Chapter 57
"Where are we going this time?"
After we left the restaurant after lunch, Shin Seoyeon asked. I gazed into empty air and spoke softly.
"I was thinking of sorting out some items."
[Remaining Points: 714]
Since we'd spent almost all the money we'd saved, we'd better start pounding the pavement if we wanted to eat dinner.
"Oh, then straight to the shops?"
"No."
"Huh?"
As soon as we left the restaurant, the whole street came into view.
It was 2:00 p.m., and with the sun still blazing overhead, many people were walking around.
As I watched them, the passersby noticed us too and began whispering among themselves.
"Look over there."
"They're the people from yesterday."
The whispers spread quickly, and everyone who passed by stole glances at us.
"I saw them fighting yesterday. They were incredibly skilled."
"I heard the Lee Jongcheol party ran away without making a peep?"
"Really?"
It felt as though rumors about us had spread throughout the entire shelter because of what happened yesterday.
In some ways, that was fortunate. At least no one would interfere with what we were about to do.
"Mr. Minjun, are we going back to the lodgings like this?"
"No."
"Then where?"
I stopped at the entrance to the lodging building, opened my inventory, and said,
"I'm going to start selling things."
"Huh?"
At my sudden announcement, the women opened their eyes wide and stared at me.
"Selling things?"
***
There were many ways to make money in the Selection Process.
The most common was farming items in the trial zones and offloading them at the shelters.
[Longsword × 99]
[Short Spear × 99]
[Two-Handed Sword × 99]
[Mace × 99]
.
.
There were also several ways to dispose of them, but the best was to properly maintain the items you'd farmed and sell them to other people at a high price. Yes, that was the best way.
'There's no need to maintain them separately.'
I'd already used the [Fresh Core] before coming out, so every item gleamed like new.
Everything was perfectly prepared; all I had to do now was sell it somehow.
But Shin Seoyeon looked skeptical.
"I understand what you're trying to do, but do you really think people will buy things here? Street vending isn't easy, and besides, everyone's broke and penniless. Let's not waste time and just sell them to the shop."
Following Shin Seoyeon, Han Sohee also offered cautious advice.
"Selling them is fine. However, if we're going to do it, wouldn't it be better to set up somewhere with an established commercial district?"
She had a point. Unlike at the first shelter, people selling goods had gathered in small groups along this street lined with weapon and armor shops.
Anyone looking to buy things for the next trial would inevitably enter that street, so it would be easy to attract customers and benefit from the advertising effect.
But I shook my head.
"You all got items too. Do you really want to carry them around for hours in a dangerous place just to sell them?"
"Well, that's…."
"This is the safest and best place. So don't just stand there staring blankly—go back to your lodgings, grab two or three things each to sell, and bring them out."
They scratched their cheeks, then said they understood and went into their lodgings. Even when faced with situations they didn't understand, the women followed my words obediently.
'Good. Then I'll get things ready in the meantime.'
"Sera, help me out."
"Okay!"
Together with the idle little Reaper, I spread out a large mat. Then I laid out one weapon of each type that we'd obtained from the skeletons.
'As Shin Seoyeon said, street vending isn't easy.'
Who would want to buy something being sold by the roadside?
If they had the choice, they'd enter a properly appointed building and buy something that gleamed like new.
But what if even weapons sold by the roadside gleamed like new?
What if they shone as though they'd just come from a smithy and their blades were as sharp as if they'd just been honed?
"Looks like they're selling something over there."
"Where?"
People passing by began showing interest one by one.
"Oh, that man was one of them yesterday."
Thanks to Shin Seoyeon's rampage yesterday, there was an unintended advertising effect too. As though a celebrity had appeared, passersby gathered with interest.
'Wanting to see the strong up close is human instinct.'
Having gotten the chance to face me up close, they gathered out of curiosity and took in the things laid out before me.
Then their eyes widened.
"Options…?"
"L-look at this! It says this weapon deals additional dark-attribute damage!"
"Weapons can have things like that?"
The startled people hurried over and began examining the goods as if they were playing Halli Galli.
"Amazing."
"The grade is [High-grade]?"
"Then how much higher is that than [Common]?"
Interest surged. As the gathered people chattered noisily, others strolling through the street naturally began gathering to see what was happening.
"What's going on?"
"Huh…? Wh-what is this?!"
