[Fragment of the Midnight]
[Rank: Epic]
[Description: Instantly nullifies any skill upon contact, regardless of tier.]
[!!Caution: There is currently no confirmed experimental data regarding dungeon damage involving penetration-type attributes or attacks exceeding S-rank. The phrase "regardless of tier" refers to the international standard mana classification applied to humans and monsters.]
An item that erased any skill it touched, regardless of its power. With such an extraordinary function, why on earth was something like this being displayed in a place where even ordinary people could see it?
"Come to think of it, something about this feels off."
There were occasionally other people in the room besides us, here to view the exhibit as well. Hall 1 of Building A had been arranged like an art gallery, with various safe artifacts on display to spark public interest in dungeon culture.
"There do seem to be security measures in place, but still, leaving this somewhere anyone can walk past..."
It seemed careless.
I watched the analyzer while that thought crossed my mind.
"Ah!"
But a moment later, another piece of information appeared at the bottom of the display. It seemed the device had stuttered slightly while retrieving the text, probably because of some minor glitch.
[...follows the classification. And it has been confirmed that this item can be used twice.]
That makes sense, then. The Earthlings probably don't know the hidden secret of this item.
"They must have already filled its 'capacity' and turned it into an exhibit. Well, once the skill-nullifying function is gone, it's nothing more than a symbolic piece of cloth."
Kkkk.
Then this is good.
"I can buy it dirt cheap!"
[Fragment of the Midnight].
That black fabric, sixty centimeters wide and sixty centimeters tall, had served a particular purpose on Alphauri.
It was a magical canvas especially well suited for certain techniques. The mages of Alphauri were aquatic creatures, so they preferred to inscribe formulas onto materials that would not dissolve in water—mostly cloth.
In that sense, the material was quite suitable.
The most durable method was to construct the magic circle during the weaving process itself, effectively creating the fabric with the spell embedded into it from the very beginning. In fact, the expression "to weave a spell" had probably originated from that very culture.
'Ahem.'
Anyway, I found myself quietly pleased to be standing in front of a magic-circle canvas for the first time in ages.
Then I turned my head and asked Ito, who was standing right beside me, how much the starting bid for the item would be.
I wanted to buy it.
"Yes? You mean... you want to purchase the Fragment of the Midnight in the display case?"
But I hadn't expected to hear something like this.
"I'm sorry for telling you so late. This item is not scheduled to be included in the Tokyo Highlight Auction. It has already been used twice and is being used ONLY for exhibition purposes."
The man named Moritaka Ito began explaining with both hands neatly folded in front of him, and it was immediately obvious that he was choosing his words with extreme care so as not to provoke the listener.
"And this is something I'm telling only you, Hunter Kim Giryeo, but as far as I know, there are currently no unused Fragments of the Midnight available anywhere on the global market..."
"Hmm."
"This information was obtained through the full mobilization of the Japanese government's intelligence network, so you can trust it."
Anyway, they should have been this polite from the beginning.
"Hmm."
Ito's explanation continued for quite some time after that, but when reduced to its essence, he was saying the same thing over and over again.
The black cloth inside the case was not for sale.
He kept repeating that like a parrot with a thesaurus.
On top of that, it seemed there wasn't just one reason the item couldn't be sold.
At first, I had thought I might be able to trick these clueless Earthlings and drive the price way down, but the situation was becoming more complicated by the minute.
The [Fragment of the Midnight] displayed before me belonged to none other than a branch of the Japanese government.
Therefore, no individual could simply decide to sell it on a whim.
Even though the item had already lost its functionality—or at least, that was how they understood it—its high research value meant it couldn't simply be exported overseas.
"Damn it. Research purposes, huh? Somehow, I can actually understand that."
With the Japanese being this firm about it, would simply offering more money really change anything?
Clinging to a sliver of hope, I asked whether it would still be impossible even if I offered hundreds of billions.
The answer remained the same.
Even for billions, they said no.
"I-I'll try to continue negotiating with the people at the Ministry of Technology throughout the event, at the very least."
Damn it!
If someone's offering money, why won't they sell it?!
[Fragment of the Midnight].
I had come all the way to Japan for that one item, and now the deal was falling apart before it had even begun.
Did that mean I would have to give up on the treasure and return empty-handed?
"Or should I try going after a different Epic-grade item with the money I have instead?"
Neither option was particularly appealing.
The [Fragment of the Midnight] only seemed likely to be cheap because the Earthlings had conveniently mistaken it for a non-reusable item.
In reality, as mentioned before, properly functioning Epic-grade equipment came with astronomical price tags.
One trillion won was genuinely the minimum buy-in for entering the Epic-grade auction market.
If it wasn't the Fragment of the Midnight, finding another Epic item that could satisfy Alphauri standards might require several times that amount.
Considering the cost of a next-generation fighter jet on Earth, such market dynamics weren't entirely unreasonable.
"Well, dungeon items do have a kind of technological mystique that's worth that much..."
A true dilemma.
Neither advancing nor retreating seemed possible.
