ACT 2 A Heartless City

“Huh? Nothing?”

“Yes, some came in a month ago but it was sold out immediately.”

“Then when will they come in again?”

The shabby looking merchant asked in a desperate tone. The specialty store owner just shrugged and shook his head.

“I don’t know either. Sometimes it might be a couple of months and other times it is six months. But it usually takes 4 months. Aside from the delivery date, the quant.i.ty might be very low so we would see out immediately. Well, it can’t be helped with rare items.”

“T-that can’t be…..”

When the merchant whimpered, the shop owner smiled and raised his finger.

“Although you’re quite lucky.”

“Huh?”

“Our store has a sale for guests visiting from distant places every year. All of the items on display will be sold for a 15% discount. Only until the end of this week. How about it? You’ve travelled all this way so why don’t you buy something? This place is small but there are many rare specialty items around. You’ll get a much better price than in other provinces.”

The shop owner made noises about a sale and slashed prices. If a stranger heard such talk then of course they would be tempted. But the merchant looked at the shelves and shook his head.

“……No, thank you.”

There was a difference between a general user and specialty merchants. When trading with NPCs, the general users didn’t have to worry about the price. The prices at stores such as general or weapon stores varied in different villages. There was no reason for the users to pay a big price. On the other hand, specialty merchants were different. The prices between areas were significantly large and the price would often soar or slump depending on different circ.u.mstances. Not only that, but NPCs at specialty stores would often deceive them and sell it for the previous slump price. And they didn’t hesitate to push forward unpopular stock in a sale like now. The merchants who naively believed in the NPCs words would become bankrupt overnight. Transactions between an shop owner and merchant was like a sword match.

“Just think about it. It is difficult to get such quality stuff elsewhere. And isn’t there a sale? Okay, if you buy items worth 100 gold even with the 15% discount then I will give you a special gift.”

If the shop owner went this far then his inventory was 100% unable to be sold.

“That’s okay. I’ll come back.”

“Hmm, too bad. I might’ve even given you 2 special gifts…. If you change your mind then come anytime.”

The shop owner was truly persistent. The merchant shook his head and waved before exiting the store.

“Bah, who is he trying to scam? I can tell just by looking at the half price inventory. Anyway, even a remote country place doesn’t have any.”

The user grumbling was none other than the hobbit merchant, Sid. If it was the past then he probably would’ve been fooled by that sale.  But now Sid was different from his old self. After tasting the bitterness and sweetness of Ark’s friendly care (?), he had grown quite experiences as a merchant. No, Sid had also obtain a large amount of fame in Nagaran as a merchant. His hard work played a role in building that fame, but it was also because of Nagaran’s complicated situation.

“Two months has pa.s.sed since Ark-nim left Silvana……”

Sid muttered and recalled the past. In the meantime, there had been a lot of changes among the 12 estates. Thanks to the guild sieges, the Lords changes so many times that it was hard to keep track. But a time of stability came after all the confusion. Among the many guilds challenging the Lord’s seat, many could not survive the war of consumption and several successful alliances appeared. And once the alliance captured the seat, they firmly held it. There were 5 alliances in Nagaran! Once the 5 alliances occupied a seat, the area completely changed. The majority of guilds were not satisfied with one castle.

The first target of a user was to occupy a castle and become a lord. Once they became a lord, they could earn an honorary t.i.tle of Viscount. And that was just the starting point. If they used their forces to occupy 3 castles then they could earn the honorary t.i.tle of Earl.  The dividends from the castles would also increase. If they managed to obtain 6 estates then they would be promoted to Marquis. And if they managed to get all 12 estates in Nagaran then they would receive the honorary t.i.tle of ‘Public King.’ Although the information about ‘Public King’ was unknown, it was clearly the best t.i.tle available. The revenue obtained would be unimaginable! It was a place where money and fame was obtained from blood. So obviously Nagaran would be plunged into the era of ‘War of Conquest.’

However, the forces of the 5 alliances were almost equal. None of them had the strength to capture another castle.  No, there couldn’t afford to show their ambitions even if they had reserve forces. If they revealed things too soon then the remaining forces would strike at them first.  So the 5 alliances held each other in check while the lesser guilds engaged in a war of consumption for the other castles. In human history, the larger powers would be plunged into a cold war while the minor powers fought against each other. The necessary requirement to survive in this cold war period was economic power. The 5 alliances had already seen this and poured money into their estate and focused on development. They would then invest in military forces when the rating of the manor increased and they received more income.

