TRPM 21

CHAPTER 21

After leaving the dungeon, Yeon Mirae and I headed to the nearby marketplace.

The reason was obvious—we needed to dispose of the orc byproducts we had stuffed into our backpacks and subspace artifacts at the trading posts.

Oh, and by the way…

“Really… are you sure I can have this?”

“Yeah, it’s yours.”

The reward from this dungeon turned out to be the same kind of subspace artifact as the one I had previously obtained from the orc dungeon inside the elementary school.

Not only was it the same type—a growth-type artifact—but it looked identical to the one I already had.

The difference, however, lay in the scale.

If the one I already owned was about the size of a single room, this new artifact was practically the size of an entire mansion.

Originally, my old artifact was about the size of a large backpack, and its capacity had grown over time along with me. Compared to that, the difference in size now was absurd.

In fact, an artifact with such an enormous interior space couldn’t be found anywhere on the market. At least, not in my knowledge.

Well, considering it’s a reward from a dungeon where an Orc Warlord appears, I suppose this much makes sense.

Normally, dungeons with a Warlord require at least thirty Awakeners to clear, and the reward is meant to be shared among all of them.

It’s probably built into the Awakener System itself to prevent people from fighting over the loot.

But in this case, I had essentially monopolized what should’ve been split among thirty people.

And as for Mirae’s share?

The system must’ve judged she didn’t need to be rewarded.

To be exact…

“But… a subspace artifact of this size must be worth…”

“It’s fine. I got something even better.”

Naturally, Mirae must’ve thought I’d just hand her my old artifact.

Why would I keep carrying around a room-sized one when I now had a mansion-sized one?

Besides, hers would also keep growing over time.

So with the rewards distributed, Mirae and I went around the marketplace selling off orc byproducts.

Of course, it wasn’t easy.

“…There are a lot of swindlers here.”

“Yeah, that’s the market for you.”

Shops trying to lowball us were everywhere.

And I understood their side of it too.

Plenty of Awakeners came here because, for one reason or another, they couldn’t use the Association’s official market. That made them easy prey for merchants who slashed prices.

Even so, they often accepted, since holding on to goods for too long risked getting caught in government crackdowns.

Not every shop was unscrupulous, though…

“Sorry, but yesterday an Awakener came in with wyvern parts. Until we finish processing those, we can’t buy more.”

“We’re broke right now. Once we sell those wyvern parts at auction, we’ll have cash, but you get how it is, right?”

These were the same shops I’d sold my wyvern parts to yesterday. Because of that, they refused to buy anything else.

So after an hour of going around, Mirae and I had only managed to sell about half of what was in our backpacks.

Meaning, we hadn’t even touched the orc byproducts inside our subspace artifacts.

“Sigh…”

What a pain.

But if we waited until those shops had liquidated their wyvern stock, the goods inside my artifact would slowly rot. Time didn’t stop in there.

“…Um, Artist-nim.”

While I was debating what to do, Mirae spoke up.

Calling me “Artist,” huh. She must’ve realized my identity already.

“Should we go to the Association’s market instead?”

“Hm?”

“Unlike you, I have a legal status.”

She pulled out her wallet and showed me her ID card—a student card from an Awakener-specialized high school.

“If a high schooler tries to sell too much at once, it might look suspicious. But selling on behalf of someone else isn’t unusual.”

“…What if they decide to investigate you?”

“That’s fine.”

By the time the Association started looking into her…

“I’ll already have been cured of my condition. You said you’d treat me tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah.”

Even if the Association worked fast, it would still take days before they launched a full investigation.

If it were something like wyvern parts, they might act within a day. But orc byproducts? Not so much.

Her suggestion isn’t bad at all.

We’d get rid of everything in one go with minimal risk. Even if Mirae did get some heat later, once she was cured, she’d be fine.

So we headed to the Association’s market.

“Invisibility. Transparency. Obstruction.”

Of course, I kept myself hidden on the way.

With the mask artifact I’d obtained from the wyvern dungeon, nobody could link my doll’s face to the Artist identity. Still, I wasn’t taking chances in case someone had a way of piercing through.

Mirae looked surprised, but after everything she’d already seen today—levitating spoons, word-magic—she didn’t ask questions.

We reached the entrance.

“ID, please.”

“Here you go.”

Mirae handed her student card to the guard. He checked it against her face, then nodded her through.

It might’ve looked sloppy, but those helmets were packed with cutting-edge tech—mana sensors, forgery detectors, and more.

Plenty of fools got caught trying to sneak through with fake IDs.

But Mirae’s ID was genuine, so no problem there.

