Obtained End-Game Gear for a Bowl of Ramen - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 28. Proof
“Shadow Severance.”
[Skill Used: Shadow Severance Original]
[Detach your shadow from your body and manipulate it like a puppet. All damage dealt to the shadow does not reach the original body.]
Jeong Ho detached his shadow and logged into HunterOn, uploading a stack of items he’d created with Earth Manipulation, along with a description.
-Found these items by chance. Not sure of their performance—please try them out and let me know. I’ll price them competitively.
He listed two of each type of Black Luminous Stone equipment item. Starting bid: a modest one million won each.
‘As if anything’s going to sell like this.’
Jeong Ho shut down HunterOn and collapsed onto his bed. It was a well-known fact among hunters: most of them were cowards, plain and simple.
Cowards lived longer. The wisest move was never to touch suspicious items. Like the Black Luminous Stone items he’d created.
‘I checked the auction house transaction history from the very beginning, and there’s no record of Black Luminous Stone items anywhere.’
Not just the auction house—there was no mention of them on HunterOn at all. Meaning they were completely new items, never seen before. Not just in Korea, but anywhere in the world.
Naturally, hunters were always wary of new things. Doubly so with items that might be cursed.
‘If they sell, great. If not, so be it. Either way, I’ve tested the skill’s performance—no loss.’
The HunterOn auction house didn’t allow registration of temporary items—like a Flame Sword made from fire skills, or an Ice Spear, and so on.
But the Black Luminous Stone items created with Earth Manipulation had gone up for sale. That meant he’d made permanent items. They were more than enough for using in the Hero’s Diary as originally planned.
‘Let me just sleep for now. By the way, that Management Agency collaboration ramen…’
Jeong Ho lay in bed, smacking his lips.
‘It’s tastier than I expected. Is there some ramen expert hiding in the Management Agency?’
* * *
The next day. Jeong Ho woke up groggily and blinked.
[Auction House Sales Alert!]
[Item: Black Luminous Stone Equipment Set 1]
[Final Bid: 1,000,000 won]
[Item: Black Luminous Stone Equipment Set 1]
[Final Bid: 49,500,000 won]
‘It actually sold. But why is there such a huge price difference?’
The items he’d made with Earth Manipulation had actually sold. One went for one million won—exactly the starting bid, meaning only one person had bid on it.
But what about this one below? The same item for forty-nine million, five hundred thousand won? That’s nearly fifty times the price. A bug? Jeong Ho checked the forum attached to the HunterOn auction house.
<Buy the Black Luminous Stone item. Buy it twice over.>
A review someone had posted right away caught his eye. It had over a million views and more than a thousand comments. What was this? Jeong Ho clicked it.
-I’m a hunter who just hit C Rank last month, right? No gear, so I got stuck on floor 20 of the Tower of Trials. Anyone who’s been up the tower knows all about it.
-Floor 20 of the trials. The point where you absolutely can’t go higher without proper items. Most mid-tier hunters get filtered out right here.
-But you all know how expensive equipment items are, right? So I was stuck too, but yesterday this Black Luminous Stone set showed up on the auction house. I figured, what the hell, and bought it. This thing is legit. The chest plate blocked an Orc Warlord attack twice! Buy it while you can, everyone!
‘Is that supposed to be good?’
Jeong Ho was confused. From this alone, he couldn’t understand the price difference. He checked the comments too.
└That doesn’t make sense. One hit from an Orc Warlord shatters tanks—you’re telling me cloth armor held up?
└What even is Black Luminous Stone cloth? Do you make clothes out of rocks?
└This is viral marketing, guys. Mark my words.
└Teacher. You shouldn’t be posting on things like this when you’re supposed to be anonymous. You’re giving yourself away.
The general sentiment was skeptical. But then—
└I’m curious, so I just borrowed the item from the buyer and tested it myself. Let me give you the real lowdown.
└This isn’t a Rare item. It’s at least a Unique—borderline, anyway.
