Episode 109 Cat (6)
VVIP reception room located on the top floor of White Market.
Currently, Yeo Ji-hye and I were facing a middle-aged man wearing a neat suit.
-bow-
“I am truly grateful to you both. I don’t know how I can repay this favor… … .”
The identity of the middle-aged man bowing his head and expressing his sincere thanks is the manager of the White Market Euljiro branch.
He, who could be called the representative of this place, had called us out to this place separately to express his gratitude for preventing the recent terrorist attack without any casualties.
For your information, the gang of thugs who committed the terrorist attack were subdued by us and safely handed over to the Association under the leadership of White Market.
Anyway, we looked at the middle-aged man who was still bowing his head and expressing his sincere gratitude with awkward eyes, and after looking at each other for a moment, we spoke to him one by one.
“No. I did what I had to do. So, please raise your head.”
“That’s right. As the wind blows, it was something a player should do. I’ve received more than enough gratitude, so now please raise your head, Branch Manager.”
Then, in response to our earnest request, the branch manager slowly raised his head, which had not moved at all.
But the branch manager just lifted his head and continued to praise us with a friendly smile.
“I felt it when I watched the situation through CCTV, but after talking to the two of you, I realized that you both have really great personalities. People like this are players in South Korea… It really seems like our country’s future is bright. Hahaha!”
“Haha… You’ve given me so much gold, I don’t know where to put myself.”
“No. This is really true. Especially in such a dangerous situation, the way you took the hostage and fought through the terrifying hail of bullets to take down those bad guys! I was so touched when I watched the CCTV with my heart pounding… … .”
““… … .””
As the branch manager mentioned our achievements one by one, and the praise relay continued for a while, Yeo Ji-hye and I gradually grew tired.
As if he had noticed our troubled appearance, the branch manager quickly finished his story and finally got to the main point of why he had called us here.
“Oh, dear! I got too excited and ended up wasting too much of your time. You’re both busy with your work, so I made a mistake. Big, big… Well then, shamelessly, I’ll get to the point quickly.”
-Click-
Finally, the branch manager opened his mouth and pressed a small button on the table.
“Secretary, come in.”
-Click-
“Excuse me.”
As soon as the branch manager finished speaking, the sound of the reception room door opening was heard.
It seemed as if someone, presumably the chief secretary, was coming in from outside.
-Swoosh-
Immediately after that, I reflexively turned my head at the sound of someone coming towards me, and as expected, a man who appeared to be the chief secretary was approaching us, holding several layers of flat boxes in both hands.
‘What are all those?’
-Glance-
I looked at the boxes the chief secretary had brought with a questioning look, and then I looked toward Yeo Ji-hye just in case.
But Yeo Ji-hye also had an expression full of curiosity, similar to mine, as if she had no idea what the men had brought in.
In the meantime.
The branch manager, who had been looking at us with a pleased expression on his face as he looked at us in confusion, pointed to the table with his finger and spoke to the chief secretary.
“Please place them on the table in order. Chief Secretary.”
“Yes, I understand, branch manager.”
-Chuck-chuck-chuck-
After that, flat boxes were placed so tightly that they almost filled a large table.
I didn’t notice it before because they were piled up so high, but upon closer inspection, I could see that the boxes were made of high-quality materials and had different brand logos on them, not just the same brand.
Oh, there’s also the Orb Brand that was there just a little while ago.
By the way, why are you putting these on the table?
-Stop-
‘Wait a minute, no way… … .’
At that moment.
The branch manager said, “Surely he catches people,” and the words I had been guessing inside came out.
“We can’t let the two heroes who saved our market from any damage leave empty-handed. Please don’t refuse and accept our sincerity. Secretary, do you have your card ready?”
“Yes, here it is.”
“Thank you. Then please open the box as well. In the meantime, I will explain this card first. Now, you two. First, please take this card.”
-Swoosh-
The secretary took two golden cards out of his pocket, handed them to the branch manager, and then began to open the lids of the boxes that had been placed on the table, one by one.
Meanwhile, the branch manager, who had received the card from the secretary, immediately stood up and forcefully put the card into our hands.
