with a fox drawn on oriental-style paper. It was none other than…
“Is this the voucher for the Black Market?!”
Worth as much as dollars. Perhaps even more valuable than dollars, because it’s a voucher from the black market.
Moreover…
“Wait! If it’s R… the direct voucher from the owner of the Black Market?!”
The initial ‘R’ engraved at the top of the voucher.
Seo Wiryong knew that this was a voucher directly issued by the owner of the Black Market.
“Yes, that’s right. It’s a voucher guaranteed by the owner of the Black Market.”
“Unbelievable…”
Upon Kim Shimun’s assurance, Seo Wiryong’s mouth hung agape.
“The Guild Master himself only has a few of these….”
Continental, one of the two strongest guild in the world.
Even the current guildmaster, the owner of the Continental, had only a few of these black market owner’s voucher.
It was natural.
The black market owner’s voucher weren’t something one could obtain through mere money, power, or influence. They were granted based on a certain value set by the black market owner.
Moreover, ‘Didn’t the Night Hunter just say it could be used as much as he wanted?’
From the situation, that must have been clearly stated by the owner of the black market.
“This is a token of gratitude. Take it.”
“Excuse me?”
The young man in front of him offered such a precious voucher as if he were giving pocket money to a child.
“This is my token of gratitude, please take it. Of course, it is intended for Seo Wiryong-ssi, not for me.”
With no trace of hesitation, he quickly presented it. Seo Wiryong was taken aback.
“How can I accept something so precious?”
“I already told you. I don’t like the feeling of the only one just receiving.”
The voucher of the Black Market owner. And if it was the owner’s voucher, it held a value that could not be measured by numbers. Any item could be purchased directly as a top priority in the Black Market, without going through auctions or other processes. Giving such a voucher meant.
“A kind of financial support… I see.”
It was no different from providing financial support to the moderate faction in the Continental.
“You are indeed sharp. That’s right.”
Shimun nodded with a light smile.
“Of course, laundered yuan will also be provided separately. Leave the tracking to the capable ones, so even Zhang Liqiu won’t be able to trace it. Use it with peace of mind.”
“To the extent of providing laundered yuan! Kim Shimun, this is too much…”
“We made a deal. Instead of you restraining Zhang Liqiu, I’ll push you forward.”
“…”
Seo Wiryong couldn’t say a word to Shimun, who neatly summed it up.
“The Dragon Serum you brought will also be quite helpful to me. So, don’t hesitate to accept it.”
Don’t hesitate to accept it? Offering such massive support so easily and then saying not to hesitate to accept it?
“Shimun-nim, the Dragon Serum was given to me by the vice-guildmaster, not… I have nothing to offer you…”
Seo Wiryong hastily spoke up, but.
“Stop. Your mere presence is helpful to me. So.”
Shimun cut off his words easily. And then.
“Don’t ask twice and take it.”
With a forceful and decisive attitude, Shimun pushed the voucher of the Black Market in front of Seo Wiryong. And.
“I… I’ll never forget this favor, Shimun-nim!”
Seo Wiryong could only express his gratitude.