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Taeju decided to take today off.
He had not even been able to sleep properly for the past few days because he was busy making antidotes.
He had also gone to the drug shop with a contract in mind, and now all that remained was to wait for them to contact him.
What if they do not?
Then he would have to do business with another drug shop.
Still, he hoped they would come.
Baeks Drug Shop, where Baek Hongpyo was the owner, was the store with the best reputation in the city. In fact, that man was famous for being highly respected in Gurye, so Taeju had heard a lot about him while staying there.
Taeju trained in the Primordial Boundless Poison Spirit Art inside his shabby inn room.
The main purpose of the training was to stabilize the poison essence.
He had reached 3-star far too quickly.
So he also needed to control the pace.
What would happen if he kept absorbing poison recklessly?
There was a risk that the toxic energy he could not control would burst out.
In terms of ordinary internal energy, it was something like deviation.
If things went wrong, the toxic energy would flow backward and damage his own body instead.
He had to compress and stabilize the poison essence.
'I guess I need to stop taking in poison for a while.'
Until the poison essence he had forced to grow settled back into place,
'Well, at 3-star, that is more than enough to take care of my own body.'
Let's go slowly, slowly.
The rice only cooks once the water boils.
If one compared the realm of the 3-star Primordial Boundless Poison Spirit Art to System Awakeners, it was at least regular or above.
Even when he was at 1-star, he killed Jang Indong, who was only a beginner.
Though that was also because the bastard let his guard down.
And as his realm rose, the number of martial art forms he could use also increased.
Each martial art was practically the same as a skill.
After finishing his training, Taeju stepped outside the inn in the afternoon.
'Should I go out for a bit?'
There just so happened to be a place he wanted to visit.
After going into a restaurant and eating a simple meal, he boarded a passing tram, paying the fare as he got on.
'The air conditioner is blasting. This really is a rich neighborhood.'
Free City of Gurye.
Its area was not all that large.
Instead, people lived packed closely together.
It had everything one could need.
City hall and other government offices, an airport, a train station, an electric power plant using Magical Beast energy cores, residential districts filled with apartments, and slums.
Like this, anyone could move around freely, but on the other hand there were also zones where entry was strictly controlled.
There it was.
That medieval-style fortress visible in the distance.
'It really is a castle wall. A castle in the year 2323.'
A massive wall built beyond an artificial lake.
A special residential district commonly called the Castle.
To enter that place, one had to take a boat.
And proof of residency was absolutely required.
Those who lived in the Castle were Gurye City's wealthy class, high-grade Awakeners, high-ranking officials, members of the Autonomous Committee, and their families.
Among them, the Autonomous Committee.
The core body that ran and bore responsibility for Gurye City.
The members of the Autonomous Committee were local influential figures and notables.
There were 23 of them, and while there was no chairman, there were 3 standing committee members.
Guildmaster Lee Jeonghak of Nogodan Guild, Chairman Min Dongyeol of Cheonwang Group, and Senior Administrator Ji Gwangin, a grade-2 official dispatched from the Empire's Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The major policies of the Free City of Gurye were carried out according to the decisions of these 3 standing committee members.
'The Castle, huh.'
To live there, one had to own a house inside the walls.
Even a small apartment there cost at least 10 billion won.
And even then, there were no listings available.
Because it was the safest area in Gurye.
Even if a Magical Beast wave were to occur, the Castle alone would remain safe.
'Maybe I should live there once I make money.'
But having money alone was not enough.
One also needed strength to match it, and connections as well.
The tram arrived at its destination.
Along the Seomjin River stretched the Gurye market, a marketplace counted among the largest in the entire Samhan Empire.
He had not come to buy anything.
He did not even have enough money to live on.
He had just come to look around.
Especially at equipment made from Magical Beast byproducts.
'It is dazzling.'
Born a Mana-Rejector, he had never gone outside Paju Territory until enlisting in the military.
This was also his first time seeing such a large market.
As soon as he entered the sector exclusively for Mana-Compatible people and Awakeners, all sorts of items filled the display shelves, proudly showing off their forms.
And the prices...
'Why is everything so expensive?'
The minimum unit for item prices was in the millions.
There were also countless items in the tens of millions and hundreds of millions.
They did not only sell ready-made goods.
Custom orders were also possible.
That was why the area around the market was lined with handmade workshops.
'Custom-made really is better, I guess.'
The Supreme Poison Demon of the murim world, Dang Gun-ak, whose soul was the same as his own.
