Chapter 46
Opening the Gate (3)
The Boltak Wandering Merchants.
Only after hearing the true name of the "breathing sound" from Kubu did Yeongwoo finally realize something.
The "peddler" that the Mir Alliance had mocked might actually be the very trader he was about to deal with.
"The Mir Alliance has conducted interdimensional trade for over 800 million years by Earth's time. We are a prestigious merchant guild, fundamentally different from wandering peddlers who merely sell whatever spoils they happen to obtain."
"So they're called wandering merchants because they mostly sell whatever loot they happen to find... They might even be little more than bandits."
The reason Yeongwoo thought of bandits was because of their entrance, which was nothing like the gentle image suggested by the breathing sounds.
Bwaaaaaah!
The horn sounded for the second time.
No matter how he listened, it sounded exactly like a war trumpet.
"This doesn't feel good..."
BWAAAAAH!
With the third blast, the pillar of light turned a vivid purple.
Then—
Something shot down from the edge of the sky.
BOOM!!
Three figures landed on Earth.
The Boltak Wandering Merchants.
As the three aliens slowly stood up, Yeongwoo's eyes widened.
"...Huh?"
The breathing sounds hadn't lied.
At least physically, they looked astonishingly human.
Two arms.
Two legs.
The same proportions.
Most importantly, they had perfectly recognizable eyes, noses, and mouths.
The only real difference was that their skin was nearly transparent, allowing veins and bundles of nerves to be faintly visible beneath it.
Paradoxically, that only made them seem even more human.
After all, it meant blood flowed through their bodies just as it did through his.
As Yeongwoo stared blankly, one of the merchants noticed his gaze and smiled.
"My God... They're basically human."
They wore armor resembling fish scales, making them look almost like a more primitive branch of humanity.
"Can I talk to them?"
Curiosity got the better of Yeongwoo, but Kubu answered exactly as expected.
Contact outside the established trading procedure is not permitted.
Without another word, Kubu proceeded with the transaction.
The brokerage fee for this trade is 10% and is included in the listed prices.
Trading partner: Boltak Wandering Merchant.
Would you like to begin trading?
Amazing.
He had just encountered intelligent humanoid aliens.
And now he was about to browse the goods they sold.
If he had been a scientist studying the universe, he thought, he probably would have died from excitement.
"...Yes. Let's trade."
As soon as Yeongwoo confirmed, Kubu rolled its white eyes.
Product list completed.
Flash!
Blue fragments appeared before Yeongwoo before gradually forming readable text.
Human letters.
"Morning Star" — Ancient Tome
Activates while Gate Opening is in effect.
80,000 Karma
"Kekidamite" — Heroic Gem
Slot Effect: +10% Ability Resistance
93,000 Karma
"Golden Goblin" — Unique Slave
Stores items in subspace.
Automatically picks up valuable objects.
350,000 Karma
"Gray Rock" — Unique Shield
Reduces blocked damage by 40%
510,000 Karma
"Contradiction" — Epic Necklace
+50% Fire Resistance
+50% Ice Resistance
Price: 1 Legendary Achievement
Just like last time, there were five products.
The ones that immediately caught Yeongwoo's attention were the Golden Goblin and the final item, Contradiction.
"Are they insane? Fifty percent fire and ice resistance from a single necklace..."
His thoughts instantly turned to dragons.
Anyone who had experienced the Reset would think the same.
The very first evolved monster type had been dragons.
A new monster type, "Dragon," has been added to this world.
The wealthy beast Kang Hong-tae has now become a Fire Dragon and threatens humanity.
If Kang Hong-tae was a Fire Dragon, then naturally he would breathe fire.
"If there are fire dragons, there must be ice dragons too."
This necklace was clearly equipment meant for fighting top-tier monsters.
The problem was...
"I don't have any Legendary Achievements left to spend."
He currently possessed three.
But all three were tied to the Golden Ratio achievement chain.
He couldn't part with any of them.
"What a shame..."
He stared at Contradiction for a long while.
At least he had learned that Epic-grade equipment could possess absurd effects like this.
"I should've saved one Legendary Achievement..."
He glanced resentfully at the item he had bought during his previous trade.
Snake of Greed — Epic Compass
Always gazes toward the rarest thing.
