Chapter 37

People had two perceptions about monsters.

One was that they were dangerous species threatening human survival.

The sudden monster invasion had only been going on for a month, but the human and economic damage sustained by humanity was beyond numerical expression.

Even South Korea, considered to have achieved the most successful defense in the world, officially reported tens of thousands of casualties, and when including the missing, that number jumped to millions.

The real economy and stock market had gone haywire due to other countries halting food and energy exports and trade schedules being disrupted by monster appearances.

Naturally, for these people, monsters were dangerous beings that had to be exterminated by any means necessary.

However, the other perspective was completely opposite.

The idea was that monsters’ existence would be the catalyst to elevate humanity to a higher dimension.

Monsters not only had genetic structures and characteristics completely different from Earth’s life forms, but there were also countless beings that were previously only imagined, like silicon-based life forms or energy beings.

Obviously, the value of such monsters was beyond measure.

Mysterious metals that made alloys look trivial, blood and flesh with regenerative and detoxifying abilities that defied common sense, mana stones containing powerful energy.

People dreaming of life-changing opportunities went out to hunt monsters, investors put money into monster-related fields, and companies were desperate to gather and research monster-related materials.

It had reached the point where people were calling it the 21st century gold rush.

However, despite such interest, no significant achievements or results had been produced yet.

Monsters worth anything either weren’t affected by modern weapons or required substantial firepower to take down, leaving no intact corpses, and except for a very small minority, most Contractors lacked the ability or experience to hunt powerful monsters.

It was a situation of excessive demand with no supply.

Of course, Yuseong was also aware that the value of monster-related items was skyrocketing.

‘I knew. I knew but…’

He only knew, but it wasn’t until seeing the scene before him that he could truly grasp its meaning.

“Five thousand! Not for all of them, but per piece!”

“Five thousand three hundred!”

“No way! Five thousand five hundred!”

“Don’t listen to them! Give them to me cleanly for six thousand!”

In a shabby auditorium where people who buy and sell monster-related items gathered.

Hundreds, maybe even more people were shouting numbers with veins popping in their necks, prompting Seo Chang-hoon to say with a trembling voice.

“Why are they trying to buy a mere gold coin for such an expensive price?”

“Well, because it’s an item from monsters.”

Just considering the gold content, the gold coin’s value isn’t much.

However, when it comes with the title of ‘an item from another world’s monster from a different civilization,’ the story changes.

Even meteorites from space sell for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

Simply because of the possibility that the gold in these coins might have different characteristics from Earth’s gold, or might contain some unknown metal not found on Earth, the price of the coins was literally shooting through the roof.

‘But even so, for a single gold coin to sell for more than a gold bar…’

The auction that seemed endless.

Fortunately or unfortunately, once it reached the hundred million mark, more and more people started giving up on buying, and soon a buyer was decided.

“One hundred forty thousand!”

One hundred forty thousand per piece.

The quest… no, the number of gold coins in the pouch the Orc Warrior had was 50, so that totals to 7 billion.

“Good. How would you like to handle the payment?”

“Hmm, how many months are possible?”

“You’re not talking about installments, are you?”

In these turbulent times when dozens of companies go bankrupt and hundreds die each day, there was no intention of selling items on installment.

“Asking for 7 billion in a lump sum, even so, that’s…”

“There seem to be plenty of people who can do it.”

“Me! I can buy with cash! Just 5! Sell me just 5!”

“Shut up and take my money!”

The man bit his lip at the sight of people raising their voices and having fits.

The man wasn’t trying to buy the gold coins for research or investigation, but for investment.

Possibilities like whether these coins contained unknown metals or held some secret weren’t important to him.

He was confident that the value of these coins would rise significantly beyond their current price solely because they were currency from another world, and to maintain scarcity, he needed to secure all available quantity.

“I’ll transfer the money right away.”

“…Cough!”

“……”

“Hmm.”

Seeing the message that immediately appeared on the screen, Seo Chang-hoon coughed as if possessed, while Lee Ha-young’s face turned pale as she gaped.

Even Yuseong had a slightly stunned expression.

‘I knew they would sell for quite a bit since we’re in a transition period adapting to monsters, but I never expected them to sell for this much.’

As time passes and analysis and information about monsters and new materials accumulate, prices will continue to fall. It’s because it’s now, not any other time, because we’re just beginning to learn about monsters like blind men feeling an elephant, that such prices beyond imagination are possible.

However, Rogers was the only one wearing a dissatisfied expression.

“That’s cheaper than I expected.”

“You’re saying 7 billion is cheap?”

“Well, if we sold them in America, they could have gone for a million dollars each, maybe even more?”

“Why would anyone pay such a high price for items that haven’t even been properly examined yet?”

