The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 176: Chapter 176: A Transaction Beyond Expectations

Ares looked toward the senior manager.

"Hmm?"

Lee Seong-min raised an eyebrow.

Ares glanced toward the employee who had accompanied him before looking back at the manager.

"Would it be alright if we took this somewhere else?"

Seong-min looked slightly confused.

"Somewhere else?"

"Preferably a large storage room."

Ares paused.

"We have quite a lot of materials."

Seong-min’s expression changed slightly.

"Quite a lot?"

"Yes."

Ares nodded calmly.

"We didn’t bother taking everything out while we were inside the dungeon, so we brought it back with us instead."

Seong-min stared at him.

"Forgive me for asking, but where exactly are these materials you’re talking about?"

"They’re inside my storage space."

"Storage space?"

Both Seong-min and the employee widened their eyes.

"A spatial storage?"

Ares nodded.

"Something like that."

Seong-min stared at him for several seconds.

"Is that really true?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Ahem..."

Seong-min quickly composed himself.

"No, it’s just..."

He glanced at Ares’s identification card.

"An E-Rank Awakener possessing spatial storage of that capacity is rather unusual."

He gave an awkward smile.

"Forgive me for prying."

Seong-min stood from his seat.

"However, if you’re carrying a significant amount of material, it would be better to inspect everything in a proper storage facility."

He gestured toward the door.

"Please, follow me."

Ares nodded.

"Alright."

The employee immediately followed them as well.

The three left the office and walked through several corridors before reaching another section of the building.

Eventually, Seong-min stopped in front of a large reinforced door.

The door was considerably thicker than the ones they had passed earlier, with several layers of metal reinforced by magical formations.

Seong-min placed his hand against the security panel.

A faint blue light appeared.

The locks disengaged one after another.

CLACK.

CLACK.

CLACK.

The massive door slowly opened.

Inside was a huge storage room.

The ceiling was several meters high, and the walls had been reinforced with thick layers of magically treated metal and stone. Several defensive formations had been carved into the floor and walls, designed to prevent dangerous materials from damaging the surrounding structure.

Large storage racks lined one side of the room.

Monster hides.

Bones.

Horns.

Claws.

Fangs.

Magical plants.

Various monster materials.

Several sealed containers were arranged throughout the facility, each one containing materials that required special handling.

Seong-min walked farther inside.

"This area is normally reserved for large-scale transactions."

He pointed toward a wide open section near the center.

"You can place the materials there."

Ares looked at the empty space.

"Are you sure?"

Seong-min smiled.

"Of course."

He spread one hand.

Ares nodded.

"Alright."

He stepped into the open area.

The employee remained near Seong-min.

Neither of them had any idea what Ares was about to take out.

Ares calmly raised one hand.

A faint distortion appeared beside him.

The air rippled.

Then—

BOOOOOOM!

Something enormous crashed onto the reinforced floor.

The entire storage room shook.

The employee screamed.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Seong-min’s face went white.

"WHAT IS THAT?!"

Both men immediately stumbled backward.

"MONSTER!"

"HELP!"

The employee turned and nearly tripped over himself while trying to reach the door.

Seong-min was already retreating in the opposite direction.

"T-THERE’S A MONSTER IN THE STORAGE ROOM!"

Ares blinked.

The two men had already reached the doorway.

"Wait."

They stopped.

Ares looked toward the enormous creature lying motionless across the floor.

"Please calm down."

He pointed toward the corpse.

"This monster is already dead."

Silence.

Seong-min slowly turned his head.

The employee peeked around him.

Neither of them moved.

The enormous creature remained completely motionless.

There was no breathing.

No movement.

No sign that it was alive.

Only faint traces of residual heat continued radiating from its body.

Seong-min swallowed.

"Y-You’re sure?"

"Yes."

Ares sighed.

"It’s a corpse."

Seong-min cautiously stepped closer.

The employee followed him.

They stopped several meters away.

Then they finally saw it properly.

Their expressions changed.

The creature was enormous.

More than twenty meters long, its thick black scales covering its entire back and limbs. Every scale was surrounded by glowing orange lines, while the gaps between them still radiated intense heat despite the creature being dead.

Four massive legs supported its enormous body.

Its claws were blackened like volcanic glass.

Its long tail stretched across the floor, thick enough to crush a building if it were still alive.

Its head alone was several meters wide.

Two enormous horns curved backward from its skull, while rows of jagged teeth filled its massive jaws.

Even now, faint orange light remained visible deep within its throat.

It was the same terrifying creature that had once crawled from the lava of the dungeon.

The Giant Inferno Salamander.