But then—a sudden idea flashed through my mind.
A plan.
...Let me elaborate.
From Imabari's perspective, this would probably be an utterly reprehensible idea.
Because what had just crossed my mind was something along the lines of:
"Then what if I just swap the cloth in that case with a fake and walk off with the real thing?"
A truly wicked thought.
The catalyst had been the duel with Kang Chang-ho.
At first, it was simply money that had fallen into my lap for free.
So I figured, why not pick up a few more magical tools?
And I came to Japan almost on a whim.
But somewhere during the flight, as I thought it over, the significance of this Tokyo auction began to feel considerably more serious.
Those cosmic calamities.
Creatures that coveted human bodies, spoke in stilted language, and, whenever they encountered Earth's intelligent beings, rushed toward them with murder blazing in their eyes.
Based on the testimony I'd heard from a certain mammal, this wasn't something I could dismiss lightly.
"Kang Changho... encountered a possessed host of a Gishimche."
From now on, this might no longer be a matter of idle curiosity.
I might genuinely need to collect magical tools simply to survive.
In my current physical condition, dealing with a Gishimche would be nearly impossible.
If I wanted to stay alive, that artifact had suddenly become something I urgently needed.
No, but seriously—in this age of capitalism, isn't it a little too cruel to refuse to sell something altogether?
"Exhibition? Wasting space just to preserve something no one's going to use!"
For some reason, the culture of preserving an object purely because it was beautiful was difficult for me to understand.
"They sure do love preserving things. And yet these same people go around destroying the natural order without a second thought. Seriously."
And the more I thought about it, the more infuriating it became that those mammals had already made a massive mistake involving me in the past.
"This great mage's life being valued at only one trillion won is honestly a gross underestimation. Now that I think about it, maybe I should regard all of this as an extension of that whole Legendary incident."
Among every hunter from every nation, I had been the only one to respond to Japan's request for help and stop an S-rank dungeon break.
And yet Ito and his group, blinded by the prospect of obtaining a Legendary item, had tried to kill an alien without the slightest sense of gratitude?
"In reality, it was only because my mana was ridiculously low that I let the whole thing pass quietly..."
I believed that merely keeping silent about certain people's attempted murder was already an act of kindness worth far more than a hundred billion won.
Considering that past incident, it was only natural—by the laws of the universe—that Japan should have willingly handed over at least one handkerchief to Korea's fourth S-rank Hunter.
And yet they wouldn't even comply with the simple request to sell me an item.
"These brats are full of hypocrisy. Acting all scared and trembling like that is nothing but a lie."
The situation was already enough to twist the naturally harsh temperament of an Alphauri even further.
If this had happened during my prime, I would have slaughtered those pathetic would-be killers in the blink of an eye while hunting the dragon.
I recalled everything that had happened during the Dragon Raid.
And after reflecting on all of it...
I made up my mind.
"Alright. Let's steal it, just as expected."
I decided to accomplish my goal on my own.
No matter how many times I ran the calculations in my head, the previous Dragon Raid had only ended peacefully because the victim happened to be weak.
I still didn't think they had paid a price truly appropriate for what they had done.
"That's a shame you're not selling it. Then, could I perhaps take a look at some of the actual items scheduled for tomorrow's Highlight Auction?"
"And that is..."
Wouldn't the Earthlings actually have reason to be grateful if—whatever my reasons—I settled my grudge with nothing more than an item swap instead of a massacre?
And so I quietly finished rationalizing the whole thing to myself and cast a subtle glance toward the magical artifact I had marked as my target.
The fabric gleamed inside a brightly lit glass display case.
There might not have been any grand barrier spells around it, but the real question was how I was supposed to steal it in a foreign country with CCTV cameras everywhere.
***
Meanwhile, around 2 p.m.
At roughly the same time one alien had just made up his mind to do something shady, the lifeform from Alphauri had no idea that someone else inside the very same venue was harboring dangerous intentions of their own—almost like a rival in criminal spirit.
Dirrr.
A worn, old-fashioned door that looked as though it belonged to a bygone era slid open sideways.
Through the newly opened entrance came employees from a professional Japanese security company.
Roughly eighty percent of their workforce consisted of non-awakened people, while the remaining twenty percent were awakened.
That ratio was partly because recruiting talent from the raid industry was difficult, but also because people with supernatural abilities were far more likely to become entangled in lawsuits.
If an ordinary person was injured while being restrained at a place like a concert venue, someone with magical powers would receive disproportionately harsher criticism.
That was why only the top ten percent of elite awakened bodyguards were deployed for situations as exceptional as this one.
If they were minor awakened individuals somewhere between F-rank and E-grade, that might be one thing.
But carrying around a heavy mass of power like seawater and moving with it freely—how many experts in the world could control that much force so precisely that the water never rippled no matter how they moved?
"Security for the event venue, huh..."
"Phew."
"Finally, shift change."
"Come on in. Was there much traffic on the way?"
"It was okay."
It was currently time for the security company's afternoon shift change.