He was famous for always wearing a splendid long robe that reached down to his ankles.
Inside that robe were countless pockets,
and in them he carried all kinds of hidden weapons and poisons.
And that was not all.
He had pockets made into every kind of equipment, such as belts, wrist and arm guards, shoes, and gloves.
Because it would not do to run out of hidden weapons while fighting.
In that sense, poison arts and hidden weapon technique were...
'Martial arts that really cost a lot of money.'
But right now, Taeju was a pauper. He could not even buy a crude dagger.
The leather workshop before his eyes.
A gray long coat hanging there.
'A coat made from fantasy fox leather?'
The leather of a fantasy fox that lived in the Magical Beast-dense regions of the Siberian temperate forest, and the coat cost 3 billion won, custom order required.
It supposedly had basic defensive power, while being cool in summer and warm in winter.
'I want it.'
If he ordered a full set of armor made from fantasy fox leather at the leather workshop, how much would it cost? He would likely need to pay at least 5 billion won.
Next was the metal workshop.
A place that sold swords, knives, and throwing weapons.
He would need to carry at least 100 each of throwing knives, throwing blades, and iron pellets, and he would also need more than 1,000 slender needles.
Poisons could be manufactured by himself.
But weapons had no choice but to be bought with money.
If it were Dang Gun-ak, the Supreme Poison Demon of the murim world, he could simply order a blacksmith belonging to the Sichuan Dang Family, 'Make me a few of these,' and they would be presented immediately, but Kim Taeju, the Supreme Poison Demon of the Samhan Empire, was dirt-poor.
A pie in the sky.
All he could do was turn away, thinking he would buy them next time if he had money.
There was also a ready-made goods section.
It was a place mostly used by Mana-Compatible people and Awakeners short on cash.
However, even here there were items so expensive they would put the custom workshops to shame.
A premium magic store.
That was right.
Magic in the literal sense.
There were not even price tags attached.
Should one call them OOPArts?
Items that could not be interpreted by Earth's mana science and technology.
For example, arm guards that could deploy an automatic barrier.
A ring that could shoot fireballs three times a day.
A sword that emitted bolts of lightning with every swing.
An infinite subspace bag.
No one knew where such items came from.
No one knew who had made them either.
People only knew that they sold for enormous sums of money.
'It would be perfect if I just had one subspace bag.'
But he had never even seen a subspace item in person.
There was none here in the Gurye market either.
He had only heard rumors that one sold for 500 billion won.
Even his own father, Major General Kim Ungbang, probably did not own a subspace bag.
'Should I go now?'
If he stayed here any longer, his tastes would only rise.
At that moment!
Bzzzzzt!
His smartphone vibrated.
'Hm?'
There were not many people who knew this phone number.
Either the broker he had known when looking for porter work, or else...
"Hello."
-This is Baek Hongpyo. Uh, you are that person, right? The mosquito poison.
The fish had bitten.
It seemed they had figured out its effectiveness.
–If it is okay to talk on the phone...
"Let's meet and talk. I saw earlier that there was a café in front of the drug shop."
Time to go sell antidotes.
***
"Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Baek Hongpyo."
"My name is Kim Taeju."
At the café across from 'Baeks Drug Shop.'
As soon as he finished exchanging brief greetings with Taeju, Baek Hongpyo hurriedly asked,
"I will buy up every last bottle of the antidote myself. How much stock do you have?"
"I take it it worked?"
"Of course. This is a medicine that will bring a revolution to hunting Magical Beasts in Jirisan."
Baek Hongpyo was bursting with excitement.
"D-do you have enough supply?"
"Yes. I have the concentrate. Ten 20-liter containers. It just needs to be diluted with purified water and put into 10 ml reagent bottles for consumption."
"... What is the dilution ratio?"
"3 to 1, so that should make about 60,000 bottles."
"Oh! And if they all sell?"
"I can produce more immediately."
Color returned to Baek Hongpyo's face.
No matter how good a medicine was, it was pointless if the supply was too small.
Now came the matter of price.
Baek Hongpyo was the owner Taeju had personally chosen as his partner.
So he asked him.
"I do not know much about this field... How much should I sell it for? Please give me your advice, President Baek."
Baek Hongpyo thought for a moment.
Then he spoke.
"Um... what is the production cost per bottle?"
At Baek Hongpyo's question, Taeju paused briefly.
'Production cost, huh.'
Well, purified water and containers? Along with his own labor.