An S-Rank Dungeon Boss.

Seong-min’s mouth slowly opened.

The employee’s eyes widened.

Neither spoke.

Then the employee took another step forward.

"Beautiful..."

Seong-min glanced at him.

"I mean..."

He stared at the creature.

"The scales."

He slowly approached.

"They’re perfectly preserved."

His eyes moved over the enormous body.

"Look at the surface."

The scales were almost completely intact.

There were no major fractures.

No deep cuts.

No sections that had been burned away.

Even the enormous claws remained in perfect condition.

The employee’s breathing became faster.

"This is incredible."

He approached another section of the body.

"The material quality..."

Seong-min had already forgotten his earlier panic.

He walked toward the Salamander as well.

"This is..."

He carefully examined the scales.

"They’re flawless."

He looked toward the horns.

"The horns are intact."

Then the claws.

"The volcanic-glass claws haven’t been damaged."

He looked at the enormous tail.

"Even the tail is completely preserved."

For several moments, both men simply walked around the corpse.

They examined everything.

The scales.

The horns.

The claws.

The teeth.

The tail.

The hide.

Even the massive skull.

They were almost completely absorbed in the creature’s magnificent appearance.

At one point, the employee reached toward one of the scales.

He immediately pulled his hand back.

"Hot!"

He shook his fingers.

Seong-min laughed awkwardly.

"Of course it’s still hot."

He looked at the creature again.

"Even dead, the body is retaining an incredible amount of heat."

The employee’s eyes shone.

"I’ve never seen an S-Rank monster preserved like this."

Seong-min nodded.

"Neither have I."

For several more moments, they continued examining the corpse.

Then Seong-min finally seemed to remember himself.

His expression gradually changed.

The excitement disappeared.

His eyes moved from the corpse toward Ares.

Then toward Ji Won.

His face became serious.

"Wait."

Ares looked at him.

"What’s wrong?"

Seong-min’s eyes narrowed.

"You two..."

He glanced at the Giant Inferno Salamander again.

"You’re both E-Rank Awakeners."

Ji Won immediately became awkward.

"Ah..."

Seong-min looked between them.

"You brought back an S-Rank Dungeon Boss."

He pointed toward the enormous corpse.

"How?"

Neither answered.

Seong-min’s expression became increasingly serious.

"Even an S-Rank Awakener would have difficulty defeating something like this alone."

He looked toward Ji Won.

"And yet you’re telling me the two of you obtained it?"

Ares calmly answered.

"Ji Won isn’t really an E-Rank Awakener."

Seong-min froze.

"What?"

Ares continued.

"He experienced a Second Awakening not long ago."

Ji Won’s expression immediately became awkward.

He scratched the back of his head.

"Ahahaha..."

Seong-min stared at him.

"Second Awakening?"

"Yes."

"You’re saying you awakened a second time?"

Ji Won nodded awkwardly.

"Yes."

Seong-min looked at Ares.

Then back at Ji Won.

"Is that why you two managed to defeat so many monsters?"

"That’s part of it."

Ares nodded.

Seong-min looked toward the Salamander again.

"And even an S-Rank boss?"

Ares answered simply.

"Yes."

Seong-min remained silent.

The employee looked equally stunned.

"I’ve heard of Second Awakenings before, but I’ve never actually met someone who underwent one."

Ji Won laughed awkwardly.

"Yeah... it happened recently."

Seong-min slowly nodded.

"I see."

He looked at the corpse again.

Then at the two young men.

He seemed to be trying to reorganize everything he had just learned.

Eventually, he exhaled.

"Regardless of how you obtained it, we cannot process something like this immediately."

He looked toward the Salamander.

"This isn’t an ordinary monster corpse. An S-Rank Dungeon Boss in this condition could be worth an extraordinary amount."

He paused.

"If this were damaged or partially destroyed, the value would already be extremely high."

His eyes moved across the perfectly preserved body.

"But this..."

He shook his head.

"It’s completely intact."

Seong-min’s expression became more serious.

"I would estimate the value at a minimum of one billion won."

Ji Won’s eyes widened.

"One billion?"

"At minimum."

Seong-min nodded.

"However, I’m not comfortable giving you a final price without consulting our appraisal department and several specialists."

He looked at the corpse again.

"Judging by its condition, elemental properties, and material quality, it could be worth considerably more."

Ares nodded.

"That’s fine."

Seong-min bowed slightly.

"I apologize, but I’ll need to discuss this with the other senior staff before we can make an official offer."

He looked toward Ares and Ji Won.

"We’ll contact you again tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

Seong-min smiled politely.

