Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: The Art of Negotiation
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I was about to move at Hanna's urgent shout, but there was no need.
The boom just now wasn't the sound of the Emperor Mimic falling.
The speed at which the Emperor Mimic fell was immense, but Rina was faster.
If Elsia had been a baseball game, I imagine a notification like this would have popped up.
[HOMERUN!!!]
In Rina's hands, as she leaped almost simultaneously with its descent, was a silver, shining mace I hadn't seen before.
She had slammed the Emperor Mimic, which had to be tens, if not hundreds of times her size, with the mace, sending it flying into the ceiling.
"Ri... Rina?"
"What? Didn't we say we'd help?"
Well, yes, but...
Isn't the standard for a priest to support from the back, casting buffs and such?
Seeing Rina shrug as if it were nothing made me feel reassured, yet slightly terrified.
I knew she was strong, but to bat away a mimic of that incredible size...
Even with my stats boosted by summoning Bio, something like that would be impossible for me.
You'd need a Strength stat of over 200, no, even 200 might not be enough. Are priests in Elsia supposed to be full Strength builds?
"Rina, if you send it flying like that, how are we supposed to collect the reward?"
Hanna didn't even look surprised, but the Emperor Mimic was now half-embedded in the distant ceiling of the cavern.
"How... how can a human possess such power..."
"It's not dead yet."
"That's a relief. Then I'll finish it..."
"I'll do it. No matter how good you are, sis, you can't jump that high."
"Isn't that the same for you?"
"I have my ways."
I was a bit tense since it was a dungeon boss and a monster that could talk, but these two seemed to have completely disregarded the Emperor Mimic.
Rina switched the mace to her left hand and started swinging her right arm around.
"Rina? What are you doing?"
"Can't you tell? I'm just warming up my arm."
Rina, grinning as she replied, switched the mace back to her right hand and hurled it toward the ceiling where the Emperor Mimic was stuck.
*CRACK—*
The thrown mace scored a direct hit on the Emperor Mimic.
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
It was definitely a mace, thrown by a human hand, but the resulting boom was on par with the tank artillery I had heard during my military service.
"Rina? It's stuck even deeper now?"
The impact was tremendous, but it only drove the mimic deeper into the wall.
"Why would beings like you..."
Oh, good, it seems to be alive, but I'm a little worried.
It's almost two-thirds of the way into the wall now; if it manages to escape, all this will be for nothing.
"Rina, you were so confident. What is this?"
"Well... I thought it would fall..."
At Hanna's criticism, Rina's face fell.
"Hey! Stop being a coward and come down from there!"
"N-No! You monsters."
What kind of monster says something like that...
Anyone watching would mistake us for the monsters.
"Hyeon-ung, would it be all right if I finished it?"
"Huh? I don't care who finishes it, but didn't you say you couldn't get up there?"
"You don't have to get up there to attack, do you?"
I wondered if Hanna was going to throw her sword too, and she actually did.
Without any of Rina's preparatory motions, she simply flung her sword. It was a bit slower than Rina's throw, but it still shot toward the Emperor Mimic at a considerable speed.
"Aargh! What's this now? It hurts!"
Wow, what is that?
It wasn't just thrown; the golden sword attacked the Emperor Mimic as if it were a living creature.
It didn't have Rina's destructive power, but watching it continuously attack while floating in mid-air was truly fascinating.
It was like the sword control technique used by protagonists in the martial arts novels I used to read.
*Clang— Clang—*
"It hurts! I said it hurts!"
Severed parts of it rained down like hail as the Emperor Mimic screamed relentlessly.
Of course, it wasn't an easy technique for Hanna either; she stood with her eyes closed, concentrating, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
Fortunately, the Emperor Mimic didn't last long.
"Stop! I'll come down. I surrender! Please, stop! I'm begging you to spare me!"
"Hanna, stop for a moment."
"What? I think I can finish it off with just a little more..."
"What are we going to do if the rewards pop up inside that wall where it's buried?"
Understanding, Hanna nodded.
Hanna's sword, which had been emitting a golden light and moving with dazzling speed, descended, and she sheathed it.
