Chapter 36
The Alien (4)
"Serpent of Avarice" – Narrative Compass
"It always seeks what is rare."
Amid a faint chime, Myeongwoo watched his achievement profile begin to glow.
Shine.
[Your achievement tendency is "Madman."]
Completed Achievements: 3
One Who Summons the Golden Rain (Legendary – First)
Forgive Your Enemy (Heroic – #46)
Golden Foundation (Legendary – First)
Just as he had been told, the number of completed achievements had decreased by one, and the Legendary achievement "Top-Tier Social Worker" had disappeared.
Immediately afterward, his Karma dropped to 4,000.
"I became broke in an instant."
But before he could even finish the thought—
Flash!
The items he had purchased materialized one after another, equipping themselves automatically.
"Black Raincloak" – Heroic Cloak
Nullifies Black Obsidian Rain.
"...Huh."
The black raincloak turned out to be a fairly thick cloth cape, which was surprising enough.
But the Serpent of Avarice shocked him even more.
Hiss—!
Because it was an actual living snake.
Every emerald-green scale shimmered with life.
It coiled around his left wrist, constantly writhing, yet its head remained fixed toward the north, refusing to move.
"It always seeks what is rare."
Whatever it was pointing at, something valuable had to be waiting in that direction.
"Then from now on..."
He would continue traveling to other regions while waiting for nights when Black Obsidian Rain fell, completing the Golden Rain achievements while using the Serpent of Avarice to hunt for equipment.
"North also happens to be the direction I was already heading. Sooner or later, I'll reach Seoul."
His current location was Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province.
If he kept heading north, he would eventually arrive at places like Myeongwoo and Sangju.
From there, turning west would take him through Anseong, Pyeongtaek, and Suwon.
If he continued north instead, he would pass through Yeoju, Icheon, and Gwangju in Gyeonggi Province.
"Then I'll go through Seongnam and enter Seoul."
Seoul...
The largest city in South Korea.
What was happening there right now?
While Myeongwoo stared toward Seoul, Kubu—still tearing a long crack through empty space—spoke.
"The transaction has been completed. If you are satisfied, please designate me as your Primary Broker."
"Primary Broker?"
"If you appoint me as your Primary Broker, you will no longer need to reauthorize data access for future transactions, and my brokerage fee will be reduced from 20% to 10%."
"So the commission gets cut in half. But Kubu will also handle all my future trades."
It wasn't much different from choosing a primary bank.
"But if there's such a thing as a Primary Broker... doesn't that mean there are other brokers too? Some of them might charge even lower fees."
He phrased it like idle musing.
Kubu remained silent for a while before blinking twice.
"The goods available for purchase vary according to each broker's rank."
Apparently Kubu wanted to imply that his own rank was relatively high.
But that wasn't the answer Myeongwoo wanted.
"If you lower the fee again for my next transaction, I'll appoint you. You probably don't understand what 'Best Swordsman of North Gyeongsang' means, but my own status as a trader isn't exactly low."
That wasn't entirely a bluff.
He was officially the strongest person in all of North Gyeongsang Province—and only two days after the Reset.
Anyone could see his future potential.
Perhaps because of that, Kubu fell silent again, blinking repeatedly.
Since only Kubu's enormous eyes were visible, reading his emotions was difficult.
Even so, he looked unmistakably flustered.
"Further fee reductions are impossible. However, I can provide different benefits as your Primary Broker."
Eventually, Kubu offered a compromise.
"Not difficult... impossible? So there really are rules preventing it."
Myeongwoo silently accepted the explanation.
Whether Kubu truly held high authority or there were strict broker regulations, it made sense.
"What kind of benefits?"
Kubu blinked once more.
"For every transaction, I will show you the complete list of merchants who placed bids and allow you to personally choose which one to trade with."
In other words, instead of meeting a randomly selected merchant, he could inspect all available traders beforehand and pick whichever he preferred.
"So earlier I only met one merchant chosen at random from multiple bidders?"
The realization that there had likely been many merchants besides the rock-like one he had just met gave him a strange feeling.
"Very well. I'll appoint you as my Primary Broker."
The moment he nodded, his vision flashed.
[Broker Kubu has been designated as your Primary Broker.]
Then Kubu bowed politely.
"Thank you. All transaction procedures are now complete. Please step back."
"...?"
Puzzled, Myeongwoo retreated several steps.
Immediately, two of the five enormous stone figures vanished, leaving only three behind.
Rumble...!
It was the same sound he'd heard when he first discovered the merchant caravan.
Only the merchants who had failed to make a sale remained.
Which also meant...
Those who arrived later only got to see whatever merchandise earlier buyers had left behind.
Whoosh.
