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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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‘Score ranking?’
A system unknown even to Kang Seol, a veteran player. It seemed to be a new addition.
Beep.
The chaotic scene, reminiscent of a marketplace, fell silent as everyone looked at the something that had appeared in their field of vision. It was a ranking of adventurers’ scores, along with two lines of messages.
(327,600)
(150,030)
(137,120)
(110,570)
(104,200)
To be exposed in a ranking. But more than that, seeing that everything was translated into Korean, it seemed that the players around him were all Korean.
‘Either only Koreans were transported, or this is a Korean server…’
Considering what Kodon had said, the latter was more likely. He had mentioned the merging of worlds, which implied something much larger than a national scale.
“3-320,000 points?”
“I barely got 50,000!”
“It’s that person! That person planned this! Otherwise, that score doesn’t make sense!”
“More than three of my party members died… even after fighting so hard, I didn’t even get 100,000 points, how…”
People who had been through chaos. How terrifying it must have been to be dropped alone into the Eternal World, Pandea. They wept in sorrow, confirming that they were all players.
And at the same time, they were wary and jealous. No one’s life was guaranteed here. If there was one absolute truth, it was that the smart or the strong were more likely to survive. Everyone gathered here must have realized this truth.
“Who are you? You must have something to hide since you’re private.”
“Does anyone know why this is happening?”
“The people on that ranking must know!”
People with blood-soaked clothes, people with severe burns on their faces, and even people with severed arms. They had all survived hell. As their sharp blades were drawn, unsure of who to trust, another message appeared.
The Rock Tusk trolls, the demons of the jagged mountain, had recently become a major problem, but with the deaths of their five leaders, the situation has been resolved.
Adventurers must rest and train sufficiently here to prepare for the next adventure.
“Rest? S-Suddenly?”
“A whole month? What is this…”
“I guess we’re not meant to die.”
People stood blankly around the main gate of Congoli. The Adventurer’s ID served as a form of identification to enter the city, so it probably wouldn’t be a problem for them all to enter. However, there were quite a lot of them.
‘How many people did they cram into the same city?’
Kang Seol was about to watch the situation for a moment, but then, as if he had realized something, he headed to the gate first.
“Wh-Where is that person going?”
“Is that the private person?”
The guard at the gate didn’t show any particular wariness towards the approaching Kang Seol. He presented his newly acquired Adventurer’s ID, and the guard, without any suspicion, gestured behind him with his thumb, letting him in. Seeing this, the other players rushed to the gate.
“Let’s go inside and rest first!”
“Yeah, we can talk about important things tomorrow!”
“D-Don’t push me!”
“Move!”
The roads were well-maintained for carriages, and the people of this world were going about their daily lives.
‘The people who just transported are probably the last ones.’
The accident in his second adventure was due to the difference in transportation time. He expected the transportation time for the base rest to be different as well.
In that case, the people who had finished their adventures and transported first would have taken all the rooms. But since the city was large, there might still be rooms left.
Until the people who were now rushing to the gate took them all. He quietly opened the door of an inn called ‘Barley’s Rest.’
Creak—
“Who is it?”
“I’d like to get a room…”
“Show me your ID first.”
Thud—
He presented his Adventurer’s ID.
“Are there any rooms?”
“There’s one expensive room left…”
As expected. If he had been a little later, he might have had to spend the night on the street.
“I’ll take that room.”
“Just for one night?”
“A month.”
“A-A month? Well… the other guests who came earlier also did that… That will be 10 gold coins.”
“It’s an expensive room, indeed.”
To him, who knew the value of this world’s currency, it felt a little expensive, but it was too late to look for another option.
“That’s why it’s still available, right? If you pay 2 more gold coins, we’ll provide meals and a bath.”
“Good.”
“Haha! How refreshing! Good! Take the room on the top floor, on the right!”
Jingle…
He took the key and climbed the creaky stairs. The bearded owner hurriedly put the gold coins in his pocket and asked, “A bath?”
“In the morning, please.”
“Good.”
Clank.
He opened the door and took in the view. A clean and hygienic bed, nothing more, nothing less. But given the circumstances, it was more than enough. He was lucky he wouldn’t catch a disease in his sleep.
He postponed everything until tomorrow. Today had been a very tiring day. He had been awake for over 24 hours, started the day with a terrible nightmare, and now, he had become a piece of the game he had enjoyed for 17 years.
Swoosh.
Karuna’s shadow emerged from him as he took off his outer clothes and lay down.
“Make sure nothing happens while I’m asleep.”
“…Understood.”