└About that chest plate in question—blocked an Orc Warlord attack twice? That’s wrong.
‘I knew it was all talk. There’s no way cloth armor could actually—’
└It blocked five.
‘Excuse me?’
Jeong Ho was floored. Everyone else seemed to be too.
└It’s cloth armor, which is for mages. You’re telling me a glass-cannon mage—not even something else—blocks an Orc Warlord attack? Five of them?
└It does. I tested it on myself, directly. The original poster probably got scared after two hits and ran, but it actually held up for all five.
└Who the hell are you for us to believe you? What are you?
└I’m Baek Mina.
└?!!?! For real? What’s Korea’s strongest healer doing here?
└Healers have even worse defense than mages. How did you block five Orc Warlord attacks?
└If you’re that curious, send me a private message. I’ll get permission from the buyer and lend you the item so you can experience it yourself.
* * *
[Item being transferred!]
Baek Mina borrowed and put on the Black Luminous Stone set from HunterOn, then entered floor 20 of the Tower of Trials.
[Floor 20 Objective: Defeat 1 Orc Warlord]
[Time Limit: 24 hours]
Beyond the safe zone, a heavily armored Orc Warlord snorted, breathing plumes of mist.
‘Me, a healer, in a one-on-one close-quarters fight with an Orc Warlord? I might actually die.’
Baek Mina smiled faintly and stuck out her tongue. She selected an appropriate weapon from the Black Luminous Stone set.
Healers can’t wield weapons properly anyway. So it didn’t matter what she grabbed—one was as good as another. She’d just have to pick something she liked.
‘After retiring with a serious injury, if I’m going to contribute to the Korean Hunter industry, this is the only way. At least it’s not a cursed item.’
Mina had her doubts about the Black Luminous Stone Item as well. No matter how she looked at it, something seemed off. That’s why she’d decided to verify it herself, to see if it was a scam or genuine.
Since getting seriously wounded, it was difficult to fight on the front lines. Even during the S Rank Gate, she’d barely been able to help.
“Alright, let’s give it a try. Since I’m a healer, I can recover even if I take some damage. I just want to verify the performance around the safe zone.”
Mina equipped the Black Luminous Stone set and stepped outside the safe zone. The Orc Warlord rushed at her, swinging a massive greatsword in wide arcs.
Crash!!
A direct hit to the abdomen. Normally, with such a devastating impact, she should have collapsed—but…?
Mina was fine. It felt like she’d only bumped into a desk by accident.
‘Huh? This item is better than I thought…?’
Squawk!
The Orc Warlord seemed confused too. Mina seized the opening and swung her blade. It was a sluggish, weak attack—but then something shifted.
Crash!!
Yet the Orc Warlord’s armor crumpled mercilessly. The fortress-like creature stumbled backward, losing ground.
“This is… stronger than I expected?”
Squawk!!!!
Mina engaged the Orc Warlord in intense combat. After exchanging blows five times, the creature collapsed.
[Tower of Trials Floor 20 cleared!]
[Clear Rank: C]
Mina laughed softly as she saw the status window shimmer before her eyes. A healer hadn’t used a single healing skill and had taken down the Orc Warlord with basic attacks alone. And yet her clear rank was still just C.
“If a healer like me can manage this, what on earth are other people doing?”
* * *
After that, the comment section atmosphere shifted a complete 180 degrees.
└I just borrowed a set and went to Floor 20. Anyone saying it’s garbage doesn’t know what they’re talking about.
└The performance is insane. There’s no special additional effects, but the basic attack damage is off the charts.
└Just grab a weapon, throw on some armor, and trade basic hits one-on-one with an Orc Warlord—you’ll win.
‘That’s it?’
Jeong Ho scrolled through the comments. Testimonies poured in from everywhere.
└Wow! It even withstands lava on Floor 30?
└I literally just swam through the poison swamp on Floor 27. It feels great to stay cool.