The awakened employees arriving from outside exchanged a few words with those already inside.
Then they moved into position, forming a perimeter around a certain treasure placed at the center of the room and standing guard.
"Then I'll be counting on you until evening."
"Yeah. And make sure you tell Team 3 not to be late under any circumstances."
Having as many as fifteen awakened individuals guard a single object might have seemed inefficient.
But humanity was still a fragile species ruled by sleep.
What other choice did they have?
After the routine shift change was complete, an awkward silence briefly settled over the room.
"Want to play word chain?"
"Sigh."
But remaining silent any longer was difficult.
This job was simply too boring.
Rumor had it that the company's CEO was close to a high-ranking Japanese official, which was how they had managed to win the contract over actual hunters.
Yet the job they had fought so hard to secure turned out to consist of guarding a few pieces of craftsmanship twenty-four hours a day.
"They really do look like children's toys. Can you believe something like that is worth more than a skyscraper in downtown Tokyo?"
Besides, it was questionable whether this job even required human guards in the first place.
There was a barrier created by several A-rank defense-type awakened individuals.
An alarm would sound if the object moved even 0.01 millimeters from its fixed position.
And on top of that, the beautiful purple patterns floating around the item were traps designed to instantly incinerate any living creature that touched the marked target.
Protecting an item with another item?
"It seems stupid."
And yet, for reasons no one quite understood, the country's higher-ups insisted on assigning separate security guards as well, rigidly following their established manual.
The head of the security company privately thought it was nothing more than a waste of manpower.
With three different trap items owned by separate parties layered around the treasure, stealing it was practically impossible.
"Besides, even if an earthquake hit right now, there's an S-rank Hunter in the venue."
But at that moment, a voice suddenly came from one side of the room.
It was an unexpected exclamation.
"Wow—"
The employee beside him was staring at the screen of their phone.
"Chief Kida, take a look at this. Isn't it amazing? Apparently there's a ranker in Korea who can completely suppress their mana."
Wondering what had captured his colleague's attention so thoroughly, he glanced over.
"Hmm."
What the other man had been watching was a replay uploaded to a streaming-only website.
[Off the Air | —w—] zzz]
[Broadcaster: UUU]
[...and that's how I happened to encounter Mr. Kim Giryeo of South Korea (emphasis).
Originally, I had gone to Seoul to visit my mother.
But it just so happened that Mr. Kim was also active in Seoul, so...?
Maybe, just maybe... we might run into each other—
With that tiny hope, I chose the Association as the meeting spot lol
[Even thinking back on it now,
it was a totally ridiculous chance.]
Somehow, the subtitles were kind of a mess.
"Hmm. Did they just upload whatever the automatic subtitle generator produced without editing it?"
Regardless of the quality of someone else's video, the man on the screen was essentially making one claim.
"An S-rank Hunter from South Korea... and even standing right beside him, there was no sense of mana at all..."
A Japanese entertainer who had traveled to Seoul claimed to have encountered Kim Giryeo by chance.
According to him, Kim Giryeo's presence in person was so calm and unassuming that he seemed no different from an ordinary, unawakened civilian.
The bodyguard watching the video couldn't conceal his surprise.
Even Hunter Ion—famous for his easygoing personality, sociable nature, and popularity with the public—still couldn't blend naturally into a crowd.
The inherent pressure radiating from top-tier awakened individuals made that impossible.
"Is that really true?"
"Besides this broadcast, if you look at comments from people living in Korea, they're all saying the same thing. It must be true."
The guard at the door nodded vaguely.
But this wasn't exactly the sort of place where they could keep obsessing over the blond Korean hunter.
"That's pretty amazi—ahem. Ahem! Uh, anyway, I still don't think it's a good idea to be on your phone during working hours..."
"Heh heh, got it. Don't worry. It's just that being stuck in a tiny room staring at a wall made me reach for it without thinking. Seriously, you worry too much."
"Everyone, aren't we playing word chain?"
"Why do you keep suggesting that every day when you always lose?"
No matter how thoroughly the security systems had been prepared, the items behind them were so valuable that even if the guards worked for generations, they could never hope to compensate for their loss.
So they had no choice but to remain vigilant.
"Let's see. What was [Triana] again, and the other one?"
Two items scheduled for the upcoming Tokyo Highlight Auction were being kept in this room.
One had a familiar shape, while the other was so unusual that it was impossible to identify as any known type of artifact.
It was probably a newly discovered piece of equipment that had never been shown to the public before.
"They really do look like children's toys."
Well, not that it mattered.
Even if he knew their names and abilities, he could never afford them anyway.
"Haam."
An awakened guard in a black-and-white suit yawned widely, just like someone else elsewhere in the venue.
And so, struggling against the boredom, they continued standing watch, making absolutely certain that no one could get anywhere near the vault.
Flash.
But then, a few minutes later, the section chief standing in the front row turned around while stretching.
"What the... Was that just my imagination?"
Huh?
That cute little pink artifact in the second display case...
Come to think of it, hadn't the gem in the center originally been a cool color?
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