So after one month…..one of the five alliances rose to prominence. It was the Hermes Alliance which occupied Silvana directly. In the past, Alan and Ark had recognized the geographical advantage of Silvana. Once the Hermes Alliance firmly grasped Silvana, they invested a lot of money into it and became the first estate to be promoted to a C cla.s.s estate.  And the most significant contribution to their development was the trading post that Ark had the foresight to build. Once the lord changed, the trading post was renamed to ‘Continental Commerce Firm’ and received the tax from it, keeping them one step ahead of the other estates.

“Huhuhuhu, behind them is the Kerobon Sid.”

Sid smiled with satisfaction. Sid got a job in the Continental Commerce Firm thanks to Ark. The chairman of the firm was the NPC with a fanatic belief in Ark, Wolkosu. Thanks to the escalator promotion, Sid was now the business manager. He handled the purchase of all good for the Continental Firm and oversaw the sales. In one week, Sid had already moved through 10,000 gold. Thanks to these enormous transactions, Sid’s various skills went up like crazy. Thanks to the experience from each transaction, Sid had long pa.s.sed level 200. And not too long ago, he received the t.i.tle of Kerobon that every merchant fantasized about.

“Oh, that person…..Sid!”

“He’s the legendary merchant who moved thousands of gold in one week!”

“In just two months he was promoted to the foreign department of the Continental Commerce Firm”

“Weren’t his results recognized a short time ago and he received the t.i.tle of Kerobon from the Midus Merchants guild?”

“That’s right, the decoration on his chest is only provided to merchants who have received the t.i.tle of Kerobon.”

“Amazing, how many people have received the t.i.tle of Kerobon?”

“But that’s not all. A Kerobon merchant is able to receive VIP treatment from guilds and can get deluxe information. It is incredibly obvious what would happen with the deluxe information. His funds are probably sufficient to create 1~2 guilds.”

Whenever Sid appeared at a trading place or the Merchants guild, he was the source of envy for all merchants.

‘Huhuhu, respect. More respect!’

Sid puffed up every time. But occasionally people in the street were puzzled.

“But why would someone with so much money dress like that?”

“Yeah. Doesn’t he smell like poverty?”

Sid was wearing low level clothes. Moreover, he was so busy that he had no time to wash them properly.

“I guess rich people don’t care about their attire.”

The merchants nodded and continued speculating. But Sid’s thoughts flared up at those words.

‘Are your eyes bad? How dare you take such a pretentious air when talking about me? d.a.m.n, I have no money to eat let alone buy clothes!’

Yes, he was the foreign business manager of the Continental Firm! The merchant who moved 10,000 gold in one week! The Kerobon recognized by the merchant guild….. These facts painted him in an amazing light. But the reality was that he only earned as much as a salary man in the firm. Of course, he now had a monthly salary consisting of his wage and bonuses. It was enough for other merchants to eat and even become rich if careful. However, most of those earnings were seized by Ark.

‘Huk…..that’s why I shouldn’t fall into debt.’

At first, Ark seized 50% of Sid’s revenue. But once his earnings became better, Sid was sent this message through Roco.

-I heard your salary climbed a lot? Shouldn’t you pay of your debt first before earning money? Tell Wolkosu to send 90% of Sid-nim’s monthly salary to me.

……A devilish human.

Thanks to that, his increased monthly salary withered and he became even more dest.i.tute. But was that all? He also often made Sid run errands. The reason Sid left Nagaran and came to this remote village was because of Ark. Not long ago, Ark once again delivered a message through Roco.

“Ark-oppa needs ‘Unicorn Horns’ for Lancel Village.”

“Huh? How many?” The rehabilitation brothers can only prepare 4,000 gold.”

‘Dammit, does he want me to lose my hair? My hands? Not once has he given me an expense fee!’

The reason Sid couldn’t lose his temper? He still needed to pay Ark back 3,600 gold….

“…..I understand. Give me the money.”