"Still, be careful. It might go back on its word."
"A needless worry."
I don't even trust people, let alone a monster.
I thought it might pretend to surrender and then try to crush us like before, so I didn't let my guard down, but the Emperor Mimic kept its promise.
Despite its enormous body, it landed before us with incredible slowness, making no sound at all.
Rina and Hanna both looked at me with meaningful gazes.
"Why are you looking at me like that... Didn't I say I surrender? I would like to propose a deal."
I could tell their looks were asking if they should finish it off, but the Emperor Mimic was quick on the uptake.
I shook my head, deciding to at least hear it out.
"What kind of deal?"
"If you spare my life, I will give you an immense amount of money."
Just money?
I have plenty of money myself, so it wasn't a very tempting offer, but I figured I should at least hear the amount.
"How much?"
"I will scrape together all the money in the Mimic's Grave. Even if you kill me, you won't get half of that. What do you say?"
Hmm, the rewards I got from dealing with the guardians were certainly less than the money that made up their bodies.
"How much is that?"
"About 7,000 gold coins and 223 platinum coins. I'll throw in the 7,000 or so silver coins as well."
That would be around 10,000 gold...
Too little.
That's barely anything.
"I have plenty of money. Do you have anything else?"
"Did... did I hear you correctly? The amount I just mentioned is more than the fortune of a high-ranking noble."
"I told you, I have plenty of money."
"Don't be greedy. That is really all the money I have."
Sensing its disbelief, I opened my inventory and tapped the gold display.
[Please enter the amount you wish to withdraw.]
The Emperor Mimic offered about 10,000, so taking out around 20,000 should be enough.
As I entered the number 20,000, golden coins began to stack neatly before my eyes.
"What is this... Did you rob the royal treasury?"
Its voice was surprised, but I could also sense greed, so I quickly put the money back into my inventory.
"Well, something like that. Anyway, if money is all you have to offer, a deal seems unlikely."
As I glanced at Rina and Hanna, both of them gripped their weapons and took a step toward the Emperor Mimic.
"W-Wait. If you have this much money, perhaps you're interested in buying items? It seems that unlike your two companions, your equipment, the leader's, isn't very good. I have many fine items."
There we go. That's more like it.
But what?
Buy them?
"Buy what? Give them to me."
"W-What did you say?"
"Just give them to me. Why, you don't want to?"
I sent them another look, and Rina and Hanna took another step forward.
Rina was now aiming her mace directly at the mimic.
"Yeah. The mister asked for them, so why are you talking so much? You want a beating first?"
"Th-They are truly rare pieces of equipment, difficult to acquire even with a lot of money. To ask for them for free is..."
"Won't they drop if we kill you?"
Oh, Rina is good at this kind of negotiation.
"Y-You won't be able to get all the items."
"But you'll be dead."
She made a throat-slitting gesture, and I couldn't help but be impressed.
Wow, that was so natural.
Her appearance doesn't suggest it at all, but considering her personality, she might have shaken down a few people at the temple in her youth...
Hanna, on the other hand, said nothing.
*Shing—*
She simply drew her sword from its sheath and pointed it.
Actions speak louder than words, after all.
"W-Wait! Can't you decide after seeing the equipment?"
After a moment of thought, I decided to check them out and nodded.
Just as the money was less than I expected, the items might not be anything special either.
The Emperor Mimic vibrated, and with a flash of white light, about a third of its body separated.
"These are the items?"
"Wait a moment. It won't take a minute."
As it said, after a short wait, the black substance on the outside scattered, revealing all sorts of equipment.
While not all of them did, most glowed with multi-colored lights.
A quick glance suggested there were hundreds of items, but thankfully, it seemed I wouldn't have to inspect each one individually...
"Hey, are you kidding me right now?"
"Wh-What is it? Is it the quantity? You may take your time looking through them."
As if I was complaining about the quantity.
In Elsia, you can distinguish an item's grade by the color of its glow.
"Get rid of the green ones and the ones that don't glow."
Normal items don't glow, and the Magic items above them emit a green light.
