Hoarding In Hell [EN]: Chapter 43

43. Limit Level (3)

Hyun-woo silently watched Kirson grip the dagger.

Kirson examined the dagger, turning it over and spinning it around. Then, glancing at Hyun-woo, he spun it again, holding the blade and offering the hilt.

“The balance is excellent, kek, a fine weapon indeed. Kiruk. A weapon befitting the Boss, it seems.”

“A weapon befitting me?”

“Kiruk. Grip the handle.”

Hyun-woo gripped the dagger. The moment he did, a sharp pain shot through his palm.

Hyun-woo almost dropped the dagger, but he saw blood spreading along the red core in the middle of the blade. The dagger gradually turned crimson, as if dyed by the blood.

“…Huh, so that’s why it’s called the Blood-Letting Dagger?”

Hyun-woo examined the dagger with curiosity. But unlike its name, it didn’t drip blood. That would have been a problem for Hyun-woo. After swinging it a few times, Hyun-woo realized that he could control the blood flow according to his will, either stopping it completely or making it overflow.

However, it consumed his own blood, so he couldn’t use it too often.

‘This will definitely be useful.’

With this dagger, he wouldn’t need to force his hand into an enemy’s weak spot to poison them.

He could poison them right on the spot with a stab.

He understood why Kirson said it was a weapon befitting him.

“Thanks, Kirson. I’ll make a weapon for you soon too.”

“Kek, for me, you say?”

Kirson seemed slightly surprised. To be surprised that he would repay a life debt, Hyun-woo wondered what kind of image Kirson had of him.

“I might not forget grudges, but I often forget debts. So I have to repay them before I forget. Thanks to you, I succeeded in making it, so I’ll do that much for you.”

“Kiruk. Thank you.”

Kirson seemed quite pleased. Having lost both his black hand and his dagger, it had become more difficult for him to survive on the streets.

Hyun-woo didn’t forget to thank Renian either.

“Thanks, Renian. I almost died.”

“It’s okay. The Butler is fragile, after all.”

“Come to think of it, where did you get the potion? Did you pick it up somewhere?”

“That? I just took it out of the inventory.”

Renian casually pulled out another potion from thin air. A Strengthened Acid Potion. A potion that was hard to come by even by chance.

Hyun-woo checked his inventory and confirmed that the Strengthened Acid Potion was indeed gone.

‘The inventory is shared?’

Hyun-woo quickly started thinking. Renian was in a somewhat unique position.

Neither a monster nor a subordinate. If he had to classify, she was like a pet, but he didn’t know what that meant. But if the inventory was shared, it would be incredibly useful.

For example, when Hyun-woo was in the real world, Renian could send him items from Hell.

That would eliminate the need to visit Hell every time.

‘This needs some investigation.’

Hyun-woo wanted to ask Renian more, but Kirson spoke first.

“And, I have prepared the things you instructed.”

Kirson gestured outside, and several goblins entered, carrying bundles on their backs.

Hyun-woo thought the goblins might hate him, but their eyes were filled with only fear and dread. In Difficulty: Hell, it was common to submit to a stronger being to survive.

The goblins began to unload the items on the floor. Hyun-woo saw the equipment he had killed the goblins for and discarded because he couldn’t wear it.

They had collected it neatly. Hyun-woo grinned as he watched the pile grow. And he clenched the remaining crystal stone in his hand.

‘This can’t be put on the market.’

One of the reasons the United States can maintain its status as a superpower is that it exports a lot of weapons but never exports the best ones overseas.

They sell items that are several generations behind the top-tier models, ensuring that no one dares to challenge them.

The crystal stone was something that could put Hyun-woo in such a position.

As an unapproachable being.

***

Hyun-woo couldn’t bring himself to craft anything else today, so he focused on dismantling.

But no matter how quickly his mana recovered, it was physically impossible to dismantle all the numerous weapons and armor that the goblins had collected.

Hyun-woo felt like he had become a scrap dealer. Then he wondered why the goblins had made so many rare-grade items. Kirson tilted his head and replied.

“Kiruk. Our blacksmiths just, made them.”

“Bring the blacksmith here.”

“Kit, he’s already dead.”

Hyun-woo was speechless for a moment. He must have been one of the halves he killed that day. Sensing Hyun-woo’s mood, Kirson shook his head.

“The blacksmith died in another monster attack. Kiruk. I also learned smithing, so ask me if you have any questions.”

“You learned it too? Can you make rare-grade items?”

“Yes, Kiruk.”

Crafting skills are normal skills, so you can acquire them through training. It wasn’t strange that Kirson could do it.

“Could you make legendary-grade items, by any chance?”

Kirson shook his head at that.