Yeo Ji-hye and I, who had received the cards so absentmindedly, all simultaneously lowered our heads and looked down at the cards in our hands.
The card I received from the branch manager was a credit card-sized card that boasted a dazzling golden color.
‘No, seriously, no matter how I look at it, it looks like a card that you use for payment… … .’
At that time, I was looking at the cards here and there with a puzzled expression.
At that moment, the branch manager, still maintaining a polite attitude, began to explain about the card.
“That card is a kind of gift certificate that can only be used here at the White Market. The amount of the gift certificate on the card varies depending on the color of the card, but the gold card is… … .”
Then, all of a sudden, the branch manager paused for a moment while giving his explanation and looked back and forth between the two of us who were listening.
And soon, he opened his mouth again with a meaningful smile on his face.
“… Haha, the golden cards you two received are the highest grade cards that our White Market can offer. For your information, the amount of the gift certificate… … is a total of 100 million.”
“… … .”
“… One, one hundred million… ?!”
Crazy, 100 million?
The amount was much larger than I expected, so I stuttered and asked again without realizing it.
By the way, even Yeo Ji-hye, who is a famous YouTuber and makes a lot of money, was speechless and looked shocked because the amount the branch manager mentioned was far beyond her expectations.
But despite our shocked reaction, the branch manager paid no attention and continued the story in an apologetic tone for not being able to take better care of us.
“I would have liked to give you a card with a larger amount… . Unfortunately, that gold card is the maximum amount our market can provide… .”
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“No, no. On the contrary, this is excessive compensation. We are simply trying to protect the citizens… … .”
“Oh, that’s right. We just did what we had to do, and this is too much compensation. I guess I won’t accept this card… .”
-Thump thump-
Then the branch manager shook his head firmly and cut us off from our conversation, which was a subtle refusal.
Immediately after that, he started to convince us, explaining why we deserved this level of compensation.
“Actually, you two don’t have to worry too much. If those thieves had run off with the expensive jewelry, the damage alone would easily have been over 1 billion.”
“Oh, ten billion…? Was it that much?”
-Nod, nod-
“Yes, it is a clear fact. The Orb Shop is a shop that sells expensive jewelry with magic embedded in it. In addition, you safely rescued all the captured citizens, and even protected the honor of our White Market… . Rather, I am ashamed that I can only give you this much in compensation.”
““… … .””
Yeo Ji-hye and I, unable to find a word to refute the store manager’s calm explanation, just kept fiddling with the cards in silence with awkward expressions.
‘Hmm… I don’t feel like refusing here, so I’ll just accept it.’
Finally, I decided to accept the reward the branch manager had prepared for me, and at the same time, I put the card in my pocket and tried to thank the branch manager.
Just as I was about to open my lips to express my gratitude.
-Stop-
Suddenly, things that I had neglected while talking to the branch manager began to catch my eye.
‘… Wait, let’s say the card is a reward, then what are those things on the table?’
At a glance, there are skill books, elixirs, potions, various accessories and equipment, etc.
On the table, inside an open box, were various items that looked like they might be sold at the white market, along with small descriptions.
“Manager, I opened everything.”
“Thank you for your hard work. Now, let me tell you about the additional compensation.”
“… Additional compensation?”
‘Surely not… those too… … .’
When I asked back just in case, the branch manager started talking as if he was asking something obvious.
“Yes, didn’t I tell you earlier? You two saved us a whopping 1 billion and even more in damages. So we should compensate you accordingly. We at White Market are not an ungrateful company that ignores its benefactors, haha.”
“Ha, but I have already been compensated sufficiently… … .”
-Thump thump-
Yeo Ji-hye, who had been listening silently from the side, tried to protest in a small voice.
The branch manager maintained his stubborn attitude this time as if it were impossible and lightly rejected her refusal.
“No, I don’t think it’s enough. I can’t just give you two cards for saving the White Market. That’s why I’ve prepared some additional rewards that I think you two might like.”
Soon, the branch manager spread out both hands and pointed to the items lined up on the table, and explained the additional compensation in a proud voice.