└Cleared a C Rank Gate and came back. Three trolls surrounded me and beat me down, but I still won.
└That’s it?! What exactly does this item do? Why has something this good never existed anywhere in the world, and why did it suddenly show up?
└It doesn’t exist anywhere in the world—except it’s only in Korea. Could it be… EX Rank?
└What do you think EX Rank even means? You people slap that label on everything.
‘Actually, they’re right.’
So that’s why the second Black Luminous Stone set sold for 49.5 million won. Jeong Ho felt a slight pang of conscience.
‘It’s just something I make quickly with a skill, though…’
One use of Earth Manipulation and out it comes. It doesn’t even take that long to make one set.
[Skill activated: Earth Manipulation (Original)]
[You manipulate earth, stone, and minerals.]
[Hero’s Power Stage 4 resonates!]
[Divided Mind activates!]
[Skill copied: Earth Manipulation (Original)]
One use of the skill, two items pop out. Done.
[Warning! Mana Pollution 99%!]
[Warning! Mana Pollution 99%!]
[Warning! Mana Pollution 99%!]
At 99% Mana Pollution, he’d feel dizzy for about five seconds, then snap the skill off again. The pollution would plummet. Repeat for about a minute, and one set was complete.
‘Wait, though. Now that I look at this, it’s better than what I made yesterday?’
Today’s Black Luminous Stone set had a subtly higher quality than yesterday’s. The finishing, the details—everything seemed sharper.
‘It gets better the more I practice with the skill. Should I keep going?’
Jeong Ho made up his mind and spammed the Earth Manipulation skill. The more he did it, the more fun it became—and the more rewarding it felt.
Making small things here and there, building skill and growing. It was that sense of tangible progress, hard to find lately.
‘Of course, the items I got from Hero’s Tower, the skill books, Hero’s Authority—those are great too.’
They were so good it almost felt unreal.
Fundamentally, though, Jeong Ho was just a man who loved ramen—someone who obsessed over the details of a few seconds, a few milliliters…
‘Well, not quite. This Earth Manipulation skill is actually pretty fun to use for making items.’
Jeong Ho threw himself into crafting the Black Luminous Stone Items with single-minded focus. After a full day of work, the final set he produced had undeniably taken on the polish of a masterpiece.
Though they were technically the same Rare grade, their appearance alone suggested something a tier higher.
‘I’ve made quite a collection. I should list all of these on the auction house. Once I build up more experience, I’ll craft something better to wear myself, and sell these practice pieces for next to nothing.’
This time he set the auction house starting price at just one won. They were rough drafts anyway, and he’d rather let others benefit from them.
At that moment, Jeong Ho had no way of knowing.
What butterfly effect this set of Black Luminous Stone Items would unleash.
* * *
“Yes, sir. The Korea Hunter Management Agency has no choice but to back down.”
Roger, director of the US Hunter Management Agency, laughed heartily into his smartphone. His face was flushed with drink, pleasantly intoxicated.
-I don’t understand. How can they simply abandon EX Rank like that?
“Because of the conditions I set, sir. Korea must either find an EX Rank hunter, or prove they have the power to contain one. The first condition is simple but impossible to achieve—even Li Wei from China couldn’t find one.”
-Then Korea will naturally pursue the second condition.
“Precisely. But here’s the subtlety: how will they prove they ‘have the power to contain EX Rank’?”
-It’s impossible. Korea doesn’t even have an S Rank hunter.
“Exactly! In fact, after a string of failures, Korea will convince themselves that ‘we lack the capacity to handle EX Rank.'”
Even a cornered rat will bite. But if it surrenders on its own, even a tiger makes easy prey. From the start, Roger had orchestrated this moment—dangling false opportunity while slowly strangling them to death.
-It’s a subtle strategy, Roger. When do you think Korea will give up on EX Rank?
