Kim Saje, the Gold Hoarder — Part 1
Kim Saje, the Gold Hoarder
In the outskirts of Sillim-dong, among the villa complexes.
Built along a steep hill.
‘What a dump.’
Seeing it brought back memories of the back alley behind the cheap goshiwon where I used to live.
The road was completely neglected, with cracks running through it like dry earth.
The hygiene was at rock bottom too—black garbage bags were strewn about everywhere, with flies buzzing around and rats squeaking as they scurried over the trash.
I held my breath almost the entire way as I climbed the hill.
Of course, my destination—Dong-A Villa, where Kim Saje lived—was located right at the top of the hill.
Luckily, a fresh breeze blowing in from Geonwoobong Mountain helped clear away the stench, making it slightly more bearable.
‘Amazing how different things can be, even on the same mountainside.’
Whether there’s a government office nearby or not.
Whether middle-class families live in the area or not.
That’s what determines the fate of a neighborhood.
The villa was a shabby, three-story building.
Following the directions on the business card, I found apartment 205. The door was sloppily painted.
[Qi Treatment Clinic]
The sign reminded me of the illegal, unlicensed clinics that the landlady at my old goshiwon once tried to introduce me to.
I pressed the doorbell.
No response.
I waited a moment, then knocked on the door.
Bang, bang, bang!
“Is anyone home?”
No one?
I activated my [Sensitivity] trait and listened closely, but I couldn’t hear any signs of life inside.
I knocked again, louder this time.
Bang, bang, bang, bang!
“Is anyone there?”
At last, I sensed movement.
I could hear rustling sounds from inside, but it took more than 10 minutes before the door finally creaked open.
“What the hell do you want at this hour?”
A boy answered, glaring at me with a face full of irritation.
No, not a boy—a teenager.
Maybe late teens? He looked like a high school sophomore or junior.
His eyes were soft and droopy, almost like a puppy’s.
His face was unnaturally pale.
His hair, bleached white, had an odd metallic sheen to it.
This was definitely Kim Saje.
The only difference was the lack of the X-shaped scar on his forehead, but this was definitely the same face I’d seen on my smartphone before.
I even felt a slight sense of nostalgia.
“It’s after noon. You call this morning?”
“It’s morning for me. I was having a great dream… What do you want? It’s not time to pay the protection fee yet.”
“I was introduced to you.”
I pulled out the business card I had prepared in advance and showed it to him.
Kim Saje blinked at the card before breaking into a wide grin.
“Oh, you’re a customer? I thought another thug from the Iron Fist Gang had come to harass me! Come on in, come on in!”
The inside of the villa was small.
It was what you’d call a one-and-a-half-room setup.
The living room was set up as a workspace, while the bedroom was clearly Kim Saje’s private living area.
In the workspace, there was a massage table, an odd-looking statue, and a bizarre incense burner.
Kim Saje gestured toward the massage table.
“Lie down. Where’s it hurt?”
“I’m not here for qi treatment.”
“Huh? If you’re not here for treatment, what’s the point of coming to a Qi Clinic?”
“It’s because of this.”
I opened my golf bag and pulled out the horn.
Just from a glance, you could tell it wasn’t an ordinary object.
Kim Saje’s eyes briefly flickered when he saw the magical aura radiating from the horn and the holy script covering the yellow tape wrapped around it.
But that flicker was nothing compared to what came next.
When I placed down the twenty bundles of Shin Saimdang bills—100 million won in total—Kim Saje’s entire body visibly trembled, like a leaf caught in a hurricane.
“Wh-what is this?”
“I’m asking you to unseal this.”
“Unseal it? You’ve got the wrong place, buddy. This is a Qi Clinic. That thing’s covered in holy script; you should be taking it to a major temple. Try the Old Father’s Grand Temple in Jongno or the Gaia Temple in Gangnam.”
“Too expensive.”
And expensive would be the least of my worries.
If they got their hands on this horn, they’d likely just take it by force if it turned out to be valuable.
A devout, humble, and charitable priest?
Not even in the wildest novels or comics would you find such a character in this world.
“But this is a Qi Clinic!”
He wasn’t exactly lying, was he?
I stared at Kim Saje, my expression neutral.
“Kim Saje.”
“Y-yes? Uh, what? Huh?”
“I know who you are. You’re not a qi practitioner—you’re a superhuman of the priest class. I even know which god you serve.”