“There was a legendary dagger before, wasn’t there?”

“I received that as a reward for making a contract with the Shattering Star, Gaul. Kiruk. Our blacksmith couldn’t make such a dagger.”

But Kirson added a condition.

“Rare-grade weapons are not something anyone can make. Only goblins who learned the skill from the blacksmith could make them. Kik. The blacksmith was a slave who made weapons for the Ironblood Legion in the Ulgan Furnace.”

“…Ulgan Furnace? Ironblood Legion?”

“That’s, the army in the north…”

Kirson began to explain the geography and distribution of monsters with difficulty. Kirson’s words were shocking to Hyun-woo, who only knew the neighborhood a little outside this intersection.

Beyond here, there were territories governed by different rules, and they were a village that had escaped from the west.

“The west, Kiruk, is a place where soldiers made of fire, iron, and ash are constantly fighting. Kit, the north is where the dead are quietly making everything with winter. The other directions are the same. This place is one of the few relatively safe places.”

Hyun-woo’s head started to ache. He thought the intersection was strangely safe.

But beyond here, there are armies and the dead.

He was planning to expand his area of activity, but this increased the probability of stirring up a hornet’s nest. No wonder humans went extinct in this world.

“…So, you’re saying it’s safe here?”

“Kiruk. Yes. I have never seen a place with so few monsters as this place.”

Kirson said definitively. Even Kirson had to live hidden underground, so he could tell how messed up this world was.

“Then are there any other guys living near here?”

“There are also guys who don’t want to clash with the armies, so probably…”

Hyun-woo took out a crude map and handed it to Kirson. It was a map he had drawn roughly while observing the surroundings while tracking Kirson.

“Mark where their habitats are and what their activity areas are. Mark everything.”

Kirson nodded and took the pen. Hyun-woo was worried that Kirson would be able to handle the pen well, looking at his tough green skin, but it was unfounded.

Kirson skillfully began to mark various places on the map. He also wrote unrecognizable symbols and letters, but he couldn’t understand what they meant, but he was quite skilled at calligraphy. His handwriting was even neater than Hyun-woo’s.

‘Is this guy an officer or a noble among humans?’

He even thought that, but it wasn’t helpful to Hyun-woo right now.

“Hey.”

“Kiruk, yes?”

“I can’t read it, so draw pictures.”

He hoped that he could somehow understand it with the Language Comprehension skill, but it was impossible.

Seeing [There are no recognizable words.] pop up, it seemed that he needed to have at least some basic knowledge.

“It’s an international symbol and a common letter…”

Kirson muttered with a dissatisfied voice, but he drew diligently as he was told.

Unfortunately, Kirson’s drawing skills were not as good as his handwriting. But he could roughly recognize the shapes of wolves, slimes, and skeletons. Because it was intuitive. But there were also quite a few that he couldn’t recognize.

Then Renian, who was looking at the map next to him, said.

“Here.”

“Huh?”

The place Renian pointed to was a place on the outskirts of the map where nothing was marked.

“There’s something scary here. Ah, here too.”

Hyun-woo turned to Kirson. Was this bastard trying to screw him over?

But Kirson only tilted his head with a puzzled expression. Since he belonged to the subordinate, his will was clearly conveyed to Hyun-woo.

He really didn’t know.

“How scary is it?”

“Um… big.”

“What isn’t big from your perspective?”

“Ah, that’s right. Then it might not be that big for the Butler.”

What is this vague statement…? Hyun-woo felt uneasy, but he wasn’t brave enough to ignore Renian’s warning. He didn’t know what it was, so he drew a circle and a star mark around the area.

Hyun-woo thought he had managed to avoid these places well. Of course, he had seen things like slimes, but there were considerable dangers.

“Kirson, Renian.”

Hyun-woo called them and began to instruct them.

“From now on, you two will fill in the gaps in this map. The movements of other monsters in detail, so that no one is missed. Ah, make a map altogether. On a large piece of paper. Mark everything, including resource distribution, dangerous areas even if there are no monsters, and places that are good for hiding.”

“Kiruk. I understand.”

“Especially resources. If there’s anything unusual like crystal stones, bring them all. Got it?”

Renian and Kirson nodded diligently. It felt like he was running a territory. A territory with 50 goblins and one cannibalistic fairy who were at odds with him.

But even the stars play territory games, so it wasn’t that strange.

[The Shattering Star, Gaul, is watching you.]

[The Whispering Star, Monstrill, is watching you.]

“Oh, geez. You scared me. They’re always watching. These guys.”

Hyun-woo shuddered and grumbled.

“Do you have any questions?”

Renian raised her hand.

“Can I suck out the brain fluid?”

“No.”