I followed her inside, unnoticed.

Even mana sensors couldn’t pick me up after I’d layered my concealment magic. That was the whole point.

“…Are you still there?”

Yeah.

“…”

I used telepathic transmission to answer her.

She flinched at the voice in her head but quickly calmed. After all, today had already shattered too many of her notions of “normal.”

Relieved that I was still by her side, she exhaled and headed to the monster byproduct counter.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“I’d like to sell orc byproducts.”

“Understood. Please use Room 14 to unload them.”

So Mirae went to the assigned room and began unloading from her backpack and subspace artifact.

I discreetly slipped mine out too.

But after a while, the staff member stopped her.

“Wait, just a moment. How much more do you have?”

Apparently, the sheer quantity had surprised him.

I sent Mirae a telepathic nudge.

Tell him you’re almost done. Any more, and it’ll be suspicious.

“Almost done.”

“I see. Quite the spacious artifact you must have, then.”

The staff member, sweating, called in reinforcements. More employees came to sort the goods by type and weigh them, recording everything on tablets.

Finally, he said:

“Your total comes to 431,270,000 won. Would you like cash or a bank transfer?”

Cash. And get a receipt.

“…Cash, please. With a receipt too.”

“Of course.”

Orc byproducts weren’t worth much individually, but sheer volume had pushed the payout into the hundreds of millions.

Mirae’s voice shook slightly under the tension of handling so much money at once.

After taxes and our contract split, she’d only keep about 10%, but even that was a lot.

Given that I’d soloed a dungeon meant for thirty people, the payout was fair.

Mirae handed the money to me, and I stored 90% in my artifact, returning 10% to her.

Then we left the market.

“Phew…”

Mirae let out a breath of relief as the tension drained away.

Now go home and rest. You’ll have muscle aches tomorrow.

“Yes…”

And don’t forget—I’ll be treating your condition tomorrow too.

I was just about to part ways with her when—

“Hey, isn’t that the half-wit?”

Someone recognized her.

“…”

“What’s she doing here? Do half-wits use the market now?”

“What good’s sword skill if she can’t use aura?”

A group of students her age, in the same uniform as hers, mocked her loudly enough for everyone to hear.

And the adults nearby? Instead of stopping them, they nodded along, entertained.

“An aura user who can’t actually use aura? That’s a thing?”

“Yeah, I heard there’s some girl at a local high school who only studies theory ‘cause she can’t use aura. Must be her.”

“What’s someone like that doing here?”

Their ridicule spread like wildfire.

Disgusting.

Yes, Awakener society worshiped strength. But that didn’t give them the right to openly humiliate someone without power—least of all inside an Association facility.

I began drawing up my inner energy.

“…I’m fine.”

Mirae stopped me, as if sensing my intent.

But she wasn’t fine. Her expression looked like she was about to break.

She only kept walking toward the exit, ignoring the jeers, as if she’d been through this countless times already.

“…Mirae.”

I revealed myself beside her. She burst into tears.

“…It’s so unfair…”

Like a dam collapsing, she poured everything out.

“Why do I have to be treated like this? What did I do wrong…?”

Not just tears—rage, sorrow, frustration, injustice—all of it came spilling out.

“I want to use aura… I want to use it soon, so I can escape this treatment… so I can stand tall…”

So I can take revenge on all of them.

“…”

I quietly listened.

And when she had let most of it out, I spoke softly:

“Starting tomorrow… you’ll be able to.”

“…”

Wordlessly, she clung to my doll’s chest.

My doll embraced her, gazing silently back at the market—toward those who had driven her into this state.

Mirae has no power, no malice, and endured without striking back…

But I’m not like that.

I have power. And patience has never been my strong suit.

Meanwhile.

The market had fallen into chaos.

Specifically, the restrooms.

“Dammit…! Get out already!”

“Hey, you hogging the toilet or what?! Move it!”

“S-sir, please calm down! You can’t cause a scene here—”

“Shut up! I’m about to burst—!”

The same Awakeners who had mocked Mirae were now crammed into the toilets, shouting in agony.

It was a bizarre sight.

Even healers and purification specialists tried casting spells, but nothing changed.

“They’re not berserk. Not cursed either…”

“Then what the hell is it?! The mana detectors aren’t picking up anything!”

The staff scrambled, trying to restrain them or figure out what was happening, while the Awakeners themselves writhed in misery from the sudden, uncontrollable urges.

Eventually, the Association staff subdued them by force. By then, their reputations were ruined beyond repair.

And within their bodies lingered a faint energy undetectable to others—my inner energy.