People approached out of curiosity, then cried out in surprise.
People attracted people, who attracted even more people. The crowd swelled in an instant, until those who arrived late could no longer see the goods.
Even so, more people continued to gather.
"Hey there, are you selling this stuff?"
As the crowd kept growing, someone wary of the situation hurriedly demanded an answer from me. I nodded.
"He says they're for sale!"
"How much?! Name your price!"
I'd finally succeeded in attracting my first customer. Now I had to think about what came next.
Setting the price.
I recalled the prices of weapons sold at the shop.
First shelter weapon price: 50 points.
Current shelter weapon price: 100 points.
'Let's sell them for more than at the first shelter but less than at this one. That will seem reasonable to people.'
After all, if two stores sold the same goods and one was cheaper, the cheaper one would naturally have the competitive edge.
That didn't mean I planned to sell them dirt cheap.
I planned to sell them for more than I would get by selling them to the shop.
I intended to maximize my profit while keeping the price reasonable enough not to rub buyers the wrong way.
'When I stopped by the weapon shop earlier to check, I found I could get around 55 points per item if I disposed of these now.'
In some ways, the price was laughable.
A [High-grade] item with better performance than a 100-point one, and it was worth only 55 points?
'When you sell to the shop, the system takes more than half the item's value. That's just how it works.'
So if you wanted to dispose of farmed items, it was best to try selling them to people first, then sell only what you couldn't sell to the shop.
That was how to maximize your profit.
"So how much is this?"
Then what price would maximize my profit?
After thinking it over, I spoke to the people watching my lips.
"90 points."
"90? You mean every weapon costs 90?"
"That's right."
Then pandemonium broke out.
"See this sword? I bought this common weapon at the shop for 100 points! And you're saying something better costs only 90?"
"And these are completely new!"
The people suddenly began shoving and fighting over the goods.
"This one's mine!"
"What are you talking about? Give it here!"
"Sell this one to me!"
"No, sell it to me! I'll pay extra!"
People argued and begged me to sell the weapons to them. Voices rose, and someone even drew a weapon.
It was fine for them to argue over who got to buy one, but the moment knives came out, the business would be over. I quickly stepped in to settle things.
"Everyone, please calm down. We have plenty of goods, so there's no need to fight."
"You mean this isn't everything?"
"We have enough stock for everyone gathered here to buy one."
I had 990 high-grade items alone from the skeletons I'd hunted.
In fact, I was worried whether I could sell them all.
"So don't fight. Line up single file and choose one at a time. Come on, put those weapons away."
The people quickly formed a line and began buying items from me.
Those who bought items hugged their weapons, marveling with extremely satisfied expressions.
"Amazing! I didn't know weapons with options like this existed! How did I not know about them until now?"
Of course they didn't.
During the first trial, the [Evil Spirit's Lair] was the only hunting ground, excluding the boss, that dropped high-grade items.
Yet it was a barren wasteland where less than 1 percent survived.
Even among those who made it out alive, most were too busy barely saving their own lives to farm properly, and most of them holed up in their lodgings due to aftereffects and didn't even come outside.
So when would they have had the chance to see a [High-grade] item?
"I'll take this one!"
"I'll take this one!"
The items began selling like hotcakes.
Even so, the line didn't shrink; it only grew longer.
It swelled in an instant, and the street filled with people trying to buy things.
I'd never seen a scene like this even in my first run. On Earth, you could have mistaken it for an open run or a line at a famous restaurant.
"Huh? Wh-what's going on?"
My companions, who had finished sorting their belongings at the lodgings, chosen what to sell, and come out, opened their eyes wide at the street scene.
"Holy shit, Black Dick, what the hell did you do? Is this also because of that ability or whatever you have?"
"You truly are incredible. To have such a talent for business…. Just as I'd expect from the man I acknowledged."
The three of them simply stared, dumbfounded. I waved my hand dismissively, then beckoned them over with a crook of my finger.
"That's enough admiration. You're going to sell those, right? Give them here."
I took the goods from the women and laid them out on the ground.
While most of what I'd farmed were weapons, the women had jewelry and clothes. They had some weapons, of course, but only a tiny amount.
"How much is this? This outfit?"
Perhaps because of that, the mage and priest, who had lined up behind their companions but were bored because they weren't particularly interested in weapons, suddenly showed interest and their eyes lit up.
