Chapter 79. Wandering Merchant
After using the tracking ticket, I followed the voice guidance for about two hours.
「Proceed forward.」
「Turn right.」
「Turn right.」
「Route change.」
「Turn left.」
The voice provided navigation without any information on how far away the Wandering Merchant was or when I would arrive, which was becoming frustrating.
“When are we going to arrive? Can’t you give me an estimate?”
【Bubble Bubble】─ The arrival time might be unpredictable. The Wandering Merchant doesn’t stay in one place; as the name suggests, they keep wandering around.
【Pururu】─ Shut up. No one asked you.
「Turn left.」
There was no answer to my question.
The voice continued guiding without a hint of self-awareness.
Well, it wasn’t sentient, so expecting an answer was pointless.
“Centaurides, let me know if you get tired. I can get down and walk.”
［No! I’m not tired at all! Please, stay on forever!］
Centaurides, clearly excited, responded enthusiastically as I rode on her back, continuing our journey.
Then, out of nowhere, Pururu asked a question in the chat.
【Pururu】─ Hey Geon, do you really need to go in person?
“Of course. I need to meet the Wandering Merchant to spend coins.”
【Pururu】─ Couldn’t you send a tamed monster to make purchases on your behalf?
【Yumi】─ You can’t do that with the vending machine, right?
【Pururu】─ Well, it might be different. You never know.
【Rizenova】─ Proxy purchases might be possible, but we won’t know until we go in person the first time. We haven’t confirmed whether or not it’s possible.
【Yumi】─ You can’t hand over coins to tamed monsters in the first place, so how would they make purchases for you?
【Pururu】─ Oh, coins can’t be materialized?
【Mysticism】─ I don’t think they can.
“I once tried touching the coin display to materialize them, but it didn’t work.”
【Pururu】─ Then how do you hand them over to the Wandering Merchant?
“Like with the vending machine, I’ll probably be able to transfer them just by interacting with him.”
There might be another method for the Wandering Merchant, or maybe there was a way to materialize the coins that I didn’t know yet.
There was no point in speculating before I met him.
【Bubble Bubble】─ Does Neo Hyeong-seok know anything about the Wandering Merchant?
【Yumi】─ Probably not. The Wandering Merchant only sells to the Assisted Ones.
【Bubble Bubble】─ Ah, so they don’t sell to the Dominant or the Solitary Ones.
【Yumi】─ That’s right. Coins are exclusive to the Assisted Ones.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t asked him.
I glanced at the monsters following me.
Kinogine Arachne.
Black Magma Slime.
Blood Jellyfish Princess.
Necro Puppet Master.
Bastet Daong.
Aside from Centaurides and Iris, I had brought five monsters as an escort.
“Puppet, call Neo Hyeong-seok for me.”
［Understood.］
Neo Hyeong-seok had been left at the hideout.
I had assigned him and other monsters to guard the place today. But calling him over wasn’t a problem.
Necro Puppet Master could summon her puppets to her side no matter where they were.
［You called, Explorer.］
The air distorted as Neo Hyeong-seok appeared before me.
I didn’t call him for anything important—just a question that had popped into my mind.
“Neo, do you know anything about the Wandering Merchant?”
［I know of its existence.］
“You know of it? Does that mean you’ve never bought anything from them?”
［Correct. The Dominant One doesn’t buy from the Wandering Merchant but from other monsters. Even tickets like companion summoning tickets are bought from a gacha machine rather than a vending machine.］
So much for getting more information about the Wandering Merchant. Still, I continued my questioning out of curiosity.
“How do they pay for things?”
［The Dominant One also uses coins. But instead of being supported by an Assistant like you, they seize coins from the Assisted Ones. It’s the most efficient way.］
【Yumi】─ Oh, so the Dominant Ones can use coins too, huh. Haha.
【Mysticism】─ 🤔 But couldn’t you have just asked Centaurides from the start whether it’s possible for a tamed monster to make purchases?
【Pururu】─ I bet she wouldn’t remember something like that.
The Dominant Ones can steal all of the Assisted One’s coins by killing them, or they can extort a portion of their coins through coercion.
Neo Hyeong-seok added this with a cold tone.
［And killing an Assisted One like Min Hyeong-seok is what amateurs do. If you want to keep getting coins, you need to keep the Assisted Ones alive and extort them over time.］
Neo Hyeong-seok continued.
［My mother had to periodically pay tribute to the Dominant One in the form of coins. It was either that or war, so she had no choice.］
Centaurides chimed in at this point.
【Yumi】─ It makes sense why Centaurides’ mother hated the Dominant One.
【Rizenova】─ The Dominant One trait is clearly reserved for people with garbage personalities.
【Mysticism】─ Its default feature is looting. 😠
【Bubble Bubble】─ But couldn’t the Dominant Ones help the Assisted Ones out of goodwill and receive coins in return?
【Pururu】─ Stealing is just easier.
【Yumi】─ Pururu, sounds like you’d make a great Dominant One.
