Chapter 29

Chapter 4: Cannibalism Among Kin (4)

Khan and Doyle's eyes widened at the appearance of the Mysterious Merchant.

"Brother, you knew about the Mysterious Merchant too?"

Doyle looked at Yeonwoo with a surprised face.

Yeonwoo nodded lightly.

"A little."

"Wow, that's too much. I thought we were very special friends. Ohoho!"

The Mysterious Merchant laughed and made a poor joke.

The more he did this, the more Doyle's expression turned to surprise.

The Mysterious Merchant didn't hide his fondness for Yeonwoo at all.

In fact, the Mysterious Merchant was not someone who could be easily approached.

Usually, he only appeared occasionally in the waiting rooms or boss rooms of each sector.

And even then, it was random, with no set schedule.

Therefore, it was common for people to wait indefinitely in the waiting rooms just to meet the Mysterious Merchant.

But he suddenly appeared.

Of course, it wasn't impossible to establish a personal relationship with the Mysterious Merchant.

"Mr. Khan and Mr. Doyle, it's been a while. Is this the first time we've met since you bought the pass ticket?"

The Mysterious Merchant greeted Khan and Doyle lightly.

"Yeah, that's right."

Khan nodded with a somewhat sour expression.

Thinking about the ability points he had paid for the ticket to the waiting room of Sector B made his stomach churn again.

The way to establish a personal relationship with the Mysterious Merchant was simple.

To be in the top 10 of the tutorial ranking.

Khan and Yeonwoo's acquaintance was due to this reason.

Otherwise,

'Someone who has been personally recognized by the Mysterious Merchant.'

It seemed that Yeonwoo was one of those 'chosen' people.

But on the other hand, it made sense.

Considering everything Yeonwoo had done so far, it was natural for the Mysterious Merchant or the administrators to take an interest.

After exchanging light greetings with the two,

The Mysterious Merchant turned to Yeonwoo again.

"By the way, how did you know I was here? I was quite proud of hiding so quietly."

Khan and Doyle also nodded.

The Mysterious Merchant, like the administrators, was a being subordinate to the tower and naturally couldn't sense presence.

But Yeonwoo replied indifferently.

"It would be strange not to know when you're staring so obviously."

"Ugh, so you're not going to tell me, huh?"

The Mysterious Merchant groaned.

Still, his eyes under the robe glowed with a strange light.

I had suspected it since he bought the reset ticket for Sector A, which no one ever bought.

In many ways, Yeonwoo was a truly remarkable being.

He tried to hide his surprise and smiled.

"Still, next time, please pretend not to notice sometimes. It really kills the mood, doesn't it? Ohoho."

Yeonwoo tilted his head to the side.

"Were you planning to just swallow everything if I hadn't noticed?"

The Mysterious Merchant chuckled.

"Oh, oh, now you've even read my mind."

Yeonwoo shook his head at the slyly smiling Mysterious Merchant.

If asked to name the most untrustworthy being in the tower, the Mysterious Merchant would probably be the first choice.

Despite the rumor that he rarely shows himself, in fact, the Mysterious Merchant was always watching the players.

To secretly collect items that players left behind by mistake or considered unnecessary.

The Mysterious Merchant was the one players needed the most but also had to be wary of.

They never take a loss.

They would happily crawl into a garbage can if it meant making money.

Always watching the players, they secretly take what the players discard and sell it at a high price to those who need it.

If Yeonwoo had left with only the necessary items,

The Mysterious Merchant would have quietly appeared later and swallowed everything in the nest.

Of course, Yeonwoo had no intention of letting it go so easily.

"150 badges."

The sudden statement was a negotiation.

The price for the ownership of the lair and the Blue Scaled Blade.

Khan and Doyle looked at the Mysterious Merchant with amused expressions.

But the Mysterious Merchant crossed his arms and chuckled.

"Oh, oh, so you're trying to negotiate with me. 150 badges is the highest... "

"160."

"... even the top players can't get... "

"180."

"... that many... "

"200."

The more the Mysterious Merchant talked, the higher Yeonwoo raised the number.

"250."

"... Do you really think I can sell it at that number? Really?"

"300. It's better to call it out quickly. The longer you wait, the higher the number will go."

Yeonwoo's lips curled up.

"And of course, if you don't accept, the entire nest will fly away. Along with the mana stone it contains."

"Such a mana stone can be easily found... "

"A mana stone with over 70% purity? I didn't know. Then I have no choice but to destroy it all."

"!"

The Mysterious Merchant's relaxed expression hardened for the first time.

He had been seen through.

The more this happened, the deeper Yeonwoo's smile grew.

'If you know exactly what the other side is after, there's no reason to fall for it unless you're a fool.'

Later, he thought about it. Why was the reward for the Harugan's Nest quest so low? And why was the ownership of the lair offered as a reward?

The tower gives rewards based on the achievements made.

But since the nest was different, there must have been a reason.

He later realized it was a place where high-purity mana stones could be mined.

However, even when he found out, he wasn't particularly upset.

