Sunday meant no classes.

  No instructors.

  No scheduled suffering.

  After finishing my morning routine — three hours of exercise, meditation, and a breakfast engineered for survival rather than enjoyment — I left campus through the outer gate and headed toward the commercial district beyond the academy walls.

  If the academy was a fortress, the city outside was… alive.

  The market stretched across several streets, dense with movement and noise. Crowds flowed in every direction — civilians, merchants, adventurers, cadets in uniform spending money like they expected to survive long enough to regret it.

  Shopkeepers shouted over one another.

  “Fresh rations! Monster-safe packaging!”

  “Mana-treated leather! Half price!”

  “Protective charms! Tested against Class-C beasts!”

  “Come here, young hero! Best deals in Helix!”

  Every stall competed not just for customers, but for survival in a place where louder meant richer.

  Good thing money wasn’t currently a problem.

  My sister might not speak to me, but she had a long-standing habit of sending a monthly allowance.

  No messages.

  No explanations.

  Just transfers.

  At the moment, my account balance stood at:

  Five million won.

  Estranged siblings apparently express affection through banking apps.

  Useful.

  Searching for Eye Concealment

  “So,” I muttered quietly, adjusting my hood, “let’s do something about my eyes.”

  Dungeon artifacts that weren’t combat-oriented rarely appeared in elite shops. Anything valuable for fighting was snapped up immediately by guilds or collectors.

  Utility items — cosmetic, concealment, convenience — filtered downward into lower-tier markets.

  Which meant walking.

  A lot of walking.

  I checked several large stores first.

  Clean displays. Guarded entrances. Prices calibrated for nobles.

  Nothing useful.

  Most items didn’t even emit mana.

  I activated Silent Eclipse in brief pulses.

  Scan.

  Scan.

  Scan.

  Dead.

  Decorative trinkets, imitation artifacts, overpriced junk designed to impress tourists and inexperienced cadets.

  Either my luck was malfunctioning, or useful things were hiding where respectable people didn’t shop.

  The Cart Vendor

  “Hey! Young master! Over here!”

  A voice cut through the noise.

  I turned.

  A thin man stood beside a wooden pushcart piled with random objects — rings, pendants, knives, charms, glasses, and items whose purposes were… negotiable.

  He smiled broadly.

  Too broadly.

  “Such noble bearing! Such heroic aura! I knew immediately you weren’t an ordinary customer!”

  Flattery as a business model.

  I approached cautiously.

  He leaned forward conspiratorially.

  “I sell only rare treasures to those with discerning eyes.”

  “I see.”

  Not necessarily the items.

  My gaze landed on a pair of glasses resting on a velvet cloth.

  Thin metal frame.

  Dark lenses.

  Unassuming.

  Suspiciously normal.

  “What are these for?”

  The vendor straightened dramatically.

  “Sir, you have chosen a magnificent item! These glasses will increase your charisma tremendously! Anyone who sees you will feel admiration!”

  Of course they would.

  Because they wouldn’t be able to see my eyes.

  I summoned the Book of Aetherion discreetly inside my sleeve and placed the glasses on the open page.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  The vendor blinked.

  “Sir… what are you doing? Holding the item like that?”

  He couldn’t see the book.

  Good.

  “Analysis,” I said calmly.

  “…Shouldn’t you examine it more closely?”

  “I have my own methods.”

  Ether flowed into the page.

  Text appeared.

  Veilframe Spectacles — Ocular Suppression Artifact

  Class: Utility / Concealment

  Effect:

  ? Masks abnormal ocular phenomena

  ? Reduces mana signature leakage from eyes

  Limitations:

  ? No enhancement effects

  ? No defensive capability

  ? Breakable under strong impact

  Perfect.

  Exactly what I needed.

  “That’ll work,” I said quietly.

  I lifted the glasses.

  “How much?”

  The vendor’s smile widened.

  “For you, sir, a special price! After fifty percent discount… only fifty million won!”

  “…One million.”

  His face froze.

  “What?”

  “It doesn’t increase charisma,” I said. “I’m buying it because I like the design.”