"I’d rather have several specialists examine the material before giving you a price that doesn’t reflect its true value."

Ares nodded.

"Alright."

The two were about to leave when Ares suddenly stopped.

"There is one more thing."

Seong-min looked at him.

Ares reached into his spatial storage.

A small object appeared between his fingers.

It was a crystal.

No larger than the palm of his hand.

The moment it appeared, the atmosphere in the room changed.

Seong-min froze.

The employee stopped moving.

Neither of them needed an appraisal device to realize that the object was extraordinary.

The crystal contained an incredibly pure concentration of magical energy.

It wasn’t simply dense.

It was almost perfectly refined.

Faint light moved within its transparent surface, and the mana radiating from it was so pure that even standing several meters away made Seong-min instinctively hold his breath.

"What..."

His eyes widened.

"What is that?"

Ares held the crystal calmly.

"A magical crystal."

Seong-min stared at it.

"That’s not an ordinary magical crystal."

Ares smiled faintly.

"I know."

Seong-min slowly approached.

He didn’t touch it.

He simply stared.

Even without conducting an official appraisal, he could already tell that the crystal was extraordinarily valuable.

"Something this pure..."

He swallowed.

"Even a crystal this small could probably sell for around two hundred million won."

He looked at it again.

"No..."

His expression changed.

"Perhaps three hundred million."

Ares remained silent.

’As expected.’

’Judging by how pure it is, even this small piece could be sold for an absurd amount.’

Seong-min looked at Ares.

"But where did you get this?"

"The dungeon."

Seong-min blinked.

"The same dungeon?"

"Yes."

Seong-min’s eyes immediately brightened.

"Do you have more?"

Ares shook his head.

"Unfortunately, this is the only one we have."

Seong-min looked disappointed.

"If you’re willing to sell more in the future, please contact us."

He gave a serious nod.

"We would be willing to discuss a price above the normal market value for crystals of this purity."

Ares nodded.

"I’ll keep that in mind."

’Of course, that’s a lie.’

Ares looked at the small crystal in his hand.

’The Primordial Mana Crystals are far too useful to the Eclipse Order, especially for the research division.’

’There is no reason to sell them when they can be used to improve our own facilities, experiments, and magical technology.’

Ares closed his hand.

The crystal disappeared back into his spatial storage.

Seong-min watched the movement carefully.

Then Ares looked directly at him.

"There’s one thing I’d like to ask."

"Of course."

"Please don’t tell anyone about the materials we brought here."

Seong-min’s expression became serious.

"May I ask why?"

"I don’t want unnecessary attention."

Ares glanced toward the Salamander.

"If people learn that two E-Rank Awakeners somehow possess an S-Rank Dungeon Boss and materials of this quality, there will be more trouble than it’s worth."

Seong-min understood immediately.

He nodded.

"That’s reasonable."

He placed one hand against his chest.

"You have my word. I won’t disclose the information outside the personnel who are directly required to handle the transaction."

Ares nodded.

"Thank you."

Seong-min smiled.

"Actually, after what you’ve shown us today, I think it’s appropriate to say that the two of you will receive special treatment from this branch."

Ji Won blinked.

"Special treatment?"

Seong-min nodded.

"Yes."

He gestured toward the storage room.

"From this point onward, you will be registered as VVIP clients."

The employee’s expression immediately changed.

"VVIP?"

Seong-min nodded.

"Any future high-value transactions can be handled directly through me or another senior manager. You won’t need to go through the ordinary process."

He looked toward Ares.

"Considering the scale of what you’ve brought us, I believe that’s the least we can do."

Ares nodded.

"Alright."

Seong-min bowed slightly.

"We’ll contact you tomorrow regarding the appraisal and final offer for the Giant Inferno Salamander."

Ares returned the bow.

"Thank you."

Ji Won also bowed politely.

"Thank you for your time."

Seong-min smiled.

"Thank you for trusting our shop."

He glanced once more toward the enormous Salamander.

"And, if I may say so..."

His expression became almost excited again.

"I look forward to seeing what other treasures the two of you might bring us in the future."

Ares gave a faint smile.

"We’ll see."

The two finally left the storage room.

Behind them, Seong-min and the employee remained standing beside the corpse of the S-Rank Dungeon Boss.

They looked at one another.

Then at the Salamander.

The employee swallowed.

"...They’re really E-Rank?"

Seong-min adjusted his glasses.

"I think so..."

He stared at the empty doorway.

"Which is precisely why I have a feeling we’re going to be hearing much more about Yoon Tae-ho and Han Ji Won."

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!