Of course, during the basic tutorial, I learned that even low-grade equipment could be comparable to or even match higher-grade ones depending on their stats, but it was still best to filter out Normal and Magic items.
"I... I understand."
As it replied, the green and non-glowing pieces of equipment were reabsorbed into its body.
Only items that were at least Rare-grade were worth checking.
I spent about 30 minutes handling the items and checking their information.
"I think I've seen everything."
"Are you not pleased? These are truly valuable pieces of equipment, collected over a lifetime by every mimic in this labyrinth."
Its tone was slightly boastful, but it had every right to be.
The equipment the Emperor Mimic presented was all Rare to Unique grade, and there were over 200 of them.
In fact, there were quite a few pieces that looked very useful.
Some even caught Rina's and Hanna's interest.
However, perhaps because of the legendary weapon I received as a starting bonus, there was nothing that truly captivated me, nothing I felt I absolutely had to have.
"Hmm... Is that all?"
"No, these are truly precious pieces of equipment."
"There are a few useful things, but it seems a bit lacking to spare your life and give you money for them."
Among the games I had reviewed, quite a few had strategic negotiation elements.
Honestly, none of them were to my taste, but there's one scene I still remember to this day.
[If you peacefully trade your corn for my diamonds, there will be no bloodshed.]
For the record, I was the one who was supposed to give up the diamonds.
The character was based on a real-life figure who was known for being incredibly benevolent, yet in the game, he made such absurd demands.
If you didn't comply, he would bring an army to lay waste to your lands, and sometimes even launch nuclear missiles...
Well, there were later explanations about translation errors and mistakes by the game company, but from that, I learned a particular negotiation tactic.
The basics of negotiation have always been about give and take, but I learned that when you have the upper hand, you should press your advantage ruthlessly.
I stared at it silently, and a moment of silence followed.
I started to think I might have pushed too hard and was about to pretend to compromise and state the equipment I wanted, but the Emperor Mimic was a little faster.
"Ugh... you tenacious human. If you give me all the money you showed me earlier, I will give you a piece of equipment I have not yet shown you."
Wow, my head is starting to throb.
Is a monster just a monster after all?
"Are you trying to backstab me?"
"Backstab?"
"Are you trying to trick me? Hiding the good stuff and trying to get away with giving me junk?"
I didn't think this monster, or rather, person, was like this. What an ungrateful creature.
"Should we just take care of it?"
"Can't we just finish it off and take everything?"
"W-Wait, I wasn't trying to trick you. A mimic like me grows stronger based on the money and equipment it possesses. The reason I can speak like this is because of the amount of money and equipment I hold."
"So?"
"If I give you that item, my intelligence will drop, and I will be forced to attack, making it impossible to continue negotiations."
Oh, so it has its reasons.
"Mister, he could be lying."
Rina's sharp observation.
"No. I swear on my very being."
It could certainly be a lie, but its immediate replies suggested otherwise.
"Then I suppose I have to give you the money upfront?"
"Th-That's right. Do you believe me? I truly do not lie."
20,000 gold is a significant amount, but good equipment is something money can't always buy.
The amount this guy was offering was a paltry 10,000 gold anyway.
Anyone else wouldn't have even been able to attempt this.
"Alright. I'll give you the 20,000 gold."
"Hyeon-ung?"
"It's fine."
Even after entering the labyrinth, I've been diligently collecting my daily login rewards before bed, so even after giving away 20,000 gold, I'll still have more in my inventory.
As I took out the 20,000 gold again, the creature moved, touched it, and the gold vanished.
It grew even larger than when I first saw it.
Wait a minute, couldn't it get stronger and have a change of heart?
"Hey? You're going to keep your promise, right?"
There was no reply. It began to tremble just as it had when it spat out the other items, only this time, the shaking was more violent.
I thought I'd been tricked, but thankfully, a light began to shine from the center of the Emperor Mimic.
It was a golden light, similar to the radiance when Hanna swung her sword, but this gold was deeper, warmer, with a subtle difference.
It was a color I was very familiar with.
Of course, I had only seen it in person once,
but it was a memory I could never forget.