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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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A flower emitting a lustrous black light. What the merchant of madness, Janet, had taken out was a shadow flower.
“You may not know the value of this item, but it’s not something I would normally sell to a first-time customer.”
“…A flower?”
“That’s right! It’s a shadow flower that boasts a vibrant energy that can last for decades.”
‘I can get a shadow flower… already?’
Kang Seol knew of items like the shadow flower. Items that had a similar aspect to a volatile ability. Scrolls containing powerful magic.
Potions that allowed one to exert superhuman strength to escape dangerous situations. These items could play a crucial role in deciding the success of an adventure at a critical moment.
‘And besides, there’s no harm in having it.’
If he had it, he just had to decide when to use it. Janet watched his reaction and gauged the situation. Although she had spoken dismissively of Kang Seol, there were other merchants of madness besides herself, and if there was an alternative, the deal wasn’t guaranteed.
“The item is…”
“The price?”
“Just 3000 madness! Have you recognized its value?”
“……”
“D-Does it feel expensive?”
Kang Seol was currently contemplating. The value of this item was considerable, but the other two items he had chosen first were also quite convenient to have, and since he didn’t know the market price of the currency called madness, it was difficult to make a judgment.
‘Is it expensive or cheap?’
As Kang Seol frowned, Janet, as if she had stepped on her own foot, made a proposal.
“Then, if you purchase the shadow flower from me, I’ll throw in the items you chose first. How about that?”
“The spice container and the pouch too?”
“Yes! You know that’s worth over 600 madness, right?”
Before Kang Seol nodded, Janet added an explanation.
“Instead, you just have to promise to deal with me exclusively until the next transaction.”
“The next time?”
“Since I’m selling this at a bit of a loss, I need to make up for it with continued business. Don’t you think so?”
Kang Seol, who had seen through something in Janet’s words, nodded.
“You’re saying I shouldn’t meet any other merchants of madness until the next transaction.”
“Yes, for now, you’re committed to meeting me for the next transaction.”
Was it a loss or a gain? He was able to purchase the shadow flower because she threw in the other two items, but now Janet’s proposal was a concern.
“You don’t have to buy it. Just look at my items, that’s all I ask.”
“…Alright.”
“Then, the deal is done! The items have been delivered.”
Since this was a dream, the delivery would have been made somehow. If Janet, the merchant of madness, was the transcendent being he thought she was.
“I look forward to our next meeting. I’ll take my leave now! Please stay alive until then.”
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Indeed, when he woke up, the items were neatly placed on the table in his room. The sound of birdsong and a refreshing breeze flowed in through the slightly open window. Wherever he went in the world, if he slept there, his body’s clock would adjust to that place. It was the same for Kang Seol now. It felt natural to close his eyes and open them in Pandea.
‘Madness… it’s a more interesting system than I thought.’
– Ohio
– Snow-hi! (Meaning snowman-hi)
– So you bought that from the merchant of madness! You bought such a shitty thing lol
– A month of rest will be so boring, why even watch…
– That also depends on the person. I’ve read a few things, and there’s a lot to do during rest. Of course, the idiots who only rest are not worth watching….
– Snowman has proven himself! I’m going to watch this regularly.
Kang Seol was determined to do whatever it took to get the best rewards for the time being, so he would naturally attract the attention of the other world.
There wouldn’t be many people who would pull off such various tricks and strange things in their adventures.
‘If you can’t avoid it, you have to use it.’
As Cordon had said, since it was also helpful to him, he planned to use this as well. He now organized the things he had to do at the rest area.
First, distribute points to his abilities based on the acquired ability points. Second, check the next adventure. Third, check the movements of other players. Fourth, clear the side quest of the pocket watch he had obtained from the sharp-peaked mountain.
And there was one thing he had recently learned.
‘My memory… is fragmented.’
Kang Seol initially thought he remembered most of the Eternal World adventure. But that was a misconception. For some adventures, he couldn’t remember how they started, and for others, he couldn’t remember what choices he had made at important crossroads or what the results were.
‘I don’t usually have memory problems, so what is this?’
It felt like he had been a cryogenically frozen person who had woken up after a long time. It was a shocking thing for Kang Seol to remember something so vaguely.
‘Even if the content of the adventure changes, it’s useless if I can’t remember the original content. This is…’
He, who had trusted his memory, couldn’t help but feel anxious.
‘It’s a shame, but I’ll have to be careful for the time being.’
Knowing or not knowing could change an easy adventure into a difficult one. He decided to postpone or give up on adventures he couldn’t remember well.
Kang Seol finished his bath and preparations and went outside. The bright sunlight was peeling away the building’s shadow, and a peculiar movement was captured.
‘Was the square this close?’
A cloud of people had gathered in the city square. Some people, who seemed to have slept there, had dark circles under their eyes. They all looked like players. Someone was standing on a platform, shouting. He had an ordinary impression, but he also looked somewhat ruthless.
“So, right now, we’re facing the worst situation in human history!”
“The government… what is the government doing!”
“The government? Does anyone even know where this is? If we don’t even know that, how can the government find us!”
“H-Hopefully, not everyone has crossed over, right?”
“I’m scared… I’m scared.”
“We’re going to be dragged to hell again after a month?”
Kang Seol was looking at the man on the platform. The man said something strange to the crowd.
“Everyone, what we need most at a time like this is unity and cooperation, isn’t it?”
“Unity… and cooperation?”
“Are you saying we should stick together?”
“That’s right. Is there any need for us to scatter and invite death? Think about the people who died in the process of that adventure or whatever!”
“Hmm…”
“How? There has to be a center, right?”
“That’s right! Who do we trust and gather around? It’s meaningless if we just gather!”
