Ch.4416. VIP Exchange and Wind Cutter (1)

A pale face with blonde hair. A young man with a nervous disposition. My companions and I looked at him.

I remembered that face.

‘Dmitri Boroviev.’

People from the Slavic Kingdom or the Russian Federation tend to have names that are difficult to remember. But I knew this one.

An A-rank Hunter. He’s in the same class as Soso, who had just overwhelmed the guards. Of course, Soso couldn’t participate in missions for a while due to limit issues. She would soon become an S-rank Hunter.

I had memorized the faces and names of all major Hunters ranked B and above. Hunters are beings who could turn villain at any moment.

And even if not villains, there would naturally be collaborators with the Red Lake. However, this Dmitri fellow had some connection to me, as evidenced by his recognition of me.

“Who are you?”

I pretended not to know Dmitri. He wasn’t someone I particularly wanted to be friendly with. As expected, he became irritated when I didn’t recognize him.

“Tsk. The commoners of Korea. Can’t even remember something from just three years ago. How foolish.”

At his words, I noticed Soso’s hand moving toward her sword hilt. Under the table, I grabbed her hand to calm her down.

Dmitri, far from noticing the deadly atmosphere, glanced at Soso’s face.

“Oh. Such a beauty…”

Since we entered this VIP exchange, all men’s eyes had been drawn to her. Soso was beautiful enough to turn heads even among Slavic people.

But seeing her ice-cold expression, he quickly turned away. Dmitri was a mage. Generally, high-level swordsmen like Soso were his natural enemies.

“Ahem. Anyway, I’m disappointed you’ve forgotten me, Dmitri Boroviev, so soon. After our fierce battle at the exchange tournament three years ago.”

As he said, Dmitri was from the Royal Academy representing the Slavic Kingdom. The White Tower also belongs to the same foundation as that academy.

And as his arrogant attitude suggests, he comes from nobility in the Slavic Kingdom.

‘The son of a count’s family, if I recall.’

In Korean terms, he’d be like the son of a wealthy family or a congressman. Of course, it was none of my concern.

As he mentioned, we had crossed paths at the academy exchange tournament. I met him in the higher rounds of that tournament where I was paired with Yuri.

“I think I remember now.”

“Tsk. Well, at least you recognize me now. But come to think of it, I haven’t heard your name for years. Lady Yuri… no, Countess Yuri who was your partner… I heard she created her own guild and made it S-rank. She’s now an S-rank Hunter, but you…”

He casually took out his smartphone and seemed to be searching for something. Probably the Hunter database from the Association.

“Wait. A C-rank Hunter from Flame? No, recently promoted to B-rank. And an Operator? Haha. So that’s what happened.”

He gave a sneering smile.

“Even those who excelled at the academy often fail to adapt to the field after graduation. The actual field is completely different from the low-level dungeons or villain suppression practiced at the academy. I’ve heard many people like you get scared and run away to become Operators. Did you join Flame because of your connection with Countess Yuri?”

“I’ve heard that happens. Not in my case though.”

I replied with apparent disinterest and waved my hand dismissively.

“Just go away. I have nothing to talk about with you.”

“Well. You might have been full of yourself after winning the exchange tournament. But I, who lost to you then, am now an A-rank Hunter and a member of the Snow Knight Order. And you’re just a B-rank Hunter. Reality is quite amusing, haha.”

My Hunter license is currently B-rank. Originally C-rank, but it was upgraded due to high performance and results in the intern program.

Rising one rank in just a month was nearly impossible, but Dmitri wouldn’t know the details. I was getting tired of him.

“I get it, so please just leave.”

I didn’t really mind arguing with him, but Soso’s mood was frightening. If she decided to behead Dmitri here, it would cause problems.

He was an A-rank Hunter after all, and a member of the White Night Knight Order. Besides, I wasn’t particularly upset with him because of what I planned to do today.

‘Well, what I’m planning to do today is like stealing the Golden Sun.’

An Ancient Gear that chooses its own master. Despite his obvious inferiority complex toward me, Dmitri was skilled.

That’s why I intended to purchase the A+ rank gear, Wind Cutter, which was originally meant for him.

Noticing my unwillingness to engage, he finally returned to his seat.

And to prevent Soso from causing trouble, I had no choice but to keep holding her hand under the table.

Soso’s face was flushed. Certainly not from the alcohol. She firmly interlocked her fingers with mine.

***

The auction began. All items traded here were A-rank gears.

The Wind Cutter I was targeting was scheduled for later. Pyotr said:

“You may act nonchalant, but that Dmitri is quite a famous rising Hunter. Not as good as Miss Soso here or Guild Master Yuri, of course.”

“Well, I know that. That’s why Grand Duke Andrei sent him here.”

I recalled the episode from the original work, Aka Hunter, where Wind Cutter appeared. In the original, Yuri didn’t join Siwoo’s guild but the Snow Knight Order.

During an S-rank dungeon conquest mission with that Order, Dmitri was in charge of the wind shuttle.

To be honest, his combat sense was only B-rank. But he was a mage with an innately large mana heart capacity.

He also happened to be a mage who primarily mastered wind attribute magic.

‘That fact probably hasn’t changed now either.’

The reason Wind Cutter chose him as its master was simply to absorb his mana.

In the original work, Dmitri had the gear stolen by a villain before he could even unlock its potential. There was an episode in Yuri’s side story about hunting down that villain.

‘So it’s too good a weapon for someone like him.’

