“I will cherish it.”

Phil Kruger expressed his gratitude.

It seemed the Cheongma magic engineering air circulator was very much to his liking.

It was true I had offloaded the item on him, but the reason I sent the air circulator as a gift instead of reselling it was because I had a favor to ask.

I had searched for a way with Chasey, but finding no solution, I ended up coming all the way here.

Since the two of them had lived in Trivik for quite some time, I asked for their help on the off chance they might have some relevant information.

“Would it be possible to gain access to the Black Market?”

The day I took the magitech train to Trivik.

I hadn’t been able to find any information about the Black Market Yuki had tipped me off about, no matter where I looked.

The same went for Jay, the young street informant.

I had considered sending a message to Yuki.

But I hadn’t yet made up my mind on how to treat her, so I couldn’t bring myself to reach out.

“The Black Market?”

Phil Kruger wore a clueless expression.

“As for the Black Market… I’ve only heard rumors. I’m not sure if it actually exists.”

Freud was the same.

A sigh escaped my lips.

‘Did I make another wasted trip?’

I had invested a lot of time trying to find information about the Black Market, but I still hadn’t obtained any.

It was almost miraculous that Yuki knew about it; information about the Black Market simply wasn’t available to the public.

I wondered if I should just give up on finding the Black Market.

But surprisingly, I found the answer from an unexpected person.

“If it’s about the Black Market, I know it quite well.”

A confident voice rang out from behind.

It belonged to Teiz, the newest recruit of the Arrow of the Blue Sky.

Having found hope, I took a step toward Teiz.

“Is that true?”

Finding the Black Market was an incredibly important matter to me.

It happened four days ago, right after the Paradise Private battlefield ended.

***

After settling my accounts and returning to my lodgings, I stared at my device, deep in thought.

[Gold Owned: 105G]

105 gold. Would anyone believe I gathered this much gold from just two battlefields?

As a 1-Cost champion, no less.

“Hmm…”

I deliberated again and again.

How I spent my gold would determine my champion’s growth trajectory.

I had used all the gold I had saved up so far to purchase skill books.

But since I didn’t urgently need new skills right now, I needed to invest in my fundamentals.

Either buying new equipment or enhancing my body.

Between the two, I leaned toward body enhancement.

Even most veterans were skeptical about the efficiency of purchasing equipment.

With core items serving as an alternative, they felt no need to invest in basic equipment.

Good equipment would exert significant power in the early stages of a battlefield before a core item was completed.

But that wasn’t enough to justify spending precious gold.

Gold spent on equipment was a sunk cost that couldn’t be recovered once new gear was acquired.

Rather than buying a 100-gold piece of equipment, it was a wiser choice to just save up for expensive gear from the very start.

‘I’ll think about this later.’

When I felt my limits, it wouldn’t be too late to consider buying equipment then.

For now, I could perform well enough on the battlefield with just basic equipment.

Having made up my mind, I checked the list of body enhancements.

[Mana Efficiency Increase] – 10 gold

[Base Attack Power Increase] – 10 gold

[Attack Speed Increase] – 10 gold

[Maximum Health Increase] – 10 gold

[Defense Increase] – 10 gold

[Magic Resistance Increase] – 10 gold

Since I hadn’t undergone any body enhancement yet, I was in a ‘pure’ state, meaning all enhancements cost the same flat rate of 10 gold.

The growth path recommended by the guild was to quickly raise my mana efficiency to 20.

Becoming a 2-Cost champion would fundamentally change the baseline amount of gold I earned.

But with a mana efficiency of 0, that was an impossible option for me.

That left me with only five options.

I pondered for a long time.

I was standing at a crossroads of choice more important than any I had faced before.

Every time I performed a body enhancement, the gold required for the next one would increase.

It wasn’t applied to each category individually; choosing one would raise the required gold for all other options as well.

Therefore, I had to establish a clear path.

What choice would best leverage my strengths?

“Let’s invest in defense rather than offense.”

My class was, first and foremost, a shieldbearer.

And for a shieldbearer, defense was paramount.

I must never lose sight of that purpose.

If I wanted to raise attack power and attack speed, it would be better to switch to a different class altogether.

Health, defense, magic resistance.

All three were crucial for tank-type champions.

The standard growth route for a shieldbearer was to raise health, defense, and magic resistance in a 1:1:1 ratio.

Focusing too heavily on one would create weaknesses elsewhere.

For balanced growth, it was best to raise all three evenly.

But my thoughts differed slightly.

Defense? Magic resistance?

Those were areas I could sufficiently cover with my combat skills.

I had already grasped how to minimize damage.

However, no matter how perfectly I exchanged blows, if my health hit zero, I would die.

As long as the metric of health existed, there was a limit to how much I could accomplish.

My current health was 200.

For a shieldbearer, it was an absurdly low value.

“Let’s raise my health first.”

Furthermore, since my skill, Solid Exoskeleton, scaled with maximum health, it was the most efficient choice.

[Paid 10 gold to purchase ‘Body Enhancement – Maximum Health Increase’.]

[Maximum health has increased by 5.]

Flash-!

A bright light erupted from the device and shot toward my chest.

Thump- thump-

My heart pounded fiercely.

The blood throughout my entire body circulated madly.

Stagger.

I felt dizzy. Blood rushed to my head, bringing a sudden headache.

My body was struggling to adapt to the rapid changes.

After about five minutes, the side effects of the body enhancement faded.

Regaining my senses, I let out a shallow sigh.

I had heard that body enhancement came with some pain, but I hadn’t expected it to be this intense.

‘This isn’t just “some” pain.’

Still, I couldn’t stop here.

