Level 4 Human in a Ruined World

Chapter 46

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 46: Open Door (3)

The wandering merchant of Voltak.

After hearing the official name of ‘Breath Sound’ through Kubu, Yeongwoo realized something.

The “peddler” that the Mir Union had targeted earlier might be the trading partner this time.

『The Mir Alliance is a traditional merchant that has been engaging in inter-dimensional trade for as long as 800 million years in Earth time, and is of a different class from a miscellaneous merchant who sells loot obtained accidentally.』

‘Given the name ‘wandering merchant,’ there’s a high probability of selling acquired loot. It could also be a group of thieves.’

The reason Yeongwoo thought of a group of thieves was due to the completely different “entrance sound” from the delicate image when they only exhaled.

Gaaaah!

Already for the second time, the sound was unmistakably reminiscent of a war trumpet.

‘I feel uneasy.’

Gaaaah!

With the third sound, a pillar of light filled with a vivid violet descended from the edge of the sky.

Ssweaaa…

Kwaang!

In the blink of an eye, the ‘wandering merchant of Voltak’ set foot on Earth, a total of three of them.

And as Yeongwoo slowly looked at the three beings who had risen, his eyes widened.

‘Huh…?’

Indeed, the breath sound they emitted earlier was not false at all.

At least in appearance, they were surprisingly similar to humans.

With two arms and two legs in positions similar to humans, their lengths were also similar, and, most importantly, they had eyes, nose, and mouth on their faces.

The only difference might be that their skin was close to translucent, revealing veins and nerve bundles inside.

But paradoxically, because of this, they felt even more human.

“….”

As Yeongwoo stared at them in a daze, one of the merchants who felt his gaze grinned at him.

“Oh my. They’re just humans.”

Wearing scale-like armor all over, they seemed to be a more degenerate version of humanity.

“Can I have a conversation with those people?”

Yeongwoo, driven by curiosity, asked Kubu, but as expected, a negative answer came back.

― Contact beyond the trade procedure is not allowed.

Then, as if urging them to proceed with the trade, the dealer hurried the transaction with the scheduled procedures.

― The mediation fee for this transaction is 10%, included in the product price. The trading partner is the wandering merchant of Voltak.

― Will you proceed with the transaction?

Oh, my.

Having found merchants resembling humans and soon to browse the items they sell…

Yeongwoo thought that if he were a scientist studying the universe, he might have had a heart attack.

“…Yes. Let’s trade.”

As Yeongwoo gave the final approval, Kubu rolled his white eyes.

― The product list is complete.

Paaat!

What happened next was a somewhat familiar phenomenon.

A blue blot appeared in front of Yeongwoo, quickly taking on some form.

It was the form of human characters.

Ssswee, ssswee.

‘Oh…’

As warned by the Mir Union, the products of those who sell any loot were somewhat lacking, but instead, they were very interesting.

1 ― 「Morning Star」 – Ancient Scroll

【Activated in the Open Door state.】

◇ 80,000 Karma

2 ― 「Kekidite」- Hero’s Gem

【Slot: 10% Magic Resistance】

◇ 93,000 Karma

3 ― 「Golden Goblin」 – Relic Slave

【Stores items in a pocket dimension.】

【Picks up things that turn into money.】

◇ 350,000 Karma

4 ― 「Gray Rock」 – Unique Shield

【Reduces blocked damage by 40%】

◇ 510,000 Karma

5 ― 「Antinomy」 – Epic Necklace

【50% Fire Resistance】

【50% Ice Resistance】

◇ 1 Legendary Achievement

Like the previous trade, a total of five items.

Among them, what caught Yeongwoo’s attention were the “Golden Goblin” and the last item, “Antinomy.”

‘Is this insane? A necklace with 50% fire and ice resistance…’

Yeongwoo immediately thought of dragons.

Of course, even if he wasn’t the one who experienced the reset, anyone who went through it would probably have had the same thought.

The first type of mutation that occurred in this world was the dragon.

― A new monster type, “Dragon,” has been added to this world.

― [Chaebol Chairman – Kang Hongtae] has now become a fire dragon threatening everyone.

Moreover, when Kang Hongtae returns someday, he will most likely breathe fire.

‘If there’s a fire dragon, there might be a water dragon or an ice dragon.’

Therefore, “Antinomy” was considered equipment to deal with higher-level monsters that could emit fire or ice.

The only problem was.

‘Now I don’t have any more legendary achievements to sell.’

Currently, he had a total of 3 legendary achievements.

However, all of them were consecutive achievements related to the Golden Ratio, making it impossible for him to touch them.

‘It’s a shame, but there’s nothing I can do.’

Yeongwoo stared at the “Antinomy,” which had become like a picture of a rice cake.

One consolation was that from now on, ridiculous options might appear in Epic grades.

‘If I had known, I should have saved at least one achievement.’

Yeongwoo glanced at “Serpent of Greed,” the Epic compass he had purchased with a legendary achievement in the previous trade, with a bitter look.

「Serpent of Greed」 – Epic Compass

【Always seeks rarity.】

The only income he had obtained from this little trinket so far was finding a lens hidden under the eyelids of Mungyeong’s Strongest Sword, Jang Chunyong.

In reality, it seemed more like a waste of money than an investment.

‘There’s no way to get a refund…’

As Yeongwoo watched the Serpent of Greed flick its tiny tongue, he suddenly felt a sense of unease.

Because.

Sshwit.

This little trinket was looking in a completely different direction from when it started the first trade.

‘What’s going on? Why did it suddenly change direction?’

As Yeongwoo was thinking this, it didn’t take long for him to realize.