Grand Duke Andrei shows no mercy to knights who fail to properly complete their missions. Especially Dmitri, who had his gear stolen by a villain, was sent to the gulag in the original.

‘Being nobility saved him from execution at least.’

Either way, he was a pitiful guy. That’s why I wasn’t particularly upset by his provocations. With his lack of awareness, he seemed destined for the gulag someday.

I said to Pyotr:

“That Dmitri is after the Wind Cutter I’m planning to buy today. You know that, right?”

“Well, yes. I heard rumors that the Snow Knight Order was targeting that item. Grand Duke Andrei also runs a substantial resource corporation based on his military power, so it wouldn’t be difficult for him to provide an A+ rank gear to his knights.”

“What’s the expected winning bid?”

“Around 4 billion. The starting price was 3 billion.”

Combining Flame’s funds and my personal savings, I had 2.3 billion. That meant Pyotr’s Solaris would need to provide the remaining 1.7 billion.

“You’ll help, right?”

“Hmm… 1.7 billion isn’t a small amount, but one must be bold when it’s time to invest, right?”

“What if it goes higher?”

Being under Grand Duke Andrei’s orders, Dmitri wouldn’t back down easily. But there was a way.

Pyotr grinned.

“You’re asking even though you already know. Are you testing me?”

“Well, not really.”

“I would have provided more support with my authority if you needed it. But this time, that won’t be necessary. As you saw at the entrance, this exchange has quite an old-fashioned atmosphere. All about qualifications and such.”

Pyotr seemed to trust me quite a bit.

He went on to explain. The trading method at this VIP exchange was unique.

Although they used auctions for competition, once the bidding reached a certain limit set by the exchange, the auction would stop.

‘Ancient Gears are weapons with will.’

By the laws of the Allied Nations and International Hunter Law, non-Hunters were prohibited from owning gears. Ancient Gears were weapons, not luxury items.

Even with distributors involved, the trade was only possible if there was an awakened person like me or Dmitri who would own the gear.

Ultimately, if the limit price was reached, what followed wasn’t up to the distributors, but to the Hunters participating in the auction. The gear would choose its master.

“Are you confident? That Wind Cutter gear… looking into its history, it seems problematic.”

“You mean a gear that devours its master?”

As I said, in the original work, Dmitri only had his mana drained by Wind Cutter before it was stolen by a villain.

“Yes. All previous owners either gave up ownership or died because of that Wind Cutter. Aren’t you afraid?”

“If I were afraid, I wouldn’t be here.”

“You certainly have guts. As Dmitri said, you’ve just become a B-rank Hunter, but I know your skills are beyond that. I’m looking forward to this.”

At Pyotr’s compliment, the corners of Soso’s mouth turned up slightly. Even then, she hadn’t let go of my hand under the table.

And finally, it was Wind Cutter’s turn in the auction.

***

The Wind Cutter auction had been going on for a while. Many participants joined the race, but in the end, only two remained.

“Really, 4 billion?”

“Both of them bid 4 billion!”

“Who are the distributors?”

“One is Noyark, Grand Duke Andrei’s company. The other is Solaris.”

“Solaris? They were quiet in the Far East, but are they expanding beyond Europe now?”

On the large display board in the center of the auction hall, the number 4 billion won was shown for both sides.

Both Dmitri and I had already reached the limit amount.

Naturally, people’s attention turned to Dmitri. I could hear other attendees talking:

“That uniform. A knight of the Snow Knight Order. And from the White Tower. So he’s after an A+ rank gear.”

“I’ve heard of that man. They say he’s already an A-rank Hunter at such a young age. The gear will probably go to him, won’t it?”

“The other side has Solaris as the distributor, and the guild is Flame… Wait. Isn’t Flame the guild where Yuri Tarkovskaya is?”

“And Yeon Soso, daughter of the Heavenly Demon Yeon Sehwi, is also… Wait. That person sitting with the auction participant, isn’t that Yeon Soso?”

Now the attention shifted to Soso. In many ways, I was completely overlooked.

“If she’s the Heavenly Demon’s successor, she could certainly aim for an A+ rank gear.”

“So was this a setup all along? After all, Yuri Tarkovskaya is Grand Duke Andrei’s daughter.”

“Strange. But why is the auction participant not Yeon Soso but… Lee Minsu? Have you heard of him?”

Hearing such comments, Pyotr snickered.

“See that? Aren’t you upset about being ignored?”

“What’s there to be upset about? I’m still just a B-rank Hunter.”

“Well, I suppose that’s the composure of someone who’s already confident.”

It wasn’t really arrogance, but I was confident I could obtain Wind Cutter.

Whether it was a gear that devoured its master or one that was extremely difficult to handle, if I couldn’t get my hands on such a gear, what would come later would be far more impossible.

Most importantly, the question was whether Hong-ok would allow Wind Cutter.

‘Is this okay, Hong-ok?’

With a gear that has its own will, I often communicated with Hong-ok through willpower when I evolved her into her second form during the Eins era.

But now she remained silent. Perhaps conversation was difficult with only the first level of the seal released. But I could still feel Hong-ok’s will.

She was clearly sulking. Probably because I had decided to contract with another gear besides her.

For my sake, she had given up finding a new master and became a mana heart. She might have felt hurt in her own way. Though she eventually gave me her permission.

“Then, would Mr. Dmitri and Mr. Lee Minsu please come up to the platform?”

It was time to confirm Wind Cutter’s will. Dmitri climbed onto the platform with a confident expression. I followed behind him.