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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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Chapter 43
Magical tools possessed by monsters were known as Cursed Gear.
Of course, not everything a monster carried was automatically considered Cursed Gear.
Only boss-tier monsters occasionally wielded items that qualified as such.
Sometimes, one would even show up with a relic of unknown origin…
But since all these items were saturated with the monster’s corrupted mana, they couldn’t be used as-is.
Technically, if the contamination was purified, the item could be used again but the purification process often wiped out the gear’s special abilities along with the corruption.
In other words, it was a gamble.
If the ability remained post-purification, it was a lucky break. If not? Trash.
And since purification wasn’t exactly easy, most Cursed Gear ended up discarded without even trying.
But now…
==
[Cursed Doll of Room 406]
[Rarity: Rare]
—A teddy bear imbued with the lingering fear of a girl who passed on. Weakens the opponent’s mana.
==
The teddy bear Jeanne had purified still retained its ability.
It could’ve been a one-in-a-million fluke but surprisingly, it wasn’t.
“Jeanne, were you able to purify the Cursed Gear without erasing its ability?”
“I’ll have to try a few more times to be sure… but I think I can.”
“That’s incredible.”
I couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed.
‘So this is what divine power really is?’
I’d always known divine power was special but its application went beyond anything I’d imagined.
“Lady Jeanne, you’re amazing.”
With praise pouring in, Jeanne’s cheeks flushed pink with embarrassment.
Still, it was too soon to celebrate.
“Let’s find more Cursed Gear and test it out.”
“Okay.”
We began scouring nearby Gates in search of monsters that carried Cursed Gear.
After all, most Hunters didn’t bother dragging such items out of Gates so you’d rarely find them on the market.
Roughly thirty minutes into our sweep…
“Kiiiiiek!”
“There we go.”
A shaman wielding a crooked staff appeared as an Orc Warlock.
“Kiiik! Kiiiiik!”
Dozens of Orc warriors formed a tight protective ring around him.
But honestly, it didn’t matter.
“Grrr?”
A black shadow flowed through the orc ranks like water.
Slash—
The Orc Warlock’s staff-holding arm hit the ground.
Vanessa appeared beside me, holding the shaman’s staff in her hand.
“Here you go.”
“Seriously, you make everything so easy.”
Vanessa simply smiled, as if she were used to this by now.
Then Jeanne stepped forward and began her purification ritual on the staff.
With the excitement of scratching a winning lottery ticket, I inspected the item—
And then—
==
[Orc Shaman's Staff]
[Rank: Common]
─Makes it easier to manipulate magic.
==
“Oh!”
“Did it work?”
“It worked! The ability is still intact!”
My eyes sparkled as I confirmed that the staff retained its power.
“That’s a relief.”
“Congratulations, Benefactor.”
Jeanne and Vanessa both looked genuinely pleased.
From then on, we continued clearing Gates, gathering more Cursed Gear.
But… I couldn’t help noticing something strange. The two of them were way too enthusiastic about it.
Fwoooosh!
Monsters melted in the light.
Snip snip—
They were sliced apart by a flurry of scissors.
“Benefactor.”
“Nice work.”
“Seojun, it’s been purified.”
“You did great, Jeanne.”
Thanks to their oddly motivated attitudes, we gathered Cursed Gear at an insane pace.
In just two hours, we’d secured over a dozen pieces.
“Should we go hunting for more tomorrow?”
“I’d love to.”
Do they… like monster hunting that much?
‘Guess I’ll need to take them on Gate runs more often.’
Seeing them so eager was nice but honestly, this haul was already more than enough.
“We’ve got quite a collection now. This should hold us over for a while.”
A stack of Cursed Gear sat off to the side of our general store.
The results? Nothing short of a jackpot.
==
[Orc Warlord’s Longsword]
[Rarity: Common]
==
[Minotaur’s Axe]
[Rarity: Rare]
==
[Dark Specter's Orb]
[Rarity: Rare]
==
Every single item Jeanne purified retained its abilities.
A process that was supposed to be a gamble was suddenly batting a perfect score.
It felt like scratching lottery tickets that I never lost.
Of course, there was a limit.
Each purification consumed a decent chunk of Jeanne’s divine power.
“Common items aren’t too bad, but rare-rank gear and up? They take a lot more divine power to purify.”
“How many can you handle in a day?”
“Depends on the item, but… five should be doable.”
Then let’s stick to three.
I had no intention of overworking Jeanne for the sake of purifying cursed items.
More than money, Jeanne came first.
Vanessa, too, had been working hard to retrieve those Cursed Gears from the monsters.
Anyway.
“Looks like we won’t have to worry about money anymore.”
