Anybody could summon the [Arcane Circle of Mana Recovery], but the problem was that drawing the Circle cost a lot of money. However, the two brothers were making a lot of money now, so they could cover the cost of materials easily. Also, now was not the time to save money. If it reduced the time for them to become stronger, they didn’t think twice about the cost and did whatever they could. That was why Ji-Cheok had already installed an Arcane Circle in his brother’s room and also in the training room.

The downside of the Arcane Circle was that the person had to be on top of the Circle to see the effect. So unless they were going to bed or training in the training room, it was difficult to use the Arcane Circle.

That was where the [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] came into play. In the description of the branch, it said that ‘when used as a decoration, it purifies the surroundings and generates high-purity mana’. Ji-Cheok wondered what would happen if he ‘decorated’ the Arcane Circle with the branch.

[The [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] ability has been activated.]

[You have designated a range of 10 meters as a ‘Sacred Site’]

[Within the Sacred Site, mana recovery has been increased by 100%.]

[Within the Sacred Site, minor debuffs are removed at all times.]

As the surrounding area was designated as a Sacred Site, a holy-looking green light filled the area.

“What do you think?” Ji-Cheok asked.

“Hyung…My mana is recovering too quickly. Isn’t this dangerous?”

The [Arcane Circle of Mana Recovery] alone provided a mana recovery rate of two hundred percent. Adding the [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] into the equation, the synergistic effect made their recovery downright explosive.

[Your mana recovery rate has been increased to 599%.]

“I’m assuming I have to level up if I want to increase my recovery rate,” Ji-Cheok said.

«Yes, Master. In order to increase the recovery rate above this level, your level needs to be higher.»

‘I didn’t know there was a level limit to this, too.’

“Hyung, a 599% mana recovery rate is still insane! This means mana that would normally take a week to recover will only take a day or two!”

‘You are satisfied only with this? Oh, Mu-Cheok… I can recover all my mana and cultivation in less than three hours inside this Circle.’

As Ji-Cheok was feeling a little bad for his brother, Mu-Cheok sighed.

“I wonder what it would be like to do mana control training inside this Circle,” Mu-Cheok said.

“Hmm.”

“Because my skills can’t cover it. And I don’t have any relevant skills.”

“Well, right now I’m controlling my mana with my cultivation skills.”

Ji-Cheok heard that if a Hunter had a skill related to mana control, they were basically more efficient at using mana than other Hunters. In his case, he could have just bought the necessary skills from the Likes Shop, but Cheok-Liang had told him not to. According to the advisor, not only were those skills expensive, but Ji-Cheok was already training in cultivation and it would be like duplicating his skills. As Ji-Cheok’s proficiency in cultivation increased and his degree of enlightenment grew, he would be able to better control his Qi and become more aware of his surroundings. And if he somehow reached the final stage in cultivation, he would eventually surpass humanity altogether.

‘If that final stage means something divine, like a God, maybe that’s what I will be.’

“I think that’s a good idea. The effect of the Sacred Site created by the [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] seems to be very effective, so try your mana control training here. I have to do something else,” Ji-Cheok said.

“Something else?”

“Yes, I want to try something out.”

‘After knowing the ability of the [Very Small Branch of the World Tree], every Korean would wonder if they can mass-produce this branch. I’m from a country that aims for 4G and 5G because LTE is considered frustratingly slow, so I wonder if it would be possible for mass production of this amazing branch. I once saw a gardening cartoon where they planted branches and turned them into trees. And they would cut off the branches of the tree again, plant the branches again, and turn them into more trees.’

«M—Master, you are looking so far into the future! As your subject, I admire your clairvoyance!»

‘You think so? I’m just thinking how I can get the most out of this branch.’

«Yes, Master. The price of the item is the same as the price of the secret of dungeon annihilation. I remember it being something like ten million Likes.»

‘Huh, alright. I didn’t know that the Likes Shop was also selling this. That just shows how valuable this item is. Maybe it was because I had an item that increased my luck stats.’

«Of course, Master. It is probably thanks to the Luminous Fairy Pendant, which increased your luck by five. Who knew the reward obtained from clearing the mushroom dungeon would be such a blessing.»

Ji-Cheok knew that items that increased luck stats were rare because luck itself didn’t appear in the basic stats in the first place. However, he didn’t know that it also affected the item drop rate and quality. Coupled with the title [First no-death conqueror of the special dungeon], which enhanced dungeon rewards, Ji-Cheok was able to obtain a very valuable item.

«In terms of Earth money, the Warding Stone is the most expensive item, no matter what you compare it to. However, that is just the market price of modern society, and the Likes Shop price of the branch is much higher than the Warding Stones.»

‘Was the Warding Stone priced at one million Likes in the Likes Shop? It’s amazing that the branch is worth ten times more than the Warding Stone. I would think that the Warding Stone would cost more, since that’s what our world needs right now. Of course, I don’t even know exactly what the [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] is. So that’s my plan. That [Very Small Branch of the World Tree] is alive. The leaves are green and when you pick the branch up, it smells fresh. So my question is… What would happen if I ‘cultivated’ the branch? I think people call that plant cutting.’

«You want to do plant cutting with the reward we got from the dungeon, Master?»

‘Yeah, is that weird?’

«Uh…Master seems to be thinking in ways that even I can’t comprehend sometimes, but if this is possible, the profit would be tremendous.»

