Chapter 7

Chapter 008

3. Unfair Contract (3)

"Hmm."

On a Saturday afternoon, Yun Pansung, who runs a lottery ticket booth, busily moved about as customers streamed in.

Every Saturday is the day when the lottery numbers are announced.

Naturally, many people flock on that day.

"To me, 2, 15, and 19 seem the most likely."

"No, that's not it. According to my analysis... "

"Haha. It's all in vain."

Yun Pansung smiled as he watched the self-proclaimed lottery experts.

How could there be experts in the lottery? Those who win are just lucky.

If someone won the lottery, they wouldn't be stuck in a place like this; they would have long gone to enjoy themselves elsewhere.

"Well, they're all desperate, aren't they?"

"Ten thousand won. Random numbers."

"Sure."

Just as many people buy lottery tickets, their methods vary.

Some rely on luck and choose random numbers, while others pick specific numbers based on dreams.

And there are people like this.

'There's one again.'

Buying multiple lottery tickets with the same numbers.

The lottery ticket the young man in his mid-20s handed over was one of these.

'He must have had a good dream.'

The man was already grinning as if he had already won.

He tucked the lottery ticket into his pocket and left.

* * *

"Auntie, give me everything from here to here."

"Oh, young man, you can't eat all of that."

"It's fine, just give it to me!"

"I tried to stop you."

I looked at the lottery ticket with a satisfied smile.

If I had money, I would have wanted to do something like this.

But since I don't have money right now, I could only order all the menu items at the cheap Korean rice roll restaurant.

The food was placed on the table one by one.

'Hmm... I probably can't eat all of it, right?'

"Kids, do you want to eat this?"

"Wow! Really, can we?"

"Sure. Pick whatever you want."

"Awesome!"

I gave the food to the kids at the next table who were sharing a single roll of rice.

I took a bite of the tail end of a tuna rice roll and looked at the lottery ticket with a satisfied smile.

'How much would this be worth?'

The last first-prize lottery jackpot was 25 billion won.

Since I bought five games with the same numbers, the payout ratio would be significant.

I checked and found that many people buy up to five tickets with the same numbers, so I did the same.

I probably won't raise any suspicion.

I've never even won the fifth prize in the lottery.

Actually winning the first prize made my hands tremble.

'It might fall into the soup.'

I carefully put it into the pocket of my jacket.

If I sell the potion, there will be a profit.

But it will take some time to actually receive the money.

"Ah. The bill, please."

"214,000 won."

"Can I pay in installments?"

My hands trembled as I tried to pay.

But I handed over my card without hesitation.

Today is a good day.

On the way home,

I thought about taking a walk around the city for the first time in a while, but the ground started to rumble.

"What's happening?"

I looked around, wondering if an earthquake was happening.

A group of people in white armor walked in formation.

"Who dares to block the path of the knights of God?"

People on the street moved aside as they walked.

"Wow, they're at it again."

"What kind of armor in this weather? Aren't they hot?"

"Why do they look so cool?"

The group in armor stopped in front of me and looked down at me.

"Young man, please move aside."

The guy was probably twice my size.

Even with the armor, he was abnormally large.

The intimidation was intense.

Before I knew it, my body had naturally moved to the side.

"Thank you."

With 20 people in armor walking around, the ground would naturally rumble.

'Are they holy knights or something?'

I know about them because they are quite famous.

People who wear such armor in this heat are rare.

They call themselves the knights of God, the holy knights.

They are members of the guild, 'Sanctity.'

Just hearing the name, they seem to use mysterious powers.

But apparently, no one actually uses holy powers.

"Well, even without such powers..."

If a group of people in such armor attacks, what monster could they not catch?

Holy power.

It's questionable whether such a thing as holy energy even exists.

Awakened ones say it's no different from magic.

They shake their heads firmly.

They appear when the time comes.

"Well, they're not related to me."

I imagined myself in armor.

I wouldn't be able to move, let alone wear it.

Thinking about it made me feel depressed about my poor physical condition.

"I need to build up my stamina."

You never know what might happen in modern society.

What if a crack appeared while I was walking, like last time?

My unique ability, Master of All Things, can only create special items, not enhance my body.

"So, I have to run and build it up myself."

I opened my bag and took out a PET bottle filled with potion.

I always carry one with me.

It's like a spare life.

"It's a shame I can't get potions outside."

I confirmed this at a restaurant.

The water from the purifier there was just ordinary water.

"Well, it's enough to carry it from home."

For now, I decided to be satisfied with that.

I started running home while drinking the potion.

As I ran, I felt the intervals between drinks getting longer.

My stamina must be gradually increasing.

"My first goal is to reach the average person's level of stamina..."

I took a different route to do some exercise.

When I arrived at the apartment, a luxury sedan was parked there, which didn't fit the area.

