Monopolizing Skills to the 666th Floor - Chapter 164
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Skill Devouring Up to Floor 666 Episode 164
164. Winterstone House
Abysalon’s personal domain in the dimensional gap.
Administrator Hasaksios came writhing his black tentacles.
[Abysalon. I’ve come to seek advice.]
[Advice?]
Abysalon, with his grotesque appearance of just a floating head, twisted his lips into a grin.
[Kekeke! To think the great Hasaksios would come to me for advice!]
Hasaksios’s eyes twitched.
Asking for help from a fellow administrator was itself a blow to his pride.
[Kekeke! Come on, tell me! What’s troubling the great Hasaksios!]
[Huu…]
He felt like he was being mocked, but there was no choice.
Abysalon had the most brilliant mind among the administrators.
Hasaksios carefully explained the situation, and after hearing everything, Abysalon burst into laughter.
[Kekeke! A mere demigod toying with an administrator. And the most incompetent one among us at that.]
Dozens of Abysalon’s eyeballs curved in unison.
Clear mockery.
Hasaksios didn’t stay quiet.
[Say that again. I’m incompetent?]
Hasaksios’s tentacles swelled with rage.
The secretion of venom increased rapidly, dripping to the floor with sizzling sounds.
[Whoa, put those tentacles down. Don’t get angry. I’m just stating facts, aren’t I? What other administrator would be struggling this much because they can’t stop one demigod?]
[…]
[How many times has he made a fool of you? Once on Floor 399, another time on Floor 470…? Kekeke!]
[Shut up!]
Abysalon began spinning around in the air mockingly.
[You’re really pathetic. Coming to me whining because you can’t catch one measly demigod. Kekeke.]
[Stop the bullshit! I’m asking for help to catch that bug!]
[Kekeke, alright, calm down. There’s no need to call other administrators. If I step in, it’ll be over.]
Abysalon spoke with confidence.
[Really?]
[What’s the big deal about catching some bug? If I step in, it’ll be resolved in an instant. I’m not incompetent like you. Kekeke.]
[Hah…]
Hasaksios asked while suppressing his humiliation.
[Then… when will you do the job?]
[I’m a bit busy right now. I also have a labyrinth to manage, you know?]
[So when will you have time!]
[It won’t take long. Just wait a little longer.]
It was a relatively positive answer.
[By the way, what floor is he currently attacking?]
[Floor 490.]
[Floor 490… hmm.]
Abysalon’s eyeballs rolled around here and there.
He looked like he was calculating something.
[Your labyrinth goes to Floor 666, right? It’d be better to stop him quickly. We need to deal with him before he gets stronger.]
[Right. If you’re going to help, help quickly.]
[So impatient. The companion rescue mission starts from Floor 520, right?]
[That’s right.]
[That’s when dimensional space opens, so it’ll be good for working too. Kekeke.]
[So you’re saying you’ll wait until he reaches Floor 520?]
[That’s right. After all, interfering with other dimensions while consuming my energy carries too much risk.]
[Hmm…]
[Don’t worry. I’ll personally step in then and crush that bug.]
All of Abysalon’s eyeballs gleamed eerily.
But Hasaksios considered a possibility.
[What if… you happen to fail?]
[Fail? Kekeke! Do you think I’m like you?]
Abysalon laughed loudly.
[I’m an administrator who has existed since the beginning. I’m on a different level from lucky upstarts like you.]
[Then… I’ll trust you with it.]
[Rest assured. I’ll end that bug’s life on Floor 520. Kekeke.]
Abysalon’s eyeballs flashed cruelly.
Having finished attacking Floor 490, I looked at the golden object in my hand.
[Magic Stone (S)]
―Category: Personal Belongings
―Description: Condensed essence of mana. Can be processed and used as alternative energy.
‘This is the first S-Grade Magic Crystal to appear. I can’t believe I’m getting this already.’
In the past, I could only obtain this 10 years after the Great Cataclysm had passed.
But now it’s been less than half a year.
‘Joshua would probably be shocked if he saw this.’
Koztech’s magic crystal business was already hitting it big.
They practically had a monopoly in the alternative energy market.
‘It can’t be helped since I’m supplying them with new magic crystals every time.’
Currently, most Apostles were staying between floors 100 and 110.
Even the highly capable Supporters Party was only staying around the 140th Floor Range at best.
Compared to myself who had conquered up to Floor 490, it was ridiculously low.
The magic crystals they could obtain were only E-Grade.
‘The value of E-Grade has dropped significantly, but anything above that grade keeps rising sky-high.’
What if an S-Grade Magic Crystal was revealed in this situation?
Both Joshua and I could trade it at peak prices.
First, I sent Joshua a text asking to meet, then used Instant Teleportation to England.
I had just obtained some good materials, after all.
There was a place that political figures invariably visited when they stopped by London.
It was the Winterstone Family’s ‘Winterstone House’.
The rumors of heavenly taste were so widespread that everyone wanted to try it at least once.
However.
“The ingredients are limited, so it’s difficult to enter without a reservation.”
“How do we make a reservation?”
“You need to obtain a Tasting Ticket. Since the cuisine can only be tasted here in the Entire World, reservations are only possible through auctions.”
“Auctions?”
“Yes, we only accept six teams per day. And even then, we’re only open three days a week.”
“Ah… I wanted to try it.”
People who came just based on rumors had to turn away.