“You two can choose one of these items that you like. We have carefully selected the items that we sell in our market, and I think that if you are players, you will like them very much. Of course, it is free, so you can choose with peace of mind.”
-Gulp-
While listening to the branch manager’s groundbreaking story, I looked at each of the various products one by one, and I swallowed my saliva without realizing it.
Of course, the 100 million I received previously was a huge amount of money, but it was just electronic money with no physical form.
Now, seeing with my own eyes the items that any player would want and receiving them for free, it was only natural that it felt more real.
But can I really accept it?
Is that old man trying to take care of us even if it means going to great lengths… ?
“This is not a compensation prepared by any means, so you two can choose without worrying. Furthermore, the head office has already readily approved this.”
“Is that so… . If that’s the case… .”
“Hahaha, it’s something you deserve, so don’t be so wary.”
As if he had some kind of mind-reading skill, the branch manager read my mind like a ghost and immediately brought up the subject as if to tell me not to worry.
Since you said that, can I really choose with peace of mind?
-Glance-
But is it because of the slightly uncomfortable feeling that I can’t help but feel?
I was furtively observing the situation and glanced at Yeo Ji-hye, who was sitting next to me.
However, Yeo Ji-hye seemed to be feeling the same way as I did, as she stared at me with her black eyes filled with anxiety.
‘It seems Yeo Ji-hye is also cautious. … I don’t know. Let’s just accept it gratefully. They said that the head office also gave permission.’
-Nod-
Eventually, instead of answering, I nodded to Yeo Ji-hye once as a sign of agreement, then turned my gaze and began to focus on choosing one of the items on the table.
‘Let’s see… What I need most right now is… ‘
First of all, all potions are excluded.
I already had a healing skill called
‘For the same reason, it would be better to exclude magic items with a limited number of uses.’
In that case, all that’s left are skill books, elixirs, and equipment in the form of accessories.
But for now, I thought I had enough equipment, so I was thinking of choosing either a skill book or an elixir.
‘Hmm… I’m worried.’
As I was reading the descriptions that were mainly written about skill books and elixirs, I frowned and became lost in thought.
After reading all the descriptions, I ultimately chose two items that I liked.
The first one was a C-grade skill book called
By the way, the reason I chose this skill is because in my case, I use both a sword and a shield, so I expected the efficiency of this
And the second is the elixir… … .
“Kim Baram, did you choose?”
While I was contemplating which of the two to choose, Yeo Ji-hye, who was looking at the items next to me, suddenly asked me a question in a quiet voice.
So I shook my head and answered her in a worried tone.
-Dori dori-
“No. I’ve narrowed it down to two candidates, but I’m having trouble deciding which one to choose.”
“…Huh, what are those two?”
“One is a skill book called
Another option I considered was an elixir with a fancy name, the elixir of immortality.
It wasn’t really an elixir that prevented aging as its name suggests, but rather a potion that strengthened the bones and muscles. Although it didn’t raise ability stats, it was a 6th-grade item, so its efficacy was highly anticipated.
‘The Hwalshindan I ate as a reward for the entrance ceremony before was a lower grade 7, wasn’t it? I don’t know how much it will strengthen my bones and muscles, but it will be more effective than that.’
“… Okay, I’ve decided.”
-Swoosh-
-Snap-
But my final choice was not the elixir of life.
In the end, after much thought, the item I chose was the skill book called
Although I was a bit disappointed with the elixir, I thought the skill book would be more versatile, so I ended up reaching out and picking up the skill book.
“I’ll take this.”
Then, out of the blue, right after I declared that I would choose the skill book.
-Snap-
“Then I’ll do this.”
Yeo Ji-hye, who had been blankly watching me pick up the skill book, suddenly reached out and, without hesitation, picked up the elixir of life that I had given up on.
I guess Yeo Ji-hye wanted that too.
Well, even in my opinion, that elixir looks the best.
anyway.
After selecting all the rewards, we chatted with the branch manager for a while and then left the VVIP reception room with some closing remarks.
-Tiring-
[Player ‘Kim Baram’s’ unique ability
[Acquire the skill