  He leaned closer, lowering his voice urgently.

  “But sir, it cost me more than that! How about twenty million?”

  “Half a million.”

  The man clutched his chest.

  “Sir! Please! My children will starve!”

  “You don’t have children.”

  “…One million is fine.”

  Transaction complete.

  I put the glasses on immediately.

  The world dimmed slightly, but my reflection in a nearby window confirmed it.

  No cracks visible.

  Problem solved.

  Something Actually Valuable

  I continued through the market, scanning automatically now.

  Then—

  A surge of mana.

  Strong.

  Dense.

  Not decorative.

  Not fake.

  My head turned toward a small, unimpressive shop squeezed between two food stalls.

  No guards.

  No signage.

  Just a cluttered interior and a bored-looking owner behind the counter.

  Inside, on a plain wooden stand, lay a short blade — somewhere between a sword and a large dagger.

  And it was radiating mana like a lighthouse.

  I stepped closer.

  “Wait a minute…”

  I summoned the Book again and poured Ether into it.

  Numerion Blade — Fractal Severance Weapon

  Class: Unique

  Property:

  Damage increases as the square of the number of successful cuts delivered to the same target.

  Example:

  1 cut → 1× damage

  2 cuts → 4× damage

  3 cuts → 9× damage

  10 cuts → 100× damage

  Limitations:

  Requires repeated contact with the same target.

  Ineffective against multiple enemies simultaneously.

  “…That’s absurd.”

  Why was I placing objects on the book when I could just ask verbally?

  Habit, apparently.

  I looked up.

  “How much for this sword?”

  “Ten million.”

  “Anything special about it?”

  “No.”

  I blinked.

  “Then why is it so expensive?”

  “If there were something special, it would cost ten billion.”

  Fair point.

  “How about four million?”

  “No bargaining.”

  Direct merchant.

  Respectable.

  Annoying.

  How to Make Money

  I stepped back, considering.

  Ten million was currently twice my available funds.

  Time to consult the cosmic encyclopedia again.

  “Book,” I murmured, “what is the most efficient way for a cadet like me to earn money?”

  Text appeared instantly.

  Recommended Revenue Sources for Cadets

  ? Extermination of Feral Mana-Beasts

  ? Dungeon Resource Acquisition

  ? Escort Services

  ? Artifact Recovery Contracts

  Feral mana-beasts.

  So even normal animals here eventually upgraded into problems.

  And problems paid well.

  I looked back at the blade.

  “Alright,” I said quietly. “I’ll be back.”

  Because if there was one reliable rule in this world—

  Everything useful was expensive.

  And everything expensive required risk.

  Portal Hub

  “I can’t risk losing that sword.”

  Waiting days to earn money meant someone else could buy it first. Unique artifacts didn’t sit on shelves long — not in a city full of guilds, nobles, and opportunists.

  So I went straight to the portal hub.

  Helix Outer Hunting Grounds — Gate Plaza

  The plaza beyond the portal was chaos organized into commerce.

  Dozens of temporary stalls lined the perimeter. Adventurers gathered in clusters, forming parties on the spot. Brokers shouted rates, scribbled contracts, argued about territory rights, and assessed newcomers with predatory efficiency.

  “Rank B zone! Need healer!”

  “Two-man team seeking damage dealer!”

  “Broker services! Legal permits guaranteed!”

  Unlike the academy, this place didn’t pretend to be civilized.

  It was a marketplace for violence.

  Before I could even orient myself, a man rushed toward me.

  Late fifties. Thin. Slightly hunched. Suit worn shiny at the elbows. Hair combed carefully over thinning scalp.

  He looked less like a professional and more like someone trying very hard not to fail today.

  Desperate.

  “Sir! Are you looking for an agent? Join our agency! We have the best plac—”

  “Okay.”

  He froze mid-sentence.

  “…Huh?”

  “Let’s go,” I said. “I’m in a hurry.”

  His eyes widened as if I’d just handed him a winning lottery ticket.

  “Ye—yes, sir! This way, sir!”