“Is there any other way to get coins?”
［Of course, there are various methods. For example, they can offer the souls of their summoned companions to the Ancient Labyrinth in exchange for coins, or offer just part of the soul… To be more precise, they can let the labyrinth gradually consume their companion’s soul without the companion noticing.］
“You mean Min Hyeong-seok didn’t…”
［…He used it regularly.］
Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse.
I learned that while Min Hyeong-seok had sacrificed five companions as offerings for monster evolution, he had used far more companions just to collect coins.
He was a nightmare that kept getting worse the more I uncovered.
【Pururu】─ What a piece of trash. Glad he’s dead.
【Mysticism】─ Let’s hit Neo Hyeong-seok. He’s bad.
【Bubble Bubble】─ It’s not his fault. He only has the memories, not the guilt.
“So the Dominant Ones can be self-sufficient, then. They don’t have to steal to get coins?”
［Yes, but the amount is much smaller compared to what you can get by stealing, so it’s far more efficient to take them by force.］
I figured as much.
No matter how hard they worked, it would be difficult for the Dominant Ones to collect as many coins as the Assisted Ones.
After all, they didn’t have an Assistant supporting them.
As a side note.
I learned that the Dominant Ones could purchase tickets similar to the evolution tickets I used.
However.
Unlike my tickets, which allowed immediate evolution without conditions, the Dominant Ones faced several complicated requirements due to their lack of trust with their companions.
For example, they might have to feed their companions a certain number of fellow Dominant Ones before they could evolve.
When I compared the two traits.
It became clear that the Assisted One’s trait was far superior to the others in terms of contributing to the development of the labyrinth.
Given the differences between the Solitary One, Azeras, and the Dominant One, Neo Hyeong-seok.
It seemed that among all the traits, the Assisted One was the most desirable.
I began to suspect.
Perhaps the Ancient Labyrinth preferred Explorers who could harmonize with monsters and wanted such Explorers to become the rulers of the labyrinth.
The trait selection process might even be an indirect personality test.
If that wasn’t the case.
Then it wouldn’t make sense why one trait would be so overpowered and seemingly favored by the labyrinth.
Anyway, I had chosen well.
Feeling satisfied with my past decision.
「You have arrived. The guidance is now complete.」
The voice of the tracking ticket announced the end of the guidance.
I stopped and looked ahead.
In the distance, I spotted a monster squatting.
It wore a fedora or a similar hat.
Dressed in clothes and shoes like a human, with a coat draped over its shoulders.
An alligator.
【Mysticism】─😮
【Mysticism】─It’s an alligator!
【Yumi】─It’s an alligator.
【Rizenova】─An alligator, indeed…
【Pururu】─Here comes Crocodile!
【Bubble Bubble】─It doesn’t look particularly strong.
That had to be the Wandering Merchant.
—
─ The Wandering Merchant is an alligator.
─ There is no Wandering Merchant that isn’t an alligator.
─ Beware of imposters.
I suddenly recalled the message I had seen on the vending machine.
Anyone who isn’t an alligator is a Wandering Merchant imposter.
［Greetings, Explorer. I am the Wandering Merchant, Crocodile Merchant.］
The monster before me looked like an alligator, so I didn’t have to worry about it being an imposter.
Besides, this was the one I tracked with the ticket, and there were no other monsters around.
Approaching me casually, the Crocodile Merchant opened his coat and laid out a bundle on the ground.
［You’re here because you want to buy something other than tickets, right?］
“…Yes. I’m not necessarily here to buy something; I’m just curious about what you sell. Is it okay if I just look around?”
［Of course. Feel free to browse. Unlike some imposters, I don’t charge a viewing fee, so take your time.］
The monster was more polite than I expected.
In both tone and mannerisms.
［Let me know if you find something you’d like to purchase.］
As Crocodile began laying out a variety of items on the cloth, complete with price tags.
While most people would be focused on the items, I found myself more interested in the Crocodile Merchant itself.
That’s because…
‘It’s way stronger than it looks…’
The Crocodile Merchant’s threat level was SSS-class.
I couldn’t help but marvel at the discrepancy.
And then I realized something odd.
‘…Wait a minute. Why is it rated SSS-class?’
Was it not affected by the nerf?
Or was it still SSS-class even after being nerfed?
With questions in mind, I carefully asked.
“Excuse me, may I ask you something?”
［Ask anything. I’ll answer whatever I can.］
“Do you, uh… Crocodile, not get affected by being around an Explorer?”
［Hmm? Ah! You must have the ability to gauge the strength of others, right?］
The Crocodile Merchant immediately understood the intent of my question.
When I nodded, he continued.
［As you suspected, my power isn’t weakened even in the presence of an Explorer.］
…I should definitely be respectful toward him.
【Pururu】─ LOL, he really looks like a weakling though.
【Mysticism】─ 🤭
【Bubble Bubble】─ He really does look weak.
—
■ Crocodile Merchant
─ Threat Level: SSS-Class.
─ Special Note: Wandering Merchant.