So far, the snake's only accomplishment had been discovering the hidden lens beneath Jang Chun-yong's eyelid.
Considering the price he had paid, it had practically been a complete waste.
"There's no way I can get a refund..."
As he watched the snake flick its tongue...
He suddenly noticed something strange.
It was facing a completely different direction than when the trade had begun.
"Huh? Why did it turn?"
Then he realized.
"The merchandise..."
The moment the merchant's product list had appeared...
The snake had changed the direction of its head.
Which meant—
"It's looking at the rarest item among these products."
Except...
There was a problem.
It wasn't looking at the Epic necklace.
Instead...
It was staring at the Golden Goblin, an item two entire rarity tiers lower.
"Why?"
"Doesn't it simply point toward whatever has the greatest absolute value?"
Still, Yeongwoo instinctively trusted the snake's judgment.
After all...
The snake itself was Epic-grade equipment.
"If an Epic item is ignoring another Epic item in favor of a Unique item... there has to be a reason."
Maybe it suited him perfectly.
Or maybe it had unbelievable value for its price.
Besides...
He couldn't afford Contradiction anyway.
"I have 894,000 Karma..."
Buying both the Golden Goblin and the Unique Shield would still leave him with some money.
"I'll buy the Golden Goblin first."
When Yeongwoo selected it, Kubu blinked.
Purchase confirmed. Payment processing.
His Karma immediately dropped to 544,000.
At the same time...
The Snake of Greed raised its head once again.
Yeongwoo quickly followed its gaze.
"...What?"
This time...
It wasn't looking at the Epic necklace.
Nor the Unique Shield.
Instead...
Morning Star — Ancient Tome
Activates while Gate Opening is active.
80,000 Karma
The lowest-ranked item.
The Ancient Tome.
"What is this thing?"
The category itself was unfamiliar.
He had no intention of buying it because doing so meant giving up the Unique Shield.
"Even if we ignore the necklace because I can't afford it... this is better than the shield?"
Naturally, the snake didn't answer.
"Damn..."
Another difficult choice.
Once someone completed a trade, they could never return later to buy more.
This was their only chance.
Buying the tome meant giving up the shield forever.
Buying the shield meant abandoning the mysterious tome.
"The shield isn't a bad choice either..."
Even so...
He had already decided to trust the snake.
Not the snake itself—
But the power that came with its Epic rank.
Just like when he had once abandoned three million Karma to choose the Golden Ratio.
Another gamble based entirely on instinct.
"Even if I'm wrong, I won't lose everything. I can still spend the remaining Karma on my stats."
He chose the Ancient Tome.
Another 80,000 Karma disappeared.
Remaining Karma:
464,000.
The snake moved again.
This time, it looked toward:
Kekidamite — Heroic Gem
Slot Effect: +10% Ability Resistance
93,000 Karma
Now he finally understood.
"It isn't simply pointing at the rarest item..."
"It's taking my current situation into account."
The Snake of Greed was essentially...
A personal shopper.
"Then if I buy Kekidamite too... will it finally point at Contradiction?"
He purchased the gem.
The product list shrank once again.
The snake turned its head.
But—
It still didn't look at Contradiction.
Instead...
It faced north.
"So there's nothing else worth buying here..."
That was the only conclusion he could draw.
Even sacrificing a Golden Ratio achievement wasn't worth purchasing the necklace.
"I think that's enough trading."
Kubu closed its eyes in farewell.
Thank you. The transaction has been completed. Please step back.
The mediator disappeared into thin air.
The wandering merchants, however, remained inside the pillar of light.
Only two products were left:
The Unique Shield, worth 510,000 Karma.
The Epic Necklace, costing an entire Legendary Achievement.
Practically speaking, only the strongest First Swords from wealthy regions could ever afford them.
"W-What... was all that?"
As Yeongwoo turned around, the trio who had been watching from a distance cautiously approached.
Even though they had already adapted enough to fight second-day monsters...
What they had just witnessed was beyond anything they could comprehend.
"Don't tell me... we're going to end up at war with aliens?"
Yeongwoo quietly watched the merchants kick a huge stone crate out of the pillar of light.
It seemed to be their version of product packaging.
"I don't know."
Grrrrk...
The massive crate slowly scraped across the ground toward him.
"But I think..."
"...the Gate Opening has only just begun."