Chapter 36

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 36: Alien (4)

In the eerie high-pitched sound, Yeongwooo saw his achievement profile changing.

Strange.

〔Your achievement tendency is “Stubborn.”〕

||Completed Achievements: 3

|Caller of the Golden Rain [Legend] – First

|Forgive Your Enemies [Hero] – #46

|Golden Fund [Legend] – First

The number of completed achievements, as acknowledged, decreased by one, and the legendary achievement ‘Excellent Social Worker’ disappeared.

The karma he possessed also decreased to 4,000.

‘Became a beggar in an instant.’

But before Yeongwooo could silently conclude this to himself.

Paah!

His left shoulder and left wrist flashed, and promised items were sequentially worn.

「Black Wind Cloak」 – Hero’s Cloak

【Nullifies black magic.】

「Serpent of Greed」 – Epic Compass

【Always seeks rarity.】

‘Wow.’

Even if the Black Wind Cloak was unexpectedly a thick cloth cloak, Serpent of Greed was enough to surprise Yeongwooo.

-Shit!

Because it was a real snake.

You could see vitality in each greenish-blue scale.

While the creature twisted and turned, wrapping around Yeongwooo’s left wrist, it did not flinch, keeping its head pointed north.

[Always looks for precious things.]

Whatever it was, it meant that something precious was in that direction.

‘Now, what I need to do.’

Continue moving to different areas, using Serpent of Greed to farm equipment while clearing Golden Rain-related achievements…

‘If it’s north, it’s the same direction I was heading anyway. Anyway, sooner or later, I’ll reach Seoul.’

Yeongwooo’s current location is Sangju, Gyeongsangbuk-do.

If he continues north from here, he would reach regions like Mungyeong and Chungju.

After that, turning west, he could visit Anseong, Pyeongtaek, and Suwon one by one, or if he chooses to keep heading north, he would go through Yeoju, Icheon, and Gyeonggi-do Gwangju.

‘Then, via Seongnam to enter Seoul.’

Seoul, the largest city in South Korea.

What might be happening there now?

“…”

As Yeongwooo stared in the direction of Seoul, Kubu, who had been tearing through the air for a long time, spoke.

-The transaction is complete. If it was a satisfactory transaction, please designate me as the main intermediary.

‘Main intermediary?’

-If you designate me as the main intermediary, there is no need to reauthorize data access, and the existing 20% commission will be reduced to 10%.

‘The commission is halved. But in return, Kubu will be the intermediary for the next transaction.’

It seemed not much different from having a main bank for transactions.

‘But the fact that you can designate a main intermediary means there are other intermediaries, right? In the first place, other intermediaries’ commissions could be much cheaper.’

It was a question disguised as a mutter.

In response, Kubu remained silent for a while, then blinked his eyes twice.

– The content of available products varies depending on the intermediary’s status.

Perhaps he wanted to convey that his status was higher than other intermediaries.

But it wasn’t the answer Yeongwooo was looking for.

“If you reduce the second-time commission further, I will designate you as the main intermediary. You may not know the significance of Gyeongbuk’s Strongest Sword, but as a trader, my status is by no means low.”

The latter half of his statement was partly true.

Wasn’t Gyeongbuk the official strongest in a large-scale area?

And that was just on the second day of the reset.

It would be hard for anyone to deny that he was a relatively promising trader.

Perhaps because of this, Kubu stopped talking again and blinked his eyes.

Although it was challenging to perceive any signs from Kubu, who only showed his large eyes, at least for now, he seemed somewhat perplexed.

– Additional reduction of the commission is impossible. Instead, I will provide you with different benefits as the main intermediary.

In the end, Kubu presented his own compromise.

‘It’s difficult for an additional reduction… or is it impossible? There must be something.’

Yeongwooo inwardly agreed.

Whether Kubu’s status was genuinely high or there was a law of intermediaries, it wasn’t for ordinary reasons, his intuition told him.

‘If it’s a different kind of benefit…?’

In response to Yeongwooo’s inquiry, Kubu blinked his eyes again.

– I will show you all the top lists of those who bid at the current time, allowing you to directly choose the trading partner.

In other words, it meant allowing him to preview and choose a trading partner among those who bid.

‘Then, was the meeting just one of the randomly selected bidders earlier?’

As he learned that there might be several types of merchants other than the rock he saw a while ago, a strange feeling ran down his spine.

‘All right. I’ll designate you as the main intermediary.’

As Yeongwooo nodded, his vision flashed, and the system message appeared.

‘I have designated Kubu as the main intermediary.’

Then, Kubu personally raised his greetings.

– Thank you! All transaction procedures have been completed. Please step back.

“…?”

As Yeongwooo raised his eyebrows and took a few steps back, two of the five rocks disappeared, and the remaining three began to howl.

– Kwaaaah…!

It was the same cry he heard when he first discovered the top.

Only the rocks that couldn’t sell their products remained here.

In other words, the latecomer would only encounter the products left by the person in front.

Sssat!

Perhaps having finished his duties, Kubu closed his eyes deeply and disappeared without a trace.

‘So, being an intermediary is a part-time job.’

The first negotiation with an alien.

As a mere human, it was undoubtedly a very rare experience.

* * *

1:29 PM.