I had 95 gold remaining.

I could still afford a few more enhancements.

‘Let’s keep going.’

As long as it didn’t kill me, I could endure any pain.

Since that pain was tied to my growth, I could accept it with open arms.

I checked my device again to see how much the gold required for body enhancement had increased.

[Mana Efficiency Increase] – 15 gold

[Base Attack Power Increase] – 15 gold

[Attack Speed Increase] – 15 gold

[Maximum Health Increase] – 15 gold

[Defense Increase] – 15 gold

[Magic Resistance Increase] – 15 gold

‘The required gold increases by 5 every time I enhance my body.’

Here, I realized a crucial fact.

As the gold required for body enhancement continued to rise, I would eventually hit a ceiling.

It meant there was a finite number of times a champion could enhance their body.

The moment the required gold exceeded the gold one could earn would be that limit.

‘I think I understand why they recommend raising mana efficiency first.’

Later on, there would come a point where I’d want to enhance my body but wouldn’t be able to.

But my limit was set several stages higher than others.

I was guaranteed to earn an immense profit incomparable to other champions in every single battlefield.

I could confidently say that no other 1-Cost champion could earn as much gold as I did.

I racked my brain and calculated the remaining number of enhancements I could afford.

“I have 95 gold left… so I can do it four more times.”

I was a bit terrified.

It meant I had to endure that same pain four more times.

‘They say it’s better to get it over with.’

I had never heard of a champion dying from body enhancement.

Which meant it was ultimately an endurable pain.

Steeled with resolve, I initiated four consecutive body enhancements all at once.

[Paid 15 gold to purchase ‘Body Enhancement – Maximum Health Increase’.]

[Maximum health has increased by 5.]

[Paid 20 gold to purchase ‘Body Enhancement – Maximum Health Increase’.]

[Maximum health has increased by 5.]

[Paid 25 gold to purchase ‘Body Enhancement – Maximum Health Increase’.]

[Maximum health has increased by 5.]

[Paid 30 gold to purchase ‘Body Enhancement – Maximum Health Increase’.]

[Maximum health has increased by 5.]

Flash-!

A blinding cascade of light erupted from the device.

It shot fiercely toward the left side of my chest.

Thud- thud- thud-!

My heart beat like crazy.

It felt entirely different from the champion enhancements I had experienced on the battlefield.

Shiver.

My blood boiled.

“Heok-!”

It hurt. It hurt so much.

It felt as if the blood flowing through my veins had been replaced with blades.

A pain akin to my entire body being hacked to pieces by swords washed over me.

An excruciating agony flooded me from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.

I had braced myself to some extent.

But I hadn’t expected this.

The sensation radiating from my heart cascaded down my entire body.

Even I, who was accustomed to death, groaned under a pain I couldn’t withstand.

“Keuaa-“

My back arched like a bow.

Blood oozed from my tightly clenched fists.

In the midst of that horrific agony, I regretted my decision to undergo four body enhancements all at once.

‘I should have just done it one at a time!’

With that final thought, I thrashed about for a long while before finally passing out.

***

The next day, when I opened my eyes, the blurry figure of someone appeared before me.

For a moment, I couldn’t grasp the situation.

This was a space where no one else should be visible.

Our eyes met.

As if confirming I had woken up, she hurriedly approached me.

“Are you alright?”

“… …”

It was a familiar face by now.

I was sure I had locked the door…

How did she get in?

Moreover, she wasn’t alone.

Blue Hexagram.

Upon recognizing that pattern, I stared at Chasey with bewildered eyes.

I wanted an explanation, but Chasey only looked back at me with worried eyes, as if she knew nothing.

“You didn’t look well, so…”

Even so, did she really have to summon Adjudicator Ariel?

I had simply passed out from the side effects of body enhancement…

But there was no way Chasey could have known that.

I hadn’t even considered the possibility of passing out from body enhancement myself.

“It seems you underwent body enhancement.”

Ariel grasped my situation instantly.

I felt a bit embarrassed.

I had never seen anyone pass out from body enhancement before.

But Ariel’s expression was grave.

“You may feel some pain for a moment.”

Clang- clang- clang-

Before I could even brace myself.

Vwoomm-

The Blue Hexagram in her eyes flashed brightly, and then…

“Keuheok-!”

Shiver.

A horrific pain swept through my body.

The brief pain, lasting barely a second, left me dizzy.

Ariel furrowed her brow.

The lingering pain was proof that the side effects of the body enhancement hadn’t yet faded.

“What is it, Sister?”

Chasey demanded an explanation from Ariel.

After a brief silence, Ariel slowly opened her mouth.

“He might burst soon.”

Burst?

The horrific words sent a chill down my spine.

But Chasey, standing beside me, reacted even more violently than I did.

“What? Burst? What do you mean?”

Chasey threw a fit.

“… …”

Even so, Ariel maintained her composure.

Vwoomm-

The blue hexagram spun ceaselessly.

Throb.

As if diagnosing something, a sharp pang of pain flared in different parts of my body each time the hexagram glowed.

She was clearly trying to help me, so I just gritted my teeth and endured it.

Phew-

Ariel closed her eyes and opened them again.

The Blue Hexagram had vanished from her eyes, but her face was filled with exhaustion.

“You underwent multiple body enhancements at once, didn’t you?”

“Is that a problem?”

I had never heard that performing multiple body enhancements would cause issues.

Ariel shook her head.

“No, normally it wouldn’t be an issue.”

Then what was the problem?

Ariel tilted her head, as if she couldn’t understand it herself.

Ariel muttered to herself.

“Why is this still lingering inside his body?”