Purifying and selling the Cursed Gear would no doubt bring in a fortune.
Just selling three rare-grade ones could easily net us hundreds of millions of won.
“I’m glad I could be of help.”
Jeanne smiled brightly, clearly happy to be useful.
Really, she was a blessing.
“Let’s go out and eat whatever you two want today.”
“Really? Is that okay?”
“Of course.”
How much could they possibly eat?
Both Jeanne and Vanessa usually had small appetites.
I could tell they were holding back, trying not to burden me.
But now that I said we could eat whatever we wanted, both their faces lit up.
“Let’s go. I actually looked up some good restaurants nearby just in case.”
“A place you picked? I’m looking forward to it.”
“Feel free to expect great things.”
I grabbed my coat and stood up.
Forget the cursed gear for now tonight was for fun.
***
The next day, after stuffing ourselves with food, drinks, and even calling Choi Seoyeon out for a few rounds of bowling...
I headed to the Dawn Constellation headquarters in Seocho-dong to sell the cursed gear.
When I called from the building’s lobby, Kim Hayoon came rushing down not long after.
“You should’ve given us a heads-up. There was no need to come all the way by yourself.”
“I’ve got something to show you. Didn’t want to take it out just anywhere.”
“If that’s the case, please follow me.”
She led me into the elevator and took us down to B4—
A massive storage area filled with materials harvested from Gates.
“So, what is it you wanted to show me?”
“These.”
I reached into my subspace backpack and began pulling out the cursed gear one by one.
The Cursed Doll of Room 406, the Minotaur’s Axe, the Orc Warlord’s Longsword, and so on.
As I laid them out on the floor, Kim Hayoon’s expression grew puzzled.
“What… are these?”
“They’re Cursed Gear recovered from monsters.”
“That much I figured, but…”
“They’ve been purified.”
“Ah…!”
Kim Hayoon’s eyes widened.
“Are you saying… you successfully preserved all their abilities?”
“Yes.”
She stared down at the gear with fresh eyes.
She knew how hard it was to purify cursed items from monsters.
After all, the Dawn Constellation had once tried their hand at it themselves.
But preserving the abilities?
Forget that even the purification process alone had proven far too difficult.
That’s why they had abandoned any plans of commercializing it.
If you purified ten Cursed Gears and even one retained its powers, that was considered lucky.
It was the same story everywhere else.
Which is why not a single organization in the world currently pursued purification as a business.
Only the Church attempted it occasionally—
And even then, they failed more often than not to preserve any abilities.
But now, Choi Seojun has shown up with five successfully purified items.
“This is incredible. You managed to succeed with all of these…”
“Oh, and these aren’t the only ones.”
“Pardon? There’s more?”
“Not at the moment. But I can purify any Cursed Gear that comes my way from now on.”
“…Excuse me?”
Kim Hayoon stared at Seojun in utter disbelief.
What he just said simply didn’t register with the common sense she lived by.
“It’s just as I said. I can purify Cursed Gear with 100% ability preservation.”
“……!”
Her eyes widened slowly as she stared at him.
She was so shocked she could barely form words.
“A-Are you saying you’re entrusting all of this to us?”
“Yes. Isn’t Dawn Constellation already contracted to handle my gate byproducts?”
Sure, we could sell the purified gear directly through our own shop...
But the ripple effects would’ve been massive.
You don’t try to devour something this big on your own; it'll choke you.
Better to delegate it through a proxy.
That made things easier for me too.
“Understood. Please wait here for a moment.”
Without another word, Kim Hayoon ran up the stairs in such a rush, she didn’t even think to take the elevator.
***
The Dawn Constellation went into full-blown chaos.
“You’re telling me someone can purify Cursed Gear? Seriously!?”
“Yes, I saw it with my own eyes.”
“You double-checked, right?”
“Multiple times. We even brought in an appraiser to confirm that the abilities were intact.”
Ha Jinwoo asked again and again, his disbelief evident.
Purifying Cursed Gear?
That was an industry-shaking ability.
A power so absurd, it could completely flip the status quo.
But it was real.
The test items they had entrusted to Choi Seojun had all come back the very next day fully purified.
“……This is insane.”
Ha Jinwoo immediately called the Guildmaster in the U.S.
He got scolded at first for calling at such an ungodly hour, but the moment the Guildmaster heard the reason, his tone completely changed.
He even said he’d clear his entire schedule and fly back immediately.
That’s how monumental this was.
“H-haha…”
A hollow laugh escaped Ha Jinwoo as he looked down at the gear.
This was a jackpot.
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[Translator – Seraph]
[Proofreader – Draxx]
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