  He fumbled in his pocket and produced a slightly bent business card.

  Han Doyun — Field Broker, East Range

  “And please sign this, sir. Minimum commission only!”

  I skimmed the contract.

  Standard liability waiver.

  Percentage on successful kill.

  Nothing predatory.

  I signed.

  East Ridge Overlook

  The portal opened onto a high, grassy hill overlooking an immense jungle valley.

  Wind rolled across the slope in steady waves, carrying the scent of wet earth and vegetation. Below, the canopy stretched endlessly — a dense green ocean broken only by occasional clearings where massive shapes moved slowly through the trees.

  A hunting ground.

  Alive.

  Dangerous.

  Profitable.

  I scanned the terrain.

  Movement.

  Large.

  Gray.

  “What’s that?”

  Han swallowed nervously.

  “That… that is an Ironhide Razorback, sir.”

  Far below, a massive creature pushed through the undergrowth.

  It resembled a rhinoceros, but larger — easily the size of a truck. Plates of dark, ridged armor covered its body, and a pair of forward-curving horns gleamed like polished steel.

  Each step crushed saplings flat.

  “Corpse sells for around twenty million won,” Han added quickly. “But sir, you may want to skip that one. A party of at least five is recommended.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  He blinked.

  “…Sir?”

  Analysis

  I summoned the Book discreetly.

  “Book. Weakness of Ironhide Razorback.”

  Ether flowed.

  Text formed.

  Ironhide Razorback — Feral Mana-Beast

  Primary Defense: Reinforced dermal armor

  Behavior: Territorial, reactive to sudden movement

  Weakness: Mana Gland

  ? Stores regenerative energy

  ? Location varies between individuals

  ? Destruction causes immediate systemic failure

  Random location.

  Of course.

  I closed the book.

  “You wait here.”

  Han nodded rapidly.

  “Si—sir! I will wait!”

  He did not look like someone planning to follow.

  Good.

  Approach

  I descended the slope slowly, using terrain for cover.

  Activate.

  Silent Eclipse.

  The world sharpened.

  Sound dampened.

  Motion clarified.

  Ether compressed behind my eyes like pressure building inside glass.

  Mana patterns became visible.

  Most of the beast glowed evenly blue.

  Dense.

  Stable.

  Except one area.

  The right side of its neck.

  A concentrated knot of energy pulsed there — brighter and thicker than anywhere else.

  Mana gland located.

  I crept closer until I reached the edge of my throwing range.

  One clean strike.

  Then survive the reaction.

  I pulled a hatchet from my belt and fed Ether into it.

  White threads coiled along the blade, humming faintly.

  Steady.

  Aim.

  Throw.

  First Strike

  The hatchet left my hand like a bullet.

  CRACK—

  Impact.

  The blade buried itself exactly into the glowing point.

  For one perfect second—

  Nothing happened.

  Then the Razorback screamed.

  Not a roar.

  A metallic, grinding shriek that vibrated through bone.

  Its head snapped upward. Blood — dark and steaming — sprayed across the undergrowth.

  It turned toward me.

  Fast.

  Too fast.

  Right.

  Glands don’t disable immediately.

  I was already moving.

  Second hatchet.

  Throw.

  Third.

  Fourth.

  Fifth.

  Each strike landed within centimeters of the first, punching deeper into the same wound.

  The creature charged two steps forward—

  Then its legs buckled.

  Momentum carried it crashing into the ground hard enough to shake the earth.

  Silence followed.

  The Ether-enhanced blades quivered in its neck.

  Then the mana glow collapsed inward…

  …and vanished.

  Dead.

  Aftermath

  I exhaled slowly.

  “…That worked.”

  My heart disagreed, attempting escape via my throat.

  From the hill above, Han’s distant voice echoed faintly:

  “SI—SIR?!”

  I glanced back.

  He was staring as if reconsidering every life decision that had led him here.

  Fair.

  I looked down at the corpse.

  Twenty million won lying in the dirt.

  Step one toward that sword completed.

  And I hadn’t died.

  Efficient.