To be honest, this was the first time Guru had ever spent that kind of money, and her heart was pounding like mad. She wobbled unsteadily, like an inflatable balloon doll.
If she spent like this one more time, her poor heart might not survive it.
Still—
'Guess my nouveau riche era is over.'
She had earned 2 billion at the auction, plus another 1 billion as rental fees for the chick drone. That made 3 billion won total.
'I spent it all...'
Guru was no longer a baby tycoon. She was lost in a wistful emptiness when—
Suddenly, a triumphant fanfare burst out.
'Eh?'
[An achievement has been unlocked by the effect of (Unknown Title).]
[Achievement: <First Frivolous Spending Spree> Unlocked!]
[Feature Unlocked: ‘The More You Spend, the More (Self-Proclaimed) Rich You Become!’]
Children’s hidden stat ‘Wealth Luck’ increases in proportion to the amount spent.
Diverse spending experiences contribute to childhood development. Continue exploring purchases under the guidance of a caregiver!
Guru’s mouth dropped open.
'That’s right. Gwuu not weady to seaw da Wawwet of Justice yet!'
Playing rich was good for childhood development!
Let’s build more drones and stuff!
And become rich again!
Determined, Guru turned to glare at Kang Jei.
Startled, Kang Jei flinched as Guru approached and tapped her leg.
“Unnie, no mowe bein’ mean to kiddoes, ‘kay?”
Being scolded by a five-year-old, Kang Jei—age 19—could only make a complex, unreadable face.
Then Guru turned to Hanghangi.
“Hanghangi. Wet’s wive nicewy togethah.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Ham Honggi bowed respectfully.
With that, Guru spun around dramatically, skirt fluttering.
“Umph!”
“Where are you going?”
“Gwuu gotta go bafwoom now. Gwudbye...”
She trailed off her final word for dramatic effect and scampered off toward the restroom... only to turn back and whisper:
“Not cuz Gwuu gotta pee. Gwuu wookin’ fow someone.”
“Understood!”
“A-hem!”
Ham Honggi responded with sharp resolve.
Guru puffed herself up and strode off again toward the bathroom.
'Is Oppaw Serhi still not out?'
Was something really going on?
She couldn’t go into the men’s bathroom, so she hovered nearby, peeking around...
Then her bag started to twitch.
A sign that Veilach was returning to his humanoid form.
Guru quickly moved to a corner and pulled him out.
The hamster immediately transformed into a boy and looked toward the restroom.
“Whew—”
'That was close. Almost burst the bag again.'.
But why was he staring at the bathroom as soon as he came out?
“Bayee, why?”
Was it about Serhi?
“Oppaw feww in da toywet?”
He had been in there a while.
Veilach turned to look at Guru with a face that clearly said: What the hell is going on in your brain?
“That’s not it. The human talking with your guard Serhi in there—he has my ‘Star.’”
“Staw?”
'Veilach’s Star?!'
Guru’s eyes went round.
“Wut’s a Staw?”
“The thing humans call a mana stone. I thought it vanished with my sealing—but turns out it was here.”
And then, Veilach dropped a casual bomb.
“If it stays on him like that, that human’s probably going to die...”
“Eeeeh?!”
A boy stumbled out of a bathroom stall, gasping for air, face pale.
Serhi, drying his hands with a towel, glanced at the boy through the mirror.
He’d sensed unstable mana and had been keeping an eye out—only to realize the boy was someone familiar.
Lee Taemin. Sixteen years old. A-Rank Awakened.
An A-Rank first-year whose mana capacity was said to exceed even S-Rank levels.
They were in the same class, but Serhi—an avowed loner—had never really spoken to him.
Apparently, Taemin had noticed Serhi too, as he narrowed his brows.
“You saw that?”
Serhi chomped on his gum and answered with a mocking drawl.
“You know what? I’m blind.”
“Quit acting dumb. I know you speak Korean, asshole. It’s hilarious how you pretend you don’t know a word, but your listening skills are flawless.”
“Hnnng.” Serhi blew a bubble with his gum.
He kept up the act at school that, as a foreigner, he couldn’t speak Korean—only English.
“So?”
“Goddamn poser.”
Whatever, cry harder.
Serhi, already infamous at the company for his middle school edgelord vibes, didn’t take any damage.
“You’re strong, huh? That’s why you’re in Hyeonak, right?”
“Fuckin’ I don’t know what you’re saying.”
“Screw you, bastard.”
Taemin clenched his jaw in frustration at Serhi’s extreme social evasiveness.
At that moment, the unstable mana around Taemin pulsed again.
Worried Serhi might notice something, Taemin bolted out of the bathroom.
Serhi frowned as he watched him leave. Something about that kid smelled dangerous.
'A mana stone item, maybe?'
The rank seemed high, but maybe the maker sucked...
There were shitty items in the world, after all.
No matter how good the materials, if the maker was trash, the end result was garbage too.
Even top-tier materials were worthless if the item they made just went berserk all the time.
Like that earring Taemin was wearing right now.
That’s why the creator was more important than anything.
Serhi recalled the obsidian-like earring. It was clearly draining stamina to forcibly inject mana into his body nonstop.
He’d seen items like that at Gnosis before.
One of the easier ways to boost one’s stats was using high-rank items.
But that kind of thing...
“That kind of shit’s garbage.”
That’s how Irina put it.
They were items that mimicked berserker-type effects by sacrificing stamina to temporarily boost other attributes, but very few craftsmen could make them properly. Most were trash.
They either failed to deliver results despite their cost—or, worse, continuously pumped mana into the user’s body until it killed them.
There were two main types—and Taemin’s earring was clearly the latter.
For a sixteen-year-old whose body wasn’t fully developed, it was especially lethal.
His life force was probably draining in real time.
'His guild just lets that slide?'
Word on the street was he belonged to a guild called “Chase.”
'Didn’t Hyeonak have rules against equipping anything too taxing on the body?'
Serhi shook his head.
There were always people who wanted to get stronger.
Naohyeong had been one. So were the people who took Seonu Gyeong’s shady drugs.
They all chased what they couldn’t have, believing their reckless decisions were the best option.
Taemin might end up consumed by the item—but it had nothing to do with Serhi.
It didn’t seem like he’d explode immediately, so Guru wouldn’t be in danger.
Still...
'What’s that little squirt doing here?'
Taemin slumped on a sofa, leaning back.
Serhi, was it? He’d heard the girls whispering about him enough times to know his face.
That handsome, sensitive boy who avoided everyone like the plague.
Taemin let ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) out an irritated sigh and closed his eyes... only to reopen them when something was shoved in his face.
A stick. And a fork.
A boy and a girl, both around five, loomed in front of him threateningly—one with a stick, the other with a fork.
The beige-platinum-haired girl spoke in a weird voice.
“Give up da eawwings ow Gwuu gonna stab wif da fowk.”
“Beep!”
The chirp that followed came from atop the fork.
A chubby, snow-white bird stared at him with half-moon eyes, thrusting its pointed wing forward in solidarity.
The girl elbowed the silent boy beside her.
With an I-don’t-have-a-choice look, the boy mumbled:
“Me too. Gwuu wight.”
The girl whispered back:
“Bayee, you don’t have a fowk.”
“Uuhh... Gwuu gonna poke wif dis.”
“Hyup!”
Guru raised her brows dramatically, as if saying How ya like THAT?!
Taemin, faced with the reality of being mugged by five-year-olds, was rendered speechless.
“......”
The fork jabbed closer, now vibrating with menace.
“Gib.”

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