I pointed to the high-grade priest robes and said,
"30 points each."
"Wow, they're that cheap?"
Clothes were light but took up a lot of space.
But they were cheap.
That's why I had filled my inventory to the brim with weapons instead of bringing clothes during the first trial.
The women had been so upset when they belatedly saw how little clothes cost at the shop….
"Ohhh, they're selling like crazy!"
"I-I didn't know they'd sell this well."
"They really disappear the instant they're put up for sale."
The women grew excited at the sight of money coming in.
Once their goods ran out, the three women scampered back to the lodgings, saying they would sell more.
I spoke to Lee Sera, who sat beside me yawning.
"Don't feel left out. I'll make sure you get something separately."
Then Lee Sera said,
"It's okay! Oppa's money is all my money anyway, right?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Because Oppa's going to marry me."
"……."
…In some ways, that was an even scarier line of reasoning than Shin Seoyeon's.
Thinking that, I dealt with the customers. The street grew increasingly crowded with people trying to buy things.
Business was booming.
As customers brought in more customers, the street-stall trade was thriving.
[Remaining Points: 24,234]
[Remaining Points: 38,664]
[Remaining Points: 47,754]
My points were multiplying like crazy. I was practically raking in money. But was I the only one benefiting from this?
"I spent days debating whether to buy from the shop, and then I ended up getting such a great weapon. It's all thanks to you."
"Thank you. Young man, you're selling some truly excellent goods."
"Sell lots! You'll be blessed for it!"
Everyone was happy. Why wouldn't they be, when I was selling better weapons than the shop's at lower prices?
The items were all brand-new to boot.
People left with satisfied faces, holding them as though they'd just unwrapped them.
"So that's why you were so strong—you were wearing such fine gear."
Some people occasionally misunderstood it that way.
It was true that I was walking around with good gear, so I merely smiled brightly at them.
But not everything that happened was pleasant.
"Hey, I want to buy this item."
A middle-aged man suddenly stepped right in front of me and demanded to buy it.
"Hey, you! What are you doing!"
"Get in line!"
Even when the people behind him shouted that he needed to wait his turn, the middle-aged man pretended not to hear them. Instead, he picked up a two-handed sword and said,
"But I only have 80 points right now. I'll pay the balance later, so put it on credit."
"……."
He made the shameless demand as though it were perfectly normal, simply informing me of his decision.
Then, as the middle-aged man opened a trade window with me and urged me to hurry up and make the deal, the trade screen vanished, replaced by his scream.
Thud.
"Aagh!"
Clutching the back of his head, he looked around with a face that seemed to say, 'What was that?' But the beating had only just begun.
"Aagh! Aagh! Wh-what the hell?! Wh-who is it?!"
Lee Sera was giving him a proper lesson while using stealth.
She swung with nearly her full strength. Even so, no blood flew. That was only natural, since what Lee Sera held was a set of anal beads.
Thud, thud, thud.
No matter how hard she hit him, there was no blood, but it still hurt.
"Aagh! Aaaagh! S-stop!"
Like Jack suffering at the hands of the movie 'Spoon Killer,' the middle-aged man staggered to his feet and began running away.
But Lee Sera doggedly followed him, whacking the back of his head again and again with the anal beads.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Aaargh!"
Getting beaten soundly by Lee Sera, the middle-aged man approached the people standing in line.
"Help me, someone!"
But what awaited him was the violence of the crowd, enraged at his cutting in line.
Whackwhackwhackwhackwhack!
"Urk."
The people in line began hitting him one by one.
The middle-aged man was pushed toward the back of the line and kept getting hit one by one by the people. By the end, he had been beaten so badly that he collapsed, trembling and unable to get up.
After that, no one thought about cutting in line.
It truly was a move worthy of the Reaper. Every single action led people down the path of death. Though the process was a little ridiculous.
"I only have 50 points. Could you make an exception?"
Even after that, people occasionally tried to haggle.
It couldn't be helped.
"I already bought something from the shop…."
There must have been many people who had already bought things at the shop.
If they'd received 200 points and bought a weapon at the shop, they had only 100 points left.
And after accounting for food expenses, paying another 90 points for a weapon was too much for them.
"I'm sorry."
"Ah…."
Thus, quite a few couldn't buy anything because they lacked the money, but most were determined to buy if they could afford it.
