Chương 49: FIRST DAY AS THE NIGHT MONARCH

Jimin reached the Appraiser Center at Yongsan. The large wide building stood prominently at the intersection. I need to change into my disguise. He scanned the surroundings calmly before heading toward a nearby public washroom tucked beside a convenience store. The place was mostly empty, which suited him perfectly. He entered a stall and locked the door behind him.

"This should work," he muttered. Jimin opened his inventory and carefully took out the clothes he had bought earlier - the black hooded long coat, pants, shoes, skull cap, and finally the mask box. One by one, he changed his clothes, folding his old ones neatly before storing them away again. When he finally lifted the 'Night Monarch' mask, he paused for a moment. This is it. He placed it over his face. The mask adjusted instantly, sealing comfortably against his skin.

His vision remained clear, and the familiar faint shift in his voice modulation activated automatically. He pulled the hood up, adjusted the coat sleeves, and checked himself briefly in the stall mirror. Every identifiable part of his body had been covered. Only a masked appraiser remained. Jimin exited the washroom. —---- Jimin stood still outside the Appraiser Center for a few seconds, letting himself adjust mentally. It was a massive two-storeyed building.

Wide automatic doors opened and closed constantly as rifters carrying gear and loot moved in and out. It looked like business was booming.

"Here I go," he muttered. He stepped forward and entered inside the Appraiser Center. —----- The interior was enormous. Rows of counters stretched across the first floor, packed shoulder-to-shoulder with rifters arguing over prices while appraisers negotiated aggressively. Holographic screens floated overhead displaying waiting numbers, appraisal fees, and promotional offers. The moment he crossed the entrance, noises crashed into his ears.

"What rank is this spear?!"

"I told you I won't go below forty thousand!"

"Next client! Who's next?!"

"What do you mean we have to wait for three-hour?" What the hell… The atmosphere reminded him of a fish market. It was pure chaos. Rifters were trying to get their loot appraised as quickly and cheaply as possible, while appraisers competed to attract clients.

"Fast appraisal! No waiting!"

"Guaranteed cheap E-rank appraisal here!"

"Discount for parties!" Jimin carefully navigated through the crowd, avoiding bumping into people. Some rifters glanced at him briefly but quickly lost interest. After all, masked appraisers were not unusual here. After pushing through the sea of people, he finally reached the reception desk. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"Good morning, Sir. How can I help you?" the receptionist asked politely.

"Good morning… I am actually new here. So, I was hoping to get some basic info about here. Can you help me with that?" Jimin replied with his modified voice.

"Sure, Sir. What would you like to know?" He casually asked several questions. The receptionist explained efficiently.

"The first floor handles E-rank appraisals. The second floor is reserved for D-rank appraisers. Established appraisers among them eventually shift to private establishments."

"I see. Thank you."

"You're welcome, Sir." Without wasting time, Jimin headed to the upper floor.. —------- The second floor felt completely different. The noise level dropped significantly. It was still busy, but organized enough But he noticed one difference. Instead of chaotic counters, modern appraisal stalls stood in rows with clear spacing between them. There were waiting zones marked on the floor.

"It looks much more organized," Jimin muttered. He walked through the passage between stalls, weaving through Rifter parties waiting their turn. It felt like navigating a small maze. He noticed several masked appraisers were already working calmly inside their designated spaces. Some wore elegant masks, while others wore intimidating designs. Nobody paid him much attention beyond brief curiosity. As masked appraisers were common here. Suddenly, a group of rifters blocked his path.

"Hey…" Jimin stopped.

"What?" The party leader, a massive man built like a tank, spoke hurriedly.

"Are you free to do some appraisals? We're in a hurry but can't find a free appraiser." Already? Jimin almost laughed. But I don't even have a stall yet… I can't even operate without one. What a shame, he thought.

"Sorry. But I'm on a break right now. You better find someone else," Jimin replied calmly before walking away. Behind him, he heard the man mutter, "On a break? How many clients does he have?" A grin formed beneath the mask. That proves it. There's more demand than supply. —------ He soon located the floor manager's office. Inside sat a man in his thirties reviewing documents on his tablet..

"Yes?" the manager asked.

"I'd like to rent a stall." The manager checked something on his tablet and said, "You are lucky. There were only two stalls left." Jimin let out a big sigh, Just in time.

"The fee for a stall is ten million won per month. You just need to get registered here." Jimin's thoughts froze for half a second. Ten million… I could live in a small villa in Gangnam with that rent. Well, given the income potential, that's nothing.

"I'll take one," Jimin said. After completing registration, the manager handed him a card.

"Here you go. It's the key to your stall."

"Thank you." Jimin looked at the card. It had 'Stall-49' written on it. Jimin left the office with his card key. He began searching through the rows until he finally found stall-49.. Jimin stood just in front of the entrance. There was a bluish energy barrier sealing the entrance. Then, he pressed the key against the holographic panel and the barrier dissolved instantly. Then, the display lit up. His mask appeared alongside his title, 'Night Monarch'. He had already somewhat seen other stalls.

But now it finally hit him. For a moment, Jimin simply stood there. It feels different when it's mine. The space inside was not very big but it was enough. There was a desk at the front and a tablet placed on the desk. He walked past the desk and stepped inside. He explored the tablet. It gave access to signboards, accounting systems, Security controls and emergency shutdown.

"Damn… So that's why it costs so much?" He began setting things up. Jimin started filling out the signboards with the stall name and offers. He eventually ended up naming it 'Night Monarch's Den'. He cringed a bit but nothing else came to mind that fit. And other names he thought of, sounded way more cringe. He set the fee at 100, 000 won for both D-rank and E-rank appraisals. It was the rule that an appraiser has to set the price the same for appraisals of his rank and all other ranks below till he becomes B-rank.

Otherwise, lower-level appraisers wouldn't get any clients. As most would just visit the upper ranks for appraisals of every rank. But Jimin didn't stop there. He added his repair service on top of that. [+10 durability for 50, 000 won]. Then, he simply waited for clients. —---- He didn't have to wait for long. He soon got a party of five as a client.

"Are you available right now?" one asked eagerly.

"Yes." The party members exchanged looks.

"Hey, Is that repair service real?"

"Yes." They nodded between themselves and immediately placed their loot on the desk for appraisals and gear for repair. The excitement in their voices was obvious. Jimin began working. One by one, appraisal windows appeared before him as he appraised items efficiently, entering verified results into the tablet and sending data directly to the clients' devices. Jimin appraised 4 items to be D-rank for this party. That was all they brought.

Which meant that they already had their E-rank items appraised on the first floor. The party had also given him 13 pieces of equipment to repair. After Jimin was done with the job, he received a total of 1. 05 million won from that party alone.

"Holy shit! More than a million won from my first job… Now we are talking," he muttered as a grin formed on his face. —----- Word spread quickly. Within an hour, his stall gained attention.

"Go to Stall-49."

"That masked guy repairs gear too." Clients kept arriving. He had clients most of the time with very few small breaks. So, he meditated during those breaks to recover his lost MP. He worked till evening and finally put a stop.

"Damn… I earned 6. 2 million won in just one day. That's more than half of the rent for the stall. I was right about the income potential," he muttered. He leaned back slightly. What a shame! I wish I could work longer… But I need to do some shopping for my field trip tomorrow. With that, Jimin closed his stall and exited the Appraiser Center. Jimin returned to the same public washroom and changed back into his normal clothes, storing the disguise safely inside his inventory.

When he stepped outside again, the evening air felt cooler. He walked along the sidewalk, hands in his pockets as he headed to a gear shop. A small smile appeared. My first proper gear, here I come.