How much should he set it at?
"About 10,000 won per bottle?"
"Ah! I see."
In truth, it probably did not even cost 100 won.
At his words, Baek Hongpyo nodded and said,
"The buyers for this medicine are Mana-Compatible people and Awakeners. For ordinary people, the poison of the mutant three-striped mosquito is not that threatening."
That was true.
Because it was a dispersive airborne poison, it only worked on people who possessed mana.
"Of course, Awakeners and Mana-Compatible people earn decent money, so if there is an antidote, they will buy and use it... but if it is too expensive, they will choose to wear mosquito-proof gear instead."
The only way to avoid mosquitoes.
Even when wearing armor, they had been putting anti-insect gear over any area where bare skin was exposed. That had been the standard until now.
But the Jirisan region had a subtropical climate.
It was incredibly hot.
One could end up roasted alive trying to avoid mosquitoes.
"There is no doubt that this antidote will reduce the burden of hunting Magical Beasts. If the price is reasonable, people will definitely buy it."
"So what would be a reasonable price?"
"Around 50,000 won. At that price, people will open their wallets without much hesitation."
50,000 won.
To avoid mosquitoes, that was a price worth enduring.
The initial stock was about 60,000 bottles, so at 50,000 won each, that made 3 billion won.
This was concentrate made from poisonous herbs he had gathered in a single trip into the Jirisan jungle.
Making money was easy.
A person really did need to learn a skill.
"You also need to think about taxes."
"Taxes?"
"There is almost no tax on selling byproducts obtained from Magical Beast hunting. But for products distributed after secondary processing, there is a flat tax of 10% on net profit. It applies to both the supplier and the seller."
If he sold 3 billion won worth, that meant 300 million won in taxes.
That was not much money at all.
As expected of Free City of Gurye.
"What is the procedure for obtaining a sales permit?"
"It is fairly simple. They only need to confirm that it is harmless to the human body."
All that remained was deciding the supply price.
Baek Hongpyo opened his mouth with some difficulty.
"If the wholesale price is around 39,000 won or 40,000 won, I can make a profit too. But if it is any higher..."
Taeju also thought for a moment.
"Would it be possible for you to handle the drug sales permit procedure on my behalf?"
He had no local ties and knew no one in Gurye.
Since this was also an administrative procedure, someone who had lived in Gurye for a long time would naturally have the advantage.
"Yes, I will take care of it. And do not worry about registering the drug patent rights either. I know someone in the drug approval department of the Autonomous Committee."
"And I also need a place to manufacture the medicine. Preferably somewhere discreet and quiet."
"I have a suitable place."
"And you will also need to help me deal with any unexpected situations that may arise later... This is my first time here."
"Please do not worry. I will do my best to help you."
Baek Hongpyo was a fairly influential man in Gurye.
That was why Taeju had chosen him.
"Then let us settle on a supply price of 35,000 won. I will also give you exclusive sales rights for one year."
"... What?"
Baek Hongpyo was startled.
"No, you really do not have to go that far..."
Mosquito antidote.
Once it hit the market, it was guaranteed to sell.
In truth, from the drug shop's point of view, a supply price of 35,000 won already left a lot of room for profit. Even at 40,000 won, they would have gladly accepted it.
And on top of that, one year of exclusive sales rights as well.
"You run an orphanage, do you not? I heard that almost all of the net profit from the pharmacy goes into running the orphanage,"
"Y-you, ah, so you knew."
"It is all over Gurye by rumor. I wanted to help as well, that is all."
"T-thank you."
Baeks Drug Shop and Baeks Orphanage.
President Baek, who sold medicine to care for orphans.
That was precisely why he had such a good reputation.
"And I do have one favor to ask."
"Please say anything."
"If profits start coming in, could you send my share to me as quickly as possible? There is somewhere I need to use it."
Apparently in a very good mood, Baek Hongpyo laughed loudly and said,
"Hahaha, that is possible. The moment the money comes in, I will transfer it immediately."
The deal was done.
Taeju was satisfied, and so was Baek Hongpyo.
And about half a month later,
the sales permit came down from the Autonomous Committee.
Three hundred years ago, market approval would only have been granted after going through many stages such as animal testing and clinical trials, but things were different now.
Especially in Free City of Gurye.
If it could solve that wretched mosquito poison, why delay for any reason?
And so the advertising slogans put up at Baeks Drug Shop read,
It did not even take ten full days for all 60,000 bottles to sell out.