Having completed the transaction, Yeongwooo immediately started running north.

It was to visit the next city, ‘Mungyeong.’

‘If I’m lucky, I might encounter another mutant in Mungyeong…’

As Yeongwooo was thinking this while swiftly crossing somewhere in Sangju, his expression suddenly hardened.

It was because the thought of Gimcheon City, which had turned into a living hell due to the mutant being left unattended all day, came to mind belatedly.

For the majority of people, it was a stroke of luck when a mutant was captured in time.

Moreover, it seemed that Sangju City, where Yeongwooo currently was, had also started to become a living hell.

“Uh, ahh!”

“Save us!”

At the moment Yeongwooo was about to leave the city center, screams flooded in from somewhere.

‘What’s this?’

As Yeongwooo turned his head, frightened people poured out between the buildings on the other side.

And soon after, following them.

Kuduuduudu…!

A lone Dullahan, mounted on a common horse, chased after them.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

‘…That’s.’

The Dullahan was much smaller than Kim Hyunho, the Mayor. whom Yeongwooo had encountered earlier.

It was one of the monsters that appeared in today’s Sangju City along with the mutants.

Because Yeongwooo had defeated Sangju’s Strongest Sword Dokgo Sehwan and his subordinates, the monsters hadn’t been dealt with properly.

‘I can’t see the monster mark… Is it one that broke away from the group?’

Yeongwooo dashed out like an arrow towards the opposite side of the fleeing people, slashing the Dullahan with a single stroke.

Kwaaaah!

As a result, the people who had been running away, stopping one by one, cautiously approached Yeongwooo with uneasy eyes.

“Th-thank you…”

“You’re our lifesaver.”

Despite these expressions of gratitude, they continued to scan their surroundings with anxious eyes.

It was because they were conscious of the Dullahan, not knowing when it might reappear.

In the midst of this, one person, who had been staring at Yeongwooo’s face, widened his eyes.

“Uh…!”

Next, he urgently searched his pocket and pulled out a golden coin.

“Uh, it’s really him!”

The commemorative coins that Yeongwooo had distributed in the city, engraved with his face.

“What’s right?”

“Oh.”

“Um, are you by any chance…?”

People began to gather, taking out golden coins from their pockets.

“Is this Mr. Jeong Yeongwooo?”

“It seems like it.”

“This person is the newly appointed…”

The last line omitted the word ‘Strongest Sword,’ as they were all well aware of how Strongest Sword was inherited.

However, everyone knew that the newly appointed Strongest Sword had sprinkled karma in this city and had just saved them.

Because of this, people thought of Yeongwooo as a good person who would use his power for their benefit.

So, without much wariness, they gathered around Yeongwooo.

However, Yeongwooo, on the other hand…

Jjalk!

While picking up the commemorative coins left by the Dullahan that died a while ago, he asked this.

“Why do you still have commemorative coins? You could have used them to boost your stats and fought against monsters.”

In response, people hesitated, fidgeting with the golden coins.

“W-well, it’s too dangerous, you know?”

“What if we got into a fight and died for nothing?”

Most of them nodded in agreement, sharing similar thoughts.

However, Yeongwooo found it difficult to understand their attitude.

“Isn’t it better to survive even if only half of you live than all of you dying? Now, there’s no one else here to catch monsters for you.”

Yeongwooo’s words caused a stir among the crowd.

“What do you mean?”

“W-We have Mr. Yeongwooo.”

In response to these confused remarks, Yeongwooo furrowed his brow.

He knew that if he made up his mind, he could easily slaughter everyone here and collect the commemorative coins.

However, he refrained from doing so due to a hint of conscience and a bit of optimism as a human.

At least some of them could use the commemorative coins as a stepping stone for survival.

But the people in this place had already lost their fighting spirit, only thinking about relying on the strong.

If that was the case, was there any meaning in letting them live?

They were likely to die soon anyway.

It might be better to kill them now and at least gain some money…

“…!”

Yeongwooo unintentionally tightened his grip on the Black Sword in his hand and closed his eyes tightly.

Then.

Click!

With lightning speed, he stabbed the black sword into his belt.

The movement was so fast that everyone around him twitched, and some sensitive ones felt as if they momentarily sensed danger and took a step back.

“Do you plan to live your whole life relying on the mercy of others? This is no longer a world where you can do that. Now that there’s no law or ethics, the strong can do anything, and the weak can be subjected to anything. The current situation is no exception.”

Yeongwoo, having the power to kill everyone in the audience without facing any consequences, had the strength to avoid revenge.

But even Yeongwoo, in the past, was once at the bottom of the food chain.

He seemed so weak that he could be preempted and attacked, even after obtaining the Early Bird.

“…”

After finishing his words, Yeongwoo moved through the crowd to head north, the original destination.

Everyone instinctively stepped back, clearing the way for him.

They looked at Yeongwoo with eyes filled with lingering regret.

Surviving in a city without the Strongest Sword was never easy.

But the citizens of Sangju were not in the worst situation yet.

Chuuk.

Gradually, as Yeongwoo firmly stepped on the ground to leap forward…

Ping!

With the system’s unique alarm, the second basic welfare was applied.

「As of the current time, daily quests are applied in Sangju City.」

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]