“That’s… that’s impossible! How could you know that?”
“There are ways. Besides, qi treatment and divine healing are completely different. But a Qi Clinic performing divine healing under the guise of qi treatment? Doesn’t take much to figure it out.”
“Tch!”
Kim Saje clicked his tongue and glanced at the statue in the corner of the room.
“This is why I hate staying in one place for too long…”
“I’m the only one who knows. I’ll keep your secret.”
“Hah… I’ll hold you to that. Since you seem to know everything already, I’ll be upfront. My god isn’t officially recognized under the Westphalian Covenant, so if word gets out, the Inquisitors will be all over me, labeling me a heretic.”
“Don’t worry. I’m good at keeping secrets.”
I took a closer look at the statue.
It was a crude, mismatched figure, like someone had slapped together parts of a bull, a lion, and a dragon.
No, not just a statue—an idol.
I knew what it was.
According to the game’s lore, this god had fallen from grace, lost all divinity, and even had his name forgotten. But through Kim Saje’s personal questline, he would eventually be revived.
Of course, even then, he’d barely have the power of a minor demon.
“Well then, shall we get started?”
I slid the horn and the 100 million won toward Kim Saje.
He sighed.
“This looks tough…”
But it was still 100 million won.
Even treating the poor in the slums for months wouldn’t earn him this much.
Kim Saje placed the money in front of the idol, then sat carefully on the massage table.
He gingerly took hold of the horn and closed his eyes.
His bleached hair glimmered briefly, taking on a metallic sheen.
It was the manifestation of a divine aura, or perhaps a magical one.
Light flickered around him, slowly cascading down his arms.
This wasn’t like his usual healing sessions, where he weakly pretended to be performing qi treatment. This was the full projection of his divine power.
Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, and his already pale face grew even paler.
A faint whirring sound began to fill the room.
The holy script on the tape slowly turned red.
Then, one by one, the characters began to fade.
Kim Saje’s eyes didn’t blink as he stared intently at the writing.
Blood vessels in his eyes burst, and his tear ducts began to bleed.
Bang!
The last of the holy script vanished.
With a small explosion, the yellow tape unraveled and fell to the ground.
From within the horn, ancient symbols floated up, shimmering like musical notes or lines of text from a book.
They began to form a shape—a figure that resembled a human body.
“Huh?”
Kim Saje’s mouth dropped open.
“Wow, this is a jackpot!”
“Right?”
“I don’t know exactly what it is, but it looks like some kind of cultivation technique. A mana cultivation technique!”
Kim Saje stared at me, impressed.
“No wonder you didn’t hesitate to drop all that money. You already knew what was inside.”
“I had a hunch.”
More like a certainty.
I reached for the horn.
Kim Saje carefully handed it over, making sure not to drop it.
The moment I grasped the horn, the magical symbols that had been swirling around it rushed toward me.
They seemed to lick my skin like a whimpering animal, trying to enter my mana circuits, caressing my nerves, and yearning to nestle into the mana core deep within my heart.
Kim Saje gulped nervously.
“So, are you going to absorb it? You’re going to use it yourself, right? You know you can’t hide something like that in a bag. The moment you step outside with it, people are going to notice!”
“If you don’t mind, I’ll do it here.”
“I don’t mind! I’ll even stand guard for you!”
Was he being naive because of his age?
Or maybe this was just his personality.
In the game, too, he had a trusting nature.
Any other superhuman would have charged at least 10 million won just for the favor of standing guard.
I lay down on the massage table and brought the horn to my lips.
Sensing what was about to happen, the magical symbols danced with joy.
I closed my eyes, swapped out my traits, and took a deep breath.
Then I blew the horn.
The Mana Cultivation Technique.
GUAAAAAAANG!
A majestic sound echoed through the air.
It reverberated down to my very bones, through the foundation of the building, and even into the earth itself.
The sound waves overlapped again and again, reaching frequencies beyond what any human ear could detect.
“Ruff! Ruff! Ruff!”
“Grrrr… woof! Woof!”
BARK! BARK! BARK!
Dogs barked from every corner.
“Meoooow!”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
Cats and rats joined the cacophony, shrieking as if in chorus.
Chirp! Chirp! Chirp!
Caw! Caw!
Even the birds were screeching frantically.