“Korea will surrender quickly, because Ronald has arrived in Korea. If they don’t want to be annihilated by Scorched Earth, they’ll have no choice but to give up EX Rank!”
-But what if Korea finds an EX Rank hunter at the same time they successfully clear a Gate?
“Sir, most threatening Gates are C to B Rank. But because of Korea’s distorted hunter industry structure, there’s a critical shortage of mid-tier hunters. Not enough hunters to handle C to B Rank Gates. Do you understand what that means?”
-A decline in Gate-clearing performance. Ronald’s Scorched Earth becomes unstoppable. Korea has no S Rank to lead from the front, nor enough C to B Rank hunters to support from behind.
The truly dangerous Gates are C to B Rank. They occur frequently yet have frustratingly short time limits, prone to detonation. Korea has no foundation to stop Ronald.
Roger picked another grape and popped it into his mouth. The fruit of victory tasted sweet.
“Under the pretext of securing EX Rank, I’ll take over the Korea Hunter Management Agency, and use this as leverage to accelerate hunter management legislation.”
-Ha ha. Roger, count on you to handle it. By the way, I heard an interesting rumor.
“A rumor? Has something changed with the American contingent?”
-No. In Korea. They say some interesting items are selling on Korean HunterOn. Roger, while you’re in Korea, look into it.
Roger logged onto HunterOn with a casual mind. He filtered the auction house to show only Korean items.
‘Black Luminous Stone Items? What are these?’
The flush faded from Roger’s alcohol-darkened cheeks. His hand scrolling through the listings began to move faster.
└Cleared floor 23 in 4 hours with Black Luminous Stone set equipped!
└I solo-cleared a D Rank Gate today.
└Wait, this isn’t even Rare grade. This has to be at least Unique?
└More importantly, why is the supply so abundant? Who’s producing and selling this many?
└No one knows… must be thanks to the EX Rank hunter, right?
└EX Rank climbs towers well, clears Gates well, provides items… what can’t they do?
“Th-this is…”
The core of Roger’s plan hinged on Ronald’s Scorched Earth threat. But if mid-tier hunters’ performance improved? If they closed Gates faster than Ronald could arrive?
Complete plan collapse. The fundamental premise was shattered. Roger fumbled for his phone and called urgently.
“It’s me! Contact the Korea Management Agency—get me their Tower of Trials climb records and Gate-clearing performance data!”
Buzz—
Within moments, Roger’s phone rang. He examined it with bloodshot eyes.
“Unbelievable. Completely unbelievable.”
Roger reviewed the data again. It was consistent. Tower of Trials climb times had improved by an average of three hours. Gate-clearing grades had risen by an average of one level—now at C Rank.
C Rank was the average Gate-clearing grade for American hunters. Korea had just proven they possessed American-level capability.
“What exactly is this Black Luminous Stone set?!”
Crash! Roger hurled his phone across the room. The grape plate shattered with a sharp crack, and the red juice splattered across his face like blood.
“EX Rank… it can’t be. My golden opportunity, destroyed like this…”
Roger’s cheeks went pale. He retrieved the phone he’d thrown and made another call.
“Ronald. It’s me. Director Roger. I have a task for you. When a Gate opens in Korea, get there as fast as you can—anywhere—and use Scorched Earth.”
-My unique skill causes too much collateral damage. We agreed to refrain from using it in urban areas.
“Ronald. I told you before.”
Roger’s voice turned cold.
“You’re the gun, and I’m the trigger. You do exactly what I say. I’ll carry all the guilt, all the responsibility, all the remorse.”
After a long, uncomfortable silence, Ronald answered.
-Understood.
Roger ended the call and considered his options. If the subtle strategy had failed, only one path remained.
He would take it by force, no matter the cost.
To be continued ▶
Got an endgame item for a bowl of ramen
Author
Ha-yan Gotgam
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publisher
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
August 24, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260423069
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution are prohibited. Violation of these terms may result in civil and criminal legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes submissions from writers.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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