Sid sighed and replied. Then Roco asked him in a puzzled voice.

“What money?”

“I need the money to buy the items.”

“Oh, that? In fact, the rehabilitation brothers don’t have the money yet.”

“Then how do you want me to buy it?”

“I don’t know……Ark oppa said that Sid-nim is a Kerobon? Isn’t a Kerobon allowed to borrow 4,000 gold from the Merchants guild? Just bring it to Lancel Village and we’ll settle the bill.”

“Eh?”

Sid was outraged. How could he accept that? Of course, as a Kerobon Sid was eligible to apply for a loan from the Merchants Guild.  However, the loan was literally a debt. The procedure to apply was quite complicated and he needed to pay interest as well. But was that all? Once he applied for a loan, his credit rating was significantly slashed. First he had to pay back Ark…….and now he was being sent on an errand without being given once penny and would end up in further debt?

But Sid soon changed his mind. The purchase requester was Ark. He wasn’t evil, but he would always pay people back. So he wasn’t worried about that if he received a loan.

The loan scheme administered by the Merchants Guild had rules. The merchants guild’s loan wasn’t exactly borrowing gold. If they used the Merchants Guild’s name as a guarantor, they could purchase items without gold. That is……when applying for a loan from the Merchants guild, they offered an credit note. The merchant would be able to purchase items from the NPCs with the credit limit on the credit note. However, there was one limitation. The person issued the credit not must have the equivalent amount in their possession, whether it be gold or goods.

In order words, the items had to be worth 4,000 gold. In this case, if the trader only had goods worth 1,000 gold then they needed another 3,000. If their remaining belongings and goods didn’t equal 4,000 gold then they would become bankrupt until the guild could reclaim the loan. It was a situation to prevent selling the borrowed gold outside of the game. If he happened to sell at a loss (e.g. meeting a thief during the determined trading period) and wasn’t able to pay off the loan, the merchant would become bankrupt. It was a bad reminder of the old days when Sid owed a debt to the Merchants Guild. Anyway, thanks to this rule he could afford to buy Ark’s items at reasonable prices.

‘The person I can believe in the most in this world is Ark-nim. If I get a bad credit rating from the loan then surely he’ll rescue me? Yes, it should be safe to go on.’

So Sid went to Selebrid where he was issued a credit not and had his credit rating cut. Then he went to the auction in Giran to find the Unicorn Horns. Forgotten memories flashed through his head.

“Wait, it was Unicorn Horns? I think I’ve seen that somewhere before? Oh, that’s right!’

Merchants often visited the NPCs in poultry stores or the Merchants guild to obtain information on specific items.

‘It’s just a rumour so it is up to you to believe it or not.’ Those words were 100% a.s.sociated with information to make money. Among them, Sid had heard someone mention Unicorn Horns a while ago.

“Aren’t the prices of Unicorn Horns rising these days? So I did a little digging. In a mountain village not far from Giran, there is a specialty store that sometimes sells Unicorn Horns.”

The NPC whispered as he came close.

“There isn’t a lot of them, but you can buy it for a relatively cheaper price than the market price. Well, it’s still very expensive but you can likely afford it. If you’re near Giran then you should stop by once.”

He had registered the information and then forgot about it. But it was a great opportunity if true.

“The money Ark-nim allowed to purchase the Unicorn Horns is 4,000 gold. The present market price is 1,000 gold so he intended to get 4. But if I can get it for cheaper than market price……wouldn’t I be able to get the remaining money? Even if I buy it for 50 gold cheaper, that is still 400 gold!”

Sid’s eyes gleamed at the thought of gold. While purchasing items for the Continental Firm, everything was recorded down. Isn’t this a chance to get around those records? He wouldn’t feel remorse, even if the opponent was Ark. Sid immediately turned around and headed towards the village selling Unicorn Horns. However, the result was a total failure! Other merchants had been told about the speciality store and already bought it. Sid had been brought to reality from his land of dreams and sighed.

“Che, I thought I could pay off a lot of my debt……”

He owed Ark 3,600 gold. He became gloomy when he thought about it. Sid sighed and took out a big piggy bank from his bag.

“I can only believe in one thing.”

It was an item he had obtained by chance on one of his merchant quests.

Lucky Pig of Good Fortune