As soon as he laid his head on the chicken feather pillow, he felt a wave of sleepiness.
Suddenly, he felt anxious.
‘I’m not going back to that place, am I?’
Probably not. If they had intended to kill him, Kodon wouldn’t have stepped in in the first place. Unable to fight off the drowsiness any longer, he slowly drifted off to sleep.
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Dreams were strange. They could paint the fantasies you so longed for and make you giddy with happiness, or they could show you terrifyingly ugly scenes and give you nightmares.
Now, he was opening his eyes in a pitch-black darkness. He was aware that it was a dream, but he couldn’t wake up. It was a lucid dream. A chronic illness he had suffered from for 17 years. Could it not be cured overnight?
‘At least I didn’t wake up in the heavens.’
At that moment, a message appeared in his eyes.
“Merchant of… Madness?”
A message and a system he had never seen before. He had been surprised several times today.
Screeeech—!
Following that, with a ghostly wail, the surroundings began to brighten. No, it was too gloomy a blood-red to be called bright.
The red light filled the surroundings, and someone with horns on their head and wearing a demon mask opened a door and entered. He sniffed as soon as he entered.
“Sniff sniff… sniff… I smell something very good. Did I find it first? I was faster than that Terad bastard.”
“…Who are you?”
“You don’t seem very surprised to see me. Human… was it?”
“H-Human?”
The one who said this was definitely not a human. Kang Seol tensed up and focused on the conversation. Janet, seeing that, scoffed and bowed.
“My, my, it wouldn’t do for a great merchant to frighten a customer. Nice to meet you. I am Janet, one of the merchants who is in charge of the intermediate trade in this world merger.”
“Intermediate trade? World… merger?”
Even he, who was supposed to be the only human who knew about the world merger, had a hard time understanding Janet’s words.
“My, my, this is why it’s so difficult to open a trade with those who have been sold. Really…”
“I was sold? You mean, a human?”
“Please listen to my story carefully. Your masters, with the merger of the worlds, have sold off the inhabitants of both worlds.”
“What are you talking about? To whom?”
“The inhabitants of another world. They were probably laughing at you until just a moment ago. In other words, you can be seen as slaves sold to a circus, or gladiators.”
“……So?”
“They offer madness as an admission fee. It’s the driving force that makes the world go round, on the opposite side of faith.”
“Then you are?”
“I am a merchant who sells goods in exchange for the madness gathered in you. Of course, a portion of my share goes to your former masters as a commission.”
Now, he understood all of Kodon’s words.
– ‘Snowman, there is only one way to save you and your race. Reach the final adventure, Ascension. It will be helpful to stand out as much as possible in the process. Madness is necessary for the gods to regain their original power, but it will also be useful to you.’
The gods were collecting madness by selling humans and the inhabitants of Pandea. And his conspicuous actions were being treated as a spectacle by the inhabitants of another world, and he was earning madness.
The feeling that came to his mind was not betrayal or humiliation. Those feelings had already dragged him into a swamp once. He still remembered the black line drawn on his neck.
‘Now I understand the system.’
He felt a sense of relief. Now that he knew what was going on, the priorities of unnecessary and important actions were clearly established.
‘The only way to escape this hell is really Ascension… But madness has gathered in me?’
He asked Janet, “If you’ve come all this way, I must have some madness.”
“Hmm… to get straight to the point, yes. A lot of it.”
“A lot? How much?”
Was madness something that was so easily gathered? He thought for a moment and then nodded, recalling the arduous process of his recent adventures. Janet counted on her fingers and muttered. She seemed bad at math.
“3,000. Exactly 3,000 points.”
“Is that a lot?”
“By my standards, as someone in this business, it’s just so-so. By your standards, it’s a lot.”
“I can’t get a feel for it…”
“Let me put it this way. You’re probably the one who has gathered the most madness so far.”
“…”
Janet grinned. “The second place was chasing you closely, but unfortunately, he died in the previous adventure. What a shame. Anyway, will you trade with me?”
“What can I buy?”
Flash!
An enormous amount of information poured into his vision. So much information that his head throbbed. He first chose two that he liked.
“…You’re choosing unusual things?”
He looked at several items that he could buy with madness. There were plenty of things that would be helpful right away, and the ones that would be helpful later required a considerable amount of madness.
“Nothing really catches my eye.”
“Ugh… that statement is a blow to my pride, Janet! Alright! Then how about this?”
Janet took out an item that was emitting a strange light from her pocket.
“Hmm…”
As soon as he saw it, he almost gasped. The item Janet took out was something he knew.
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