Naturally, windows opened, and people began sticking their heads out to see what was going on.
“What’s happening?”
“Is this an earthquake?”
“What’s going on? What’s causing this?”
But I was completely immersed in the euphoric sensation.
The sound had already escaped the range of human hearing and evaporated into invisible, intangible glyphs.
These magical symbols intertwined with the ancient script floating in the air.
Together, they formed a compilation of knowledge.
Memories, experiences, wisdom.
All of it etched itself into the folds of my brain.
Concepts, insights, and aphorisms bombarded me from every direction.
If I were to summarize all of it in one name, it would be this:
[Einherjar Cultivation Technique]
A mana cultivation technique originating from Northern Europe.
It was wild, violent, and as fierce as the eternal warriors who never stopped fighting, yet it carried a weighty, solemn power.
This technique would last me well through the 3rd level, possibly even up to the 4th.
“Phew.”
I could already feel my mana stabilizing.
Like the turbulent surface of the North Sea, crashing with violent waves on top but calm and steady in its depths.
By coupling it with the [Mana Stabilization] trait, the flow of mana within me was naturally falling into place.
At this rate, I’d fully absorb the mana within two weeks.
Yes, in two weeks.
By then, I would be a complete Level 3 superhuman.
“Wow…”
Kim Saje’s eyes sparkled with awe.
“This is my first time seeing a warrior-type superhuman absorb a mana cultivation technique!”
“It’s not something you see every day.”
Unless you’re from a long-standing martial sect that’s passed down secret techniques, this kind of sight is rare.
I stretched lightly.
My body felt a bit strange.
Too light, too energized, and I was receiving an overwhelming flood of information through my heightened senses.
Kim Saje looked at me knowingly.
“Would you like some tea? At my association—no, my church—we use this tea during sacrificial rites. It helps clear your mind and cleanse your mana.”
“That sounds great. I’ll have a cup.”
Kim Saje brewed the tea reverently and handed me a cup.
I’m not someone who can tell the difference between tea and coffee, but I could definitely feel my mind clearing.
Moreover, with the Einherjar Cultivation Technique and the Mana Stabilization trait working in tandem, my mana was stabilizing even faster.
‘This is good.’
As I sipped my tea, I noticed Kim Saje moving around busily.
It seemed like he was preparing for a ritual now that he’d brewed the tea.
“Is it okay if I stay?”
“Yes, it’s fine. You already know everything, and you paid me well. Rest as long as you’d like.”
“Thank you. If I get injured again in the future, I’ll come back for more treatment.”
“Hehe. Paying customers are always welcome!”
Kim Saje placed a cup of tea in front of the idol and bowed reverently.
He poured tea into the cup and held it up in prayer before placing it down before the idol.
Then he picked up a bundle of Shin Saimdang bills and placed it atop his hands.
So that’s how he does it.
Kim Saje’s god is a god of wealth.
It makes sense that he offers money as a sacrifice…
Wait a minute.
Something’s off.
This wasn’t how it was in the game.
I cocked my head in confusion.
At that moment, Kim Saje pulled out a small plastic container from one side of the room.
When he opened the lid, the strong smell of gasoline hit me.
Kim Saje looked at the bundle of bills longingly, as if lamenting their loss, before shaking his head and steeling himself.
Then, without hesitation, he poured the gasoline all over the stack of cash.
“Wha…?”
My brain froze.
What is he doing?
Is he really going to burn the money?
That precious money? Money that’s more important than life itself?
Kim Saje pulled a cheap lighter from his pocket.
“Oh, forgotten god, accept my offering, and may you finally be reborn, reclaiming your power and glory for eternity.”
Whoosh!
He flicked the lighter.
A small flame sprang to life.
And just as the fire was about to consume the bundle of money, I threw myself at him.
“Are you out of your mind?!”
I tackled Kim Saje to the ground, rolling across the floor with him.
“Oof!”
We rolled several times before coming to a stop. Kim Saje let out a groan of pain.
I was fine, but Kim Saje, being a priest-class superhuman, had a much weaker body and seemed to be in some discomfort.
He looked at me in shock and protested.
“Wh-what are you doing?! I have to offer the money as a sacrifice! My god only accepts cash! If I don’t burn it, the divine power won’t come down!”
“You’re wrong, idiot!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs.
“It’s not money you need to burn. It’s gold!
–TL Notes–
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