‘Ah… the products.’

Since the extraterrestrial product list appeared in front of Yeongwoo, the snake had changed its head direction.

In other words,

‘Right now, it’s looking at the rarest item among these.’

But there was a problem.

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

“Sshwit…”

What the snake was looking at was not the highest-grade Epic necklace “Antinomy” but the two grades lower “Golden Goblin.”

‘Why? Isn’t it simply based on absolute value?’

Yeongwoo tilted his head but instinctively thought the snake’s judgment would be correct.

The basis for this was none other than the origin of this trinket.

‘Anyway, this thing is also Epic-grade equipment.’

So, wouldn’t the efficacy of this equipment be similar to other Epic-grade items?

Since the option “Always seeks rare things” had the effect comparable to 50% resistance to fire and ice, it would probably be equivalent to other Epic-grade items.

“Anyway, there must be a reason why it’s looking at artifacts instead of Epic-grade equipment… like it’s a perfect fit for me or has ridiculously good cost-effectiveness.’

Moreover, “Antinomy” wasn’t affordable right now.

‘My current total assets… 894,000.’

Even after buying the Golden Goblin and the unique shield “Gray Rock,” there was still a bit of money left.

‘Let’s buy the Golden Goblin first.’

As Yeongwoo pointed at the tooltip of the goblin on the product list, Kubu blinked his eyes.

―Purchase processing complete. Payment will be deducted.

Phew!

In an instant, Yeongwoo’s body shone, and his Karma decreased to 544,000.

And simultaneously.

“Sshwit.”

The Serpent of Greed turned its head again.

“…!”

Upon this, Yeongwoo quickly turned his gaze in the direction it was looking.

“Huh?”

Once again, he was surprised.

What the snake judged as the second most valuable item among this trade was neither a Epic-grade necklace nor the unique shield, but the lowest-grade item.

1 ― 「Morning Star」- Ancient Scroll

【Activated in the Open door state.】

◇ 80,000 Karma

The lowest-grade item.

It was an ancient scroll called “Morning Star.”

‘What is this scroll that has the serpent acting like that?’

Yeongwoo was slightly interested in the ancient scroll, a type of item he had never seen before.

However, since the price was not negligible, and buying this would mean he couldn’t afford the unique shield, he didn’t have any intention to purchase it.

‘It’s a Epic-grade item, so it’s excluded for now… Is it really better than the unique shield, Gold Goblin? Are you sure?’

Although Yeongwoo asked this, of course, the snake didn’t provide an answer.

‘Damn it.’

It was once again time to make a choice.

Since those who completed the trade couldn’t come back later for repurchase, if there was anything needed, it had to be resolved now.

Therefore, following the snake’s opinion, buying the ancient scroll means missing the opportunity to purchase the unique shield.

Conversely, buying the shield means losing the chance to buy the mysterious scroll.

‘Buying a shield isn’t a bad choice… but who knows when another shield will come up.’

While Yeongwoo mumbled to himself, he had already firmly decided to follow the snake’s opinion.

Rather than trusting the snake itself, it was more about trusting the power of its grade.

Like his instinctive bet of 3 million Karma on Golden Ratio in the first binary choice, it was a bet based on intuition.

‘Even if this bet fails, it won’t be a significant loss. I can use the remaining money to improve my abilities or physique.’

Yeongwoo confirmed the purchase of the ancient scroll “Morning Star,” and as before, Kubu blinked, deducting an additional 80,000 Karma.

Phew! Now Yeongwoo had 464,000 Karma left, and the next item the snake looked at was:

2 ― 「Kekidaite」 – Heroic Gem

【Slot: 10% Resistance to Abilities】

◇ 93,000 Karma

It was a heroic-grade gem for slots.

With this, it became clear:

‘It’s not just looking for rare things; it also considers my situation.’

The Serpent of Greed seemed to act like a personal shopper.

‘If I buy Kekidaite now, will it point to Antinomy?’

Following, Yeongwoo confirmed the purchase of Kekidaite, and once again, a product disappeared from the list…

“Sshwit.”

As Yeongwoo purchased Kekidaite, the snake turned its head again.

However, this time,

“…!”

The snake didn’t look at Antinomy.

‘Is it looking north again? Does that mean there’s nothing more to buy here?’

Yeongwoo could only understand it that way.

At this point, it meant he wasn’t going to buy equipment that could break the Golden Ratio achievement.

‘That seems to be the end of the trade.’

Expressing his intention to end the trade, Kubu closed his eyes deeply and sent a farewell.

―Thank you! All trade procedures have been completed. Please step back.

Suaat!

Kubu, the mediator, disappeared quickly, melting into the air.

However, since not all items were sold yet, the wandering traders of Voltak remained inside the glowing pillar.

Of course, the products they were selling now were only the unique shield priced at 510,000 Karma and the Epic necklace requiring a legendary achievement.

In essence, except for those who had saved up Karma like the Strongest Swords from other regions, they couldn’t afford to use it.

“Well… is that all?”

As Yeongwoo turned away after completing the trade, a trio that had not left the scene called out from a distance.

These individuals, who had adapted well to this world enough to confront Day 2 creatures, still found the sight unfamiliar and frightening.

“Do we… have to fight with aliens or something?”

Nevertheless, considering that they were ordinary people commuting to and from work just two days ago, their perspective was quite progressive.

In response, Yeongwoo saw the traders inside the glowing pillar kicking out a large stone box, which was probably their own product package.

“Who knows. In my opinion…”

Gruggeuk, gruggeuk.

The stone box began to move slowly in Yeongwoo’s direction, making strange noises.

“I think the Door is still open now.”

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]