‘Yes. Let’s mass-produce an item worth ten million Likes and see what happens.’

«Then, please wait a moment, Master.»

Cheok-Liang searched for something.

«Master, would you like to purchase these along with the ones I recommended earlier?»

[Shadow—300,000 Likes]

[Class: Unique (Upgradable Rank F)

The fundamental ability required for shadow skills.

Spiritual power and visualization merge into one, enabling the use of divine power through the phenomenon known as ‘shadow’.]

[Shadow Pouch—50,000 Likes]

[Class: Rare (Upgradable Rank F)

Use the power of shadow to create a subspace. It is different from the sub-dimensional space created by wizards.

-Acquisition condition: Prerequisite Skill [Shadow]]

[Recipe: Elf’s Growth Accelerant—10,000 Likes]

[Class: Rare (Non-upgradable)

An elixir recipe that can only be used if you have Alchemy skills.

This elixir is used by elves to make trees grow faster and healthier.]

[Shadow] appeared to be the fundamental skill for shadow-related jobs. Ji-Cheok realized that this skill had nothing to do with his [Shadow Stealer] skill created by the Divine Thief. If Ji-Cheok learned this skill, he would be able to handle shadow itself. He could recreate the shadow techniques from ninja manga or the chuuni Black Dragon technique.

‘Aren’t the [The Dark Spirit’s Call] and the [Dark Blade] also shadow-based skills? I wonder if there’s some synergy with this skill.’

«Yes, Master. Those skills will become more powerful.»

‘I wonder if it’s possible to move the shadow like tentacles. I saw villains who had that kind of power in a movie.’

«You can, Master. In fact, Hunters with the ability [Shadow] are making their names known around the world. The most famous is ‘Shadow Man’ from the United States… However, I am not recommending this because of this skill.»

‘I know. You are recommending this because of the [Shadow Pouch] skill.’

«Yes, Master. This [Shadow Pouch] is the subspace skill with the largest storage capacity within the scope of my understanding. It is a necessary skill for Master’s future.»

‘I see.’

The dungeons he had been to up until now could be cleared within a day with some effort. However, three-star dungeons were a different story. These dungeons required at least level 60 to enter and they were so big that they could well be a separate world. Therefore, some Hunter teams had to stay inside anywhere between several days to several months to clear the dungeon. It was also not easy for the Hunter Assistants to go in and bring out the loot. Fortunately, after clearing such big dungeons, the Portal remained open for quite a long time.

Ji-Cheok remembered the time when he had been sent to collect loot in a three-star dungeon called [Swamp of Vipers]. At that time, he had been forced to wear a gas mask, so it had been very difficult to breathe. Also because of the poison, he had to change the filter every three hours, which had really been a pain in the ass.

‘Okay then. Let’s buy everything!”

The Likes were gone in an instant.

‘The [Shadow] skill is outrageously expensive. I guess it’s a skill that’s very useful, hence the high price.’

«Your remaining balance is 250,000 Likes, Master.»

Ji-Cheok spent Likes as soon as he received them. He thought of it as an investment, but it was a little scary to think that the literal cost of his life could be spent this quickly.

After mastering the skill books, the two abilities plus the alchemy recipe all came naturally into his head.

“Skill books are so overpowered. No wonder cultivation skills are not popular.”

It was like putting his hands on a book and being able to know and understand perfectly all of the contents of the book.

‘Shall I practice whatever comes to mind first?’

It was instinctual. Just as a fish didn’t have to learn to swim, he naturally knew how to use the skills.

Sssssss.

The two-dimensional shadow under his feet became a three-dimensional object. This three-dimensional shadow moved like a tentacle, then mimicked the shape of his body.

“Hm… The way this thing wriggles is really creepy. If I want to show this on stream, I have to show it after I am a little more skilled.”

«Yes, Master. Your chuuni concept has been consistently popular, but chuuni and creepy are completely different things.»

‘You’re right.’

Some people grouped the two into the same category, but there were many people who liked chunni things yet hated creepy things, and similarly, there were many people who liked creepy things but hated chuuni things. Ji-Cheok had to differentiate them well.

As he continued to practice with his shadow, he soon managed to control it better.

“Oh, it’s not that hard.”

It felt as if he had one more arm. He even could feel the objects around as if he was touching them with his hands. The only difference was that it felt like he was touching them with his gloves on, not with his bare hands.

«You are amazing, Master! Even though you have acquired the skill, being able to change the shape of the shadow like this is extremely rare!»

‘Really? I thought everyone could do it if they had the skill book.’

«I think you have the wrong impression. Master, you are exceptionally good at using skills. Most Hunters struggle at this stage. Of course, the difficulty of this skill is not comparable to your cultivation skills.»

‘I get it. Every Hunter has their own way of expressing their abilities… Does that mean I am a little talented in this area?’

«There are many talented Hunters around the world. But you are very talented at activating skills, particularly the stylish ones.»

‘Oh? That’s good to hear. Anyway, I guess the branch is the only thing left to deal with. The problem with this is the ingredients.’

Ji-Cheok thought about what to do and finally took out his phone. He called the team leader of the Hunter Assistants at Jungjin, a subsidiary of the Jungha Group. It was time for ingredient procurement.

‘I am a part of one of the biggest companies in Korea. Might as well take advantage.