"Who would park such a car here?"

If it got scratched, it would be a disaster.

I tried to enter the house carefully, but someone got out of the car.

"Mr. Lee Sejin, is that you?"

"Yes, yes?"

No, I didn't scratch it.

"Guild Master Jeong Hae-yeon wants to meet you."

"Oh."

He said he would call me soon about the contract, and it turned out to be today?

It's only been a day.

He seems to be a rather impatient person.

Checking my phone, I saw I had missed calls and messages.

I must have missed them because it was on silent...

"Can you wait a moment? I was just exercising."

"Sure, I'll wait here."

Even though it's a business meeting, this isn't the right attire.

I'm sweaty and smelly.

I quickly took a shower and put on some normal clothes.

Just plain slacks and a white shirt.

"I'm sorry for making you wait. Let's go quickly."

"Sure."

This is my first time in such a car, so I'm nervous.

Oh, the seats are different from public transportation.

They are so soft, I feel like falling asleep.

I couldn't help but fidget.

"Ahem."

Was I being too silly?

Embarrassed, I looked at the driver, and our eyes met.

He smiled slightly and focused on driving again.

'Oh, how embarrassing.'

I leaned back, and the soft sensation made me fall asleep without realizing it.

* * *

"We've arrived."

The destination was a high-rise building in Seoul.

It's known as the headquarters of the Twilight Guild.

Given that the Twilight Guild is one of the top ten guilds in South Korea, it's a massive organization, almost like a large corporation.

'Pull yourself together, Lee Sejin. Don't be intimidated.'

I unconsciously shrank but quickly shook it off.

Today, I'm not here for an interview but to sign an equal contract.

I passed through the gate, which is off-limits to the public, and took the elevator up.

As the view outside shrank, I soon arrived at the top floor.

A lavish room fitting for a guild master.

Jeong Hae-yeon, who was sitting, stood up and approached me with a smile.

"Thank you for coming all this way, Mr. Lee Sejin."

"No, it was comfortable thanks to you. Oh, the high-end seats really made me sleepy. They're so different from the cheap cushions at my house."

I tried to lighten the mood with a joke.

But Jeong Hae-yeon's face immediately stiffened.

"I'm sorry. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again next time I pick you up."

"No, that's not what I meant! I meant it was very good!"

Her stiff expression didn't change.

'I should just keep quiet.'

The more I tried to improve the atmosphere, the stranger it became.

When the topic of the contract came up, I felt a bit relieved.

"Do you happen to have the potion with you?"

"I brought one, just in case."

It's a product I'll be selling in the future.

I thought she might want to see it again, so I brought one.

I put it in a 1-liter thermos I bought nearby.

'I look like a peddler selling drinks.'

I chuckled, but Jeong Hae-yeon remained serious.

"Such a large quantity... and in this bottle. I can feel a special aura just from looking at it. As expected."

"No, I just bought it near my house."

She stopped, as if sensing something mysterious or confirming her senses.

"Is that so? Perhaps we can send you a dedicated container, and you can use that from now on?"

"That would be great."

I was thinking about finding a fancy bottle online, so this is perfect.

"I'll send you twenty dedicated glass bottles a month to your house."

"Twenty? That's..."

"Is it too many? Given the quality of the item, the manufacturing process must be difficult. Ten a month would be sufficient."

"No, it's far too few."

"Too few? Can you tell me how much you can produce?"

Currently, the maximum is 4.5 liters, and it recovers at a rate of 1 liter per hour.

"I think I can produce more than 20 liters a month."

"20, 20 liters! Can you really produce that much in a month?"

A day, not a month.

Including the mana potion, it's almost 40 liters.

But seeing her shocked expression, I decided to keep that to myself.

"It's unbelievable."

Jeong Hae-yeon muttered, disbelieving, and then slapped her cheeks.

What's wrong with her? She looks scary.

"I knew you were extraordinary, but to this extent..."

She looked at me with a serious expression.

"You're willing to entrust such a large quantity to us?"

"Yes, that's right."

What connections do I have?

The only person I know is the guild master of Twilight.

A simple business relationship, not a real connection.

"Frankly, you're the only person I know."

"!"

She trembled and opened her eyes wide.

Why is she reacting like that?

"I see. You mean you can only trust me. I'll do my best not to disappoint you."

She clenched her fist with a determined look.

The rumors about Jeong Hae-yeon must be false.

It's unbearable for such a kind person to be slandered.

"These are the terms we offer. If there's anything you don't like, please let me know."

"Sure."

I learned that a contract should be read carefully, word by word.

I don't know much about contracts, but I didn't want to just skim through it.

'Pull yourself together, Lee Sejin. You could get into trouble here!'

No matter how kind they seem, they could have ulterior motives.

I started reading the contract carefully.

And exactly five minutes later.

"Um, is this contract really