Kang Seol wasn’t interested in a speech that had nothing to do with him, and since time was precious, he left. Shortly after he disappeared, the man on the platform continued.
“So, I’ve brought this person.”
A man stepped onto the platform. His dense muscles made him look like he had lived a primitive life.
“Who is that person?”
“Who is he?”
“Everyone, you all know. The identity of the person who ranked high in this adventure was kept private.”
The crowd murmured.
“That’s right! It was!”
“Could it be…”
The man on the platform introduced the newcomer.
“That’s right. This is the person who was ranked first in adventure points and whose information was kept private.”
“Th-That person…”
“Are you saying we should trust him and stick together?”
“The choice is yours. However, I’m making a proposal. In a dangerous situation like this, the most reliable thing is not God or friends, but only power. Can anyone deny that this person is the one with the strongest survival ability around here?”
“That’s…”
“Wh-What should we do?”
The man smiled brightly.
“I’m thinking of creating a community.”
This was happening in various places in Congaree. The so-called ‘guilds.’ Well, since they had entered a game-like world, it was better to call them whatever they wanted rather than something like a guild or a self-defense force.
Kang Seol encountered many people forming communities besides the first man. And he sneered at the process of such organizations being created.
It was an organization created for people to protect people, but how many would continue that noble purpose? Kang Seol had never been very interested in the people of reality. Indifference and distrust.
He, who had grown up in an orphanage and had a strange experience of dreaming the same dream for 17 years, couldn’t be ordinary. He only trusted himself, and even more so after being abandoned by the gods.
‘They’ll figure it out on their own.’
He was now at a job training center. The shadow summoning of the black magic system. Kang Seol, who had entered a wooden building called the ‘Seers of Darkness,’ encountered a man in a robe here.
“What brings you here?”
As he faced him, choices appeared.
The 5th option was not yet selectable, and the option itself was grayed out.
“I want to strengthen my abilities and learn new ones.”
“Good. Follow me.”
Kang Seol followed the man. It was essential to check his abilities like this at the rest area.
“This is it. Please enter.”
“Alright.”
A completely dark room. The man left him there. Darkness blocked his vision, as if he had entered a solitary confinement cell in a vicious prison. At that moment, something appeared.
Hooooong…
It was a vision that looked like a tree. At the roots of the tree were the words ‘Shadow Summon’ and ‘Shadow Hand,’ and countless branches extending from them covered the entire tree.
‘So this is how the skill tree is implemented.’
Kang Seol quickly adapted, as it was a system he already knew. And he brought his hand to strengthen or unlock the abilities he wanted.
First, he strengthened the most important ability,
‘The next stage requires 4 ability points.’
Kang Seol, who was looking at other abilities, found the ability he was looking for and touched the letters there.
– All he cares about is his summons… Snowman, who doesn’t even upgrade his own abilities!
– His way of thinking is different from ours. His summons will do everything, so what’s the point of upgrading the summoner’s abilities?
– Leave the summoner alone! Leave the summoner alone!
– Jamad and Karuna are about to become monsters lol
– This man… has two beasts in his heart.
A message appeared to Kang Seol, who had touched the letters of another ability as a test.
‘Getting stronger quickly isn’t as easy as I thought.’
Kang Seol, though disappointed, couldn’t help but thank the owner of this place and finished distributing his abilities.
‘Is this still a good result?’
After checking his abilities, he headed to the tavern.
“So, they’re trying to recruit you from a strange place?”
“I was a bum in reality, but here I’m so popular. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
“What has the world come to…”
The tavern was bustling with talk of the guilds that had been chattering since noon.
“Heart of Steel or something… Isn’t the name cheesy?”
“It’s better than Black Tiger. I heard some old man made it.”
“That’s amazing, really…”
– lololol I’m Black Tiger!
– My stomach is splitting! Stop making them!
– I see, your naming sense… it’s so lame, I want to die.
– I’m drawn to that old man’s guild…
– Is Snowman not joining a guild?
– The legendary hidden master doesn’t move so easily.
– A loser hiding his power…
– The reason he’s hiding his power) No one asked…
– Social distancing at its finest…
The reason Kang Seol didn’t want to be tied to a guild was simple. He had nothing to gain from them, and he couldn’t directly help them. He remembered Cordon’s last words.
‘- By the way, if you speak of heavenly matters, the gods will have a reason to intervene with you. If that happens, you will surely die. Please, act wisely. I wish you luck, Snowman. May we meet again someday.’
If Kang Seol started helping someone with the experience he had, eventually the source of his experience could be revealed.
‘I’ll act alone for the time being.’
He made that decision.
‘That being said… who would know about this pocket watch.’
Click, clack.
As he looked at the broken pocket watch and wondered how to solve the side quest, he felt a gaze.
Swoosh.
Kang Seol checked the direction of the gaze. A white-haired old man, who had been drinking, was staring at Kang Seol’s face.
Thump, thump…
Then, he suddenly stood up and approached Kang Seol.
‘What? Who is he?’
Kang Seol prepared to use his summoning magic in case of an emergency and watched him. The old man approached and spoke with a flushed face.
“That…”
“Yes?”
“That watch…”
A watch. What the old man saw was not Kang Seol, but the pocket watch.
“That pocket watch… I think I know that watch… can I take a look at it for a moment?”
He, who had been on the verge of searching the entire city, was momentarily stunned. But as if by a stroke of luck, the quest NPC was right in front of him.
“…You know this watch?”
“Of course. It looks like…”
Kang Seol closed his mouth at the old man’s words.
“It looks like a watch I made, that watch.”
He had found a clue to the ownerless watch.
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Start with 198 or something, that’s where the the tl stopped