Because even if he knew the reason, he couldn't do anything about it.

Mana stones were the basic medium for transmitting and storing mana, similar to conductors on Earth.

The higher the purity, the more efficient the mana transmission, making them very expensive, especially those with over 70% purity.

The Mysterious Merchant coveted Harugan's Nest for this reason.

'Of course, if there's such a valuable mana stone, I could have it too. But the higher the purity, the more difficult the mining method becomes.'

His brother didn't regret it much after learning the secret of the mana stone for this reason.

'It's more profitable to use that time to collect more badges.'

In a sense, the mana stones in the nest were like a white elephant.

So it was more profitable to sell them to someone who needed them at a high price.

And conveniently, a merchant who needed them was right in front of him.

The Mysterious Merchant finally realized he had completely fallen into Yeonwoo's trap.

He couldn't move at all.

"Ugh! Still, 300 badges is too expensive for a mana stone... "

"400."

"Ah, I understand! Stop! I'll settle for that amount, don't raise it anymore! I'll really go bankrupt!"

The Mysterious Merchant finally groaned.

Yeonwoo finally smiled.

"Alright. I'll accept 405. 5 for wasting my time."

"Really, I've never met anyone more ruthless than you."

The Mysterious Merchant sighed deeply and spread his hands in the air.

Woo-

A blue magic circle appeared in the air, and a message window popped up.

[You have sold the 'Blue Scaled Blade' and 'Ownership of Harugan's Lair' for 401 badges.]

Yeonwoo confirmed that the scimitar in his hand and the entire Harugan's Nest had disappeared.

Instead, a new window appeared.

[698 badges]

The badges, which were less than 100 at first, had increased to nearly 700 just by completing the quest and selling the nest.

As Yeonwoo's smile deepened,

Khan and Doyle were now shaking their heads in disbelief.

They had never heard of a player who could rip off the Mysterious Merchant.

The Mysterious Merchant kept muttering to himself about the huge loss, no profit, and being cheated during the entire transaction.

"Oh, by the way."

The Mysterious Merchant became slightly wary when Yeonwoo spoke again.

"What else are you going to take?"

"Anyone listening would think I'm a thug. But I have something I want to buy."

Finally, he had a deal.

The Mysterious Merchant smiled broadly.

"Hehe, what do you want?"

Yeonwoo pointed to the mask.

"It's broken. I want the same one."

The Mysterious Merchant made a 'tch' face.

"Well, I have many of those. But the price is about 4 points of strength... "

"Of course, as a bonus."

"Where in the world is such a deal?"

"Then do you want to cancel the transaction now? I don't care either way."

"!"

The Mysterious Merchant felt like cursing and raging.

But he couldn't invalidate a big deal just for a cheap mask.

In the end, the Mysterious Merchant, trembling with anger, pointed at the air.

['White Ghost Face' acquired.]

Yeonwoo lightly stroked the mask in his hand. It was similar in design to the one he had been using but slightly different, made of a material he had never felt before.

"I noticed you've been having trouble with your mask, so I specially prepared a good one. If you keep acting like a thug, I won't play with you anymore. Got it?"

Yeonwoo, with a strange expression, checked the artifact.

[White Ghost Face]

Category: Helmet

Grade: E+

Description: A mask intricately woven with various ghosts. It exudes a strange aura just by wearing it and partially blocks presence.

Once worn, it doesn't easily come off. Even if damaged, it captures the spirits of the dead to repair itself.

The options weren't particularly special.

But Yeonwoo liked that it wouldn't easily come off or get damaged.

Yeonwoo turned his head slightly to avoid Khan and Doyle's view and took off the mask he had been wearing.

It was surprising that it hadn't completely broken despite all the rough use.

But now it was time to say goodbye.

Yeonwoo lightly crushed the old mask and threw it on the ground, then put on the White Ghost Face.

The feeling of it fitting snugly to his skin was strange.

He stroked it to see if it would come off easily.

Fortunately, the mask clung to his face like a leech and wouldn't budge.

"Thanks, I'll use it well."

"Do you even know how grateful you should be? Sigh!"

The Mysterious Merchant packed up his bundle and slung it over his shoulder.

But,

Despite his sigh, a smile lingered on his lips.

The Mysterious Merchant prepared to leave by opening a portal.

Just as he was about to step through, he recalled something and glanced back at Yeonwoo.

"Oh, and one more thing."

"What is it?"

"You were so confident when mining the mana stone. Did you know something about 'that side'?"

The Mysterious Merchant's eyes under the robe glinted sharply.

But Yeonwoo replied indifferently.

"That side? What do you mean?"

"Ugh, no, nothing. I must have been mistaken."

The Mysterious Merchant shook his head and disappeared through the portal.

As the blue portal closed,

Yeonwoo's calm gaze remained.

The new mask made it even harder to read his expression.

Or what he was thinking.

'This confirms it. The arms race among the clans and rankers in the tower has become very intense.'

Yeonwoo's eyes glinted coldly.