No matter how famous they were, they couldn’t taste it without a reservation.
“Just how delicious could it be to go this far?”
“Ah… this makes me even more curious.”
The people who were turning away asked a customer who happened to be entering.
“Excuse me, may I ask you something? You bought a Tasting Ticket at auction, right?”
“Yes. That’s correct.”
“How much did you pay for it?”
“Us? We spent 40,000 Pounds per person.”
“40,000 Pounds?”
“Yes, and that was this week’s lowest price. Last week it went up to 60,000 Pounds.”
The customers’ mouths fell open.
60,000 Pounds was over 130 million won in Korean currency.
“Is it really worth that much?”
“You’ll know once you take a bite. Why world leaders visit this place every time they come to London. Once you taste it, you really can’t eat other food anymore.”
Those who heard this made even more complicated expressions.
It was an expression mixing curiosity, envy, and resignation.
Oliver happened to see this and ran to his father who was in the Restaurant.
“Father. How about we accept more customers?”
“Customers?”
“Yes. There’s high demand right now but supply is severely lacking, isn’t it? Business is doing well, so we should strike while the iron is hot.”
“Sigh, Oliver. I’d like to do that too. But we’re severely short on ingredients, aren’t we.”
Indeed, using top-tier Labyrinth Materials made ingredient procurement difficult.
The ingredients could only be obtained from Lee Tae Seong.
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
“Right. It’s unfortunate, but we have no choice but to maintain the current auction system with limited numbers.”
It was regrettable.
The Cooking method wasn’t difficult, so they could accept more customers per day if they wanted to.
But with limited ingredients, they could only accept a set number of customers.
“Still, the auction system was the optimal choice.”
“That’s right. Thanks to it, we’ve been able to make substantial profits.”
Although the Recipe cost and ingredient costs were expensive, they were achieving decent results.
Then an unexpected guest visited.
“How’s business going?”
“Tae Seong?”
Lawrence was surprised but delighted by Lee Tae Seong’s sudden visit.
After all, he was the benefactor who made Winterstone House possible.
“What brings you here?”
“I thought the ingredients might be running low by now.”
“Exactly! Business is doing so well that even when we raise prices, they sell like hotcakes!”
“Is it doing that well?”
“Of course! Thanks to you, our restaurant is famous throughout all of England. We can’t even accommodate everyone who wants to eat here!”
As Lawrence and Oliver spoke with joy, Lee Tae Seong also smiled with satisfaction.
“I’m glad to hear things are going so well. Since I’m here, let me share one more recipe with you.”
“Pardon? A recipe?”
“I’ll make it for you to try. Would you like to taste it?”
“Ah… Yes!”
Lee Tae Seong headed to the kitchen.
This time, he planned to showcase a completely new dish using the premium ingredients obtained from Floor 490.
He finely ground mana crystals to use as seasoning and made broth with water steeped with dragon scales.
These were magical ingredients that were harmless to ordinary people but maximized taste and aroma.
After 30 minutes, the dish was completed and plated.
It was a masterpiece that radiated a golden aura just by looking at it.
“Ooooh!”
“This looks completely… extraordinary!”
“Please try it.”
The Winterstone father and son took up their spoons without hesitation and took a bite.
Soon their eyes widened and they burst into exclamations of admiration.
“Wh-what kind of taste is this? It’s like heaven is unfolding in my mouth!”
Oliver was moved.
“This is incredible! I’ve never tasted anything like this! This is definitely number one among all the recipes we’ve received!”
Lawrence couldn’t help but be amazed as well.
But that was only for a moment.
Perhaps sensing that this wouldn’t be free, his smile gradually faded.
“But this… how much is this recipe worth?”
After selling one recipe at a high price, I went to meet Joshua next.
When I instantly teleported to Koztech headquarters in one go, Joshua was waiting for me.
“Welcome, Tae Seong!”
Joshua greeted me with a bright smile.
“How is the magic stone business going?”
“It’s going incredibly well! We’ve completely established a monopoly and are rapidly growing in the market.”
Joshua proudly pointed to the chart hanging on the wall.
“Look, this is our company’s sales graph. Our stock price has risen 20 times in just one month! We now control 80% of the global magic stone market!”
“That’s really amazing.”
“It’s all thanks to you, Tae Seong. When you first gave me the F-Grade Magic Stone, I never imagined it would turn out like this.”
Joshua wore an expression of deep emotion.
But it was still too early to be moved.
“Shall I help your stock price rise even more? Here, this is an S-Grade Magic Crystal.”
When I took out the S-Grade Magic Crystal I had obtained from Floor 490, Joshua’s eyes widened.
“Th-this is… S-Grade?”
Joshua spoke in a trembling voice as he received the magic crystal.
His hands tingled from the powerful mana emanating from the S-Grade Magic Crystal.
“Yes. The buyers will pay a high price for it, won’t they?”
“This… we’ll need to run tests, but it will probably be worth whatever price we ask!”
Since it clearly emanated an extraordinary aura, it was obvious that the energy industry would be turned upside down once again.
“How much do you want? I’ll pay whatever you ask!”
“Please price it at three times an A-Grade Magic Crystal.”
“No. For something like this, even ten times would be possible.”
Since we traded A-Grade for 1.5 million dollars, ten times would be 15 million dollars.
In Korean won, that was 27 billion won.
‘Making money is really easy.’
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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