Having finished his duties, Kubu closed his eyes and disappeared without a trace.
"So brokers are basically temporary workers."
His first negotiation with an alien...
For an ordinary human, it had been an incredibly rare experience.
1:29 PM
After finishing the trade, Myeongwoo immediately began running north.
His destination was the neighboring city of Myeongwoo.
"If I'm lucky, maybe I'll find another Mutant there..."
As he raced across Sangju, his expression gradually darkened.
He remembered Gimcheon, which had become a living hell because the mutant there had been left alive for too long.
Finding another mutant wasn't necessarily good fortune.
If a mutant remained alive...
It meant disaster.
And Sangju seemed to be heading toward the same fate.
"Ahhh!"
"Help!"
Just as Myeongwoo was about to leave the city, desperate screams erupted from somewhere nearby.
Turning around, he saw terrified civilians pouring out between buildings.
Close behind them—
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A Dullahan, riding a pitch-black horse, charged after them.
"...That."
It was much smaller than Kim Hyun-ho, the former mayor of Sangju.
One of the monsters that had appeared alongside the mutant.
Because Myeongwoo had slaughtered the Best Swordsman of Sangju and all of his subordinates, some monsters had been left alive.
"I don't see a Monster Mark... Did it get separated from its group?"
Without hesitation, Myeongwoo dashed past the fleeing civilians and sliced the Dullahan clean in half.
Crash!
The people stopped running and cautiously approached him.
"T-Thank you..."
"You saved our lives."
Even while speaking, they nervously scanned the surroundings, afraid another Dullahan might appear.
Then one man stared closely at Myeongwoo's face.
"...!"
He hurriedly pulled a golden commemorative coin from his pocket.
"I knew it!"
It was one of the commemorative coins Myeongwoo had scattered throughout Sangju after defeating the mayor.
His face was engraved on it.
"What do you mean?"
"W-Wait..."
"Could he really be...?"
More and more people took out their golden coins in astonishment.
"Aren't you Jung Yeongwoo?"
"I think it's him."
"So... he's our new..."
They intentionally left the words "Best Swordsman" unspoken.
Everyone already knew how that title was inherited.
Still...
The new Best Swordsman had distributed Karma throughout the city.
And he had just saved them.
Naturally, they assumed he was a good person who would continue protecting them.
They gathered around him without hesitation.
But Myeongwoo merely bent down and picked up the Karma coins dropped by the dead Dullahan.
Then he asked,
"Why are you still carrying those commemorative coins? If you'd used them to increase your stats, you might actually have stood a chance against monsters."
The people exchanged uneasy glances.
"W-Well... it's too dangerous..."
"What if we fought and died?"
Everyone nodded in agreement.
But Myeongwoo couldn't understand that way of thinking.
"Isn't it better if even half of you survive than if everyone dies? From now on, there won't always be someone here to kill monsters for you."
His words caused the crowd to stir uneasily.
"What do you mean?"
"B-But you're here..."
Myeongwoo frowned.
He knew perfectly well that, if he wished, he could kill everyone here and reclaim every commemorative coin.
The only reason he hadn't...
Was because a small part of him still possessed human conscience—and hope.
Hope that at least some people would use those coins to survive on their own.
But these people had already abandoned the will to fight.
They only wanted someone stronger to protect them.
If that's the case...
Is there any point in keeping them alive?
They're only going to die sooner or later anyway.
If I kill them now... at least I'd recover the money...
"...!"
Without realizing it, he tightened his grip around the Black Sword.
Then he closed his eyes.
Click.
In one lightning-fast motion, he sheathed the sword.
The movement happened so quickly that everyone instinctively flinched.
Some of the more sensitive people even felt killing intent and unconsciously stepped backward.
"Are you planning to spend your entire lives relying on someone else's mercy?"
"This isn't that kind of world anymore."
There were no longer laws.
No morality.
The strong could do whatever they wished.
The weak could suffer whatever happened to them.
The current situation was no different.
Myeongwoo possessed enough strength that he could slaughter everyone present without fearing retaliation.
But once...
He had stood at the very bottom of the food chain himself.
He had looked so weak that even after securing an Early Bird reward, others had attacked him first.
"..."
Having said everything he wanted to say, Myeongwoo walked through the crowd toward the north.
Everyone silently stepped aside to clear a path.
They watched his back with lingering regret.
After all...
Surviving in a city without a Best Swordsman would never be easy.
However...
The citizens of Sangju had not yet fallen into absolute despair.
Step.
Just as Myeongwoo planted his foot and prepared to leap forward—
Ping!
A familiar system notification rang out.
The second Basic Welfare benefit had been activated.
[As of this moment, Daily Quests have been implemented in Sangju City.]