“They’re items from another world, right? We don’t know if more gold coins like these will appear in the future, but being the first discovered, and moreover, the Forest Master’s first spoils…”

“Huh? I thought it was Green Forest Lord…”

“Ahem!”

At Yuseong’s cough, Rogers and Seo Chang-hoon subtly avoided eye contact.

“…Anyway, given the symbolism of being the hero’s first spoils, there would be people willing to pay that much or even more. I’d like to hold onto them if I could, but we need money right now so we have no choice.”

“Hmm. I see. But can I ask one more thing?”

“What?”

“Why are you speaking informally?”

“Ah, sorry. I’m still not good at Korean.”

“I distinctly remember you using formal speech before we started hunting…”

While watching the two exchange unfunny banter, Yuseong closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

‘I never imagined that scene was being streamed.’

He hadn’t even considered the possibility that someone captured by orcs would be broadcasting, or that the video of his battle with the Orc Warrior would end up on NewTube.

While he briefly thought it wouldn’t attract much attention since there were many videos of people defeating monsters much stronger than himself or the Orc Warrior, due to the content of the broadcast, quite a few people had watched it, resulting in Yuseong becoming the focus of much attention.

Of course, thanks to the video, any potential issues about the origin of the spoils or their authenticity as items from another world disappeared, but…

‘Even so, isn’t it a bit much to give strange titles like Forest Master or Green Forest Lord in reality?’

He hadn’t thought anything of it when seeing people called by epithets like Japan’s Military God or England’s Ark Knight, but becoming the subject himself made him sigh.

“Will you sell the other items for a lump sum as well?”

“Yes.”

“Hah, I suppose I’ll have to be satisfied with this today. Here’s my business card. If you obtain more items from that world, please contact me. I’ll pay the highest price possible within my means.”

The man who handed over his business card with the name Jin Han-su and a phone number left without looking back after shaking hands. While some people watched Jin Han-su with suspicious eyes, they turned away clicking their tongues after seeing what appeared to be security guards securing his safety.

“That was just the appetizer, now for the main course…”

The moment Yuseong whispered softly, a heavy silence fell over the plaza.

The gold coins could be considered a sort of unscratched lottery ticket.

If they hit, they could sell for a high price, but if not, they might sell for a bargain price, but the other items were already confirmed winners.

Gulp.

The moment a blue glowing stone emerged from the pouch, people’s eyes lit up.

While monster research was still very much ongoing, one thing had been definitively determined to be useful – mana stones.

Glowing stones found somewhere in monsters’ bodies or near areas where monsters were active, commonly called mana stones, contained tremendous unknown energy, and countries and companies that had guessed their potential were desperately searching for available items with fire in their eyes.

“Ten…”

“Ten billion. Fifty billion total. I’ll transfer it immediately.”

Silence fell over the venue.

There were certainly people among those present who had assets exceeding 50 billion.

However, paying that much money in a lump sum was a completely different matter.

“Are you serious?”

“May I check something first?”

“Yes.”

The man who held what looked like a Geiger counter to the mana stone soon nodded with satisfaction.

“Please tell me your account number.”

Ding!

Yuseong’s eye twitched as he confirmed the string of numbers that appeared on the screen.

‘I knew mana stones sold for high prices, but isn’t this a bit too much?’

When their properties were first discovered, all sorts of speculative forces got involved and prices rose endlessly, but as time passed, quite a bit of the bubble had burst.

Moreover, judging by how he just held that device up to it, it seemed they had already developed technology to measure mana stone grades, so it made no sense to pay such a fortune for what was merely a low-grade mana stone.

However, it would also be foolish not to sell to someone willing to pay a high price, so Yuseong handed over the pouch containing the mana stone, and the man put it into a 007-style briefcase with a bright smile.

“Ah, are you affiliated with anyone?”

“Affiliated?”

“I mean, are you working for any company, or have you agreed to sponsorship, things like that. If not, how about working with our Ilsung Group? We’ll match whatever conditions you want, like appearing in Ilsung Group advertisements or wearing clothes with the Ilsung Group logo…”

“Not interested.”

‘Ilsung Group, huh. I think I saw them mentioned in the community. Weren’t they making some new concept semiconductor using mana stones?’

Yuseong understood why Ilsung Group was paying such high prices for mana stones as he recalled the conversation between ‘SuperAnt’ and ‘made in usa’ requesting support to protect the Ilsung Research Complex. Instead of pressing further, the man left behind just a business card like Jin Han-su had done.

All that remained were people dispersing with dejected expressions and companions staring at their smartphone screens with blank faces.

Yuseong scratched his head and said.

“Since we’ve made some money, shall we get some meat?”

It was an incredibly casual remark from someone who had just made 57 billion in the blink of an eye.