"By the way, Mr. Minjun, what's the difference between common, high-grade, and epic?"
"High-grade items have options, epic items have two, and mythic items have three."
"I see."
"Of course, that's not an absolute rule; it's just generally how it works."
Also, the values attached differed by trial, and early mythic-grade items and late mythic-grade items had the same number of options but vastly different values.
In that respect, you had to keep farming equipment.
"Next customer."
After answering the Saintess's question, I focused on the next customer again. Customers continued coming to ask to negotiate.
"Could I trade items for whatever money I'm short?"
Some people brought [Common] items they'd bought at the shelter and wanted to trade them in even at a loss.
"Handsome Oppa, could I make up the difference with my body? I'll treat you well."
There were women who wanted to pay with their bodies.
Whenever that happened, I would subtly turn my head and look at the women behind me.
The prostitutes following my gaze immediately shut their mouths one by one.
Shin Seoyeon, Song Hana, Han Sohee, and Lee Sera.
They were all exceptionally beautiful.
They were even made up, and each had a different personality and figure.
Even when the prostitutes approached half-naked, flaunting their assets and trying to seduce me, it was difficult because all four women were superior versions of them.
"Just pay the money. You have plenty."
"Ahaha, y-yes, I suppose I should."
Even so, most of the women selling their bodies paid the full price and bought the goods.
As I mentioned before, prostitutes survive well.
They make money selling their bodies in the shelters and get into good parties by selling their bodies in the trial zones.
Those tiny advantages ultimately guarantee their survival.
"Next customer."
And then there was the last unusual case.
"Could I trade this for something as well?"
"……."
They were the biggest catch—and the biggest customers—of the whole sale. I accepted the item he held out.
[Strength Fragment]
There were also customers who came carrying stat fragments and wanted to exchange them for weapons.
'Amazing. They carry them around as emergency funds instead of absorbing them right away.'
They were extremely shrewd, and a little frightening.
I studied each of them carefully.
'They'll become major figures in the future.'
They carried around an item that could make them stronger the moment they used it, instead of using it?
They weren't ordinary cold-blooded people.
They had excellent control over their desires and preparation for the future.
But the most noteworthy thing was that they were skilled enough to survive without absorbing the stone.
The man said,
"I'd like to take a sword in exchange for that stone."
"Here you are. I hope you survive, and that I'll see you again."
"Thank you. I'll gladly accept the good wishes. And this weapon too."
Then the man stood and quietly disappeared into the crowd.
'At least he isn't a human hunter.'
Human hunters lack patience and could never carry stat fragments around.
Yet the faint killing intent he gave off was the product of having killed countless lives.
Even from his gait, it was obvious how many stats he'd gobbled up.
'At that level, he might survive all the way to the final trial.'
Perhaps not only that man, but some of the people who handed me stat fragments today may have survived to the final trial.
But no matter how carefully I thought about it, none of them matched anyone I knew.
'Hmm.'
I definitely knew the faces of those who survived to the final trial, at least roughly. I'd spent ten years roaming the streets, seeing them again and again.
'But they're hard to recognize right now.'
That made sense, since they were so different. Perhaps because they had only recently come over from Earth, every one of them had a clean-cut face.
Their builds were extreme, either plump or painfully thin like modern people.
Their eyes were generally kind and clear too.
'I don't know who is who right now, but once they've passed through the hellish front lines, built up muscle, developed hollow eyes, and grown shaggy hair, I'll be able to recognize them.'
[The Strength stat has increased by 1.]
[The Strength stat has increased by 1.]
[The Stamina stat has increased by 1.]
.
.
And at last, the business concluded successfully.
"We're sold out."
I sold all the equipment I'd farmed.
Of course, I didn't sell the equipment my companions were wearing or anything epic-grade or above. We needed those items for our survival.
'All that's left now are the miscellaneous treasures I brought from the treasure vault.'
I immediately ate a late dinner, then headed with my companions to the armor shop. Since I was sorting everything out anyway, I planned to get rid of all the miscellaneous items today as well.
And just then, a notification appeared before my eyes.
[You have entered 'Gladius et Scutum.']
[As a resident privilege, a 50% discount has been applied to item prices.]
[As a resident privilege, hidden functions at this location have been activated. Speak to the proprietor after purchasing an item.]
'Ah, so I was wondering where I'd be proceeding with the Challenge, and it's here this time?'