Ruthless Negotiation

I calmly twisted my lips into a smirk.

"You're right."

From those twisted lips came nothing but an icy sneer in return.

"If you're really the only one who knows that processing method."

"……!"

The old woman's eyes flickered for a moment, and I didn't miss it.

"One. Or I'll find someone else."

"Wh-what? You serious? There are only a handful of chefs who know how to turn Desert Rose into edible ingredients! Where the hell are you gonna find one?!"

"You just said you were the only one. Your story keeps changing."

"……!"

"I'm guessing that's a lie too."

I narrowed my eyes, probing her.

"Th-this one's true! No one else in this village knows!"

"Hmph... I'll find out soon enough. See ya."

I turned on my heel, and the old woman frantically grabbed my sleeve.

"Eight! Just eight. I'll teach you the method for eight."

Pretending to relent, I turned back around, frowning slightly.

"I clearly said one."

"One ain't enough to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠make it worth my time, you punk! Who'd teach it for one?! Huh? Do you know how valuable this method is?!"

Hm. That sounds true enough.

Still, I shot back without backing down.

"But Desert Rose is just as rare, isn't it?"

"Without this method, it's just a pretty lump of dirt you can't eat! Useless!"

"That inedible dirt lump seems like it could be useful for something besides ingredients, though?"

"What're you talking about?"

"From what you've told me, wise grandma, mages or magic engineers might pay top coin for it."

"……!"

The old woman's face flushed red then pale.

I met her gaze with a leisurely smile.

"You sly fox!"

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Seven."

"One."

"Five."

"One."

Finally losing her patience, the old woman exploded.

"You're pushing it too far! Can't you bump it up a little?!"

"Hm. What you're offering as compensation is the method to process Desert Rose into ingredients, right?"

"That's right."

"That's knowledge only chefs would care about. How often do I run into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠another chef out here at the edge of the continent? Right?"

"……!"

"That's why you're blocking my path so desperately."

The old woman huffed through her nose without answering.

I grinned and delivered the finishing blow.

"What's the point of that valuable method if no one's interested?"

"……."

"To anyone but a chef, it's just useless trivia."

"……!"

Having her own words thrown back at her, the old woman glared daggers at me.

Hah. Useless pretty rock without the method?

"...You damn brat."

"Thanks for the compliment."

"Four."

"Two."

"...Three."

"Three it is."

Without giving her a chance to argue, I grabbed her hand and shook it.

"...This young punk's got a thousand-year-old fox spirit in his gut."

The old woman grumbled in dissatisfaction.

Having secured the quest satisfactorily through negotiation, I bowed politely to her once more.

"Then, I'll be right back with them!"

"Damn it. Trip and fall on the way."

I answered her curse with a laugh and headed back to my party, where they were munching on ice cream sticks.

"Son of a... Talks like a real asshole."

Her grumbling trailed behind me.

Hm. High praise.

"……."

It was so absurd I just stared at it for a while.

I read and reread the system message floating before my eyes, that ridiculous text.

'Hahaha.'

'Hahaha.'

'Hahaha.'

'Hahaha.'

...The system is laughing?

Not just laughing—clear mockery.

Not from another player, but straight from the system itself.

"You... you damn AI..."

It'd been quiet for so long.

Now it's being blatant?

"You punk! Sys-teem!"

I glared at the sky, fists trembling in rage.

* * *

Leaving Nimal Village, we headed southwest as the quest directed.

Barren rock mountains dotted the surroundings—we still had a ways to go.

Strolling down the desolate desert path, I glanced at Baek Bal Baek Jung slurping away at his choco bar.

He'd said no one could match him in scouting.

This Desert Rose quest was basically all on him.

"……."

Baek Bal Baek Jung innocently slurped his choco bar.

He looked nothing like the guy who'd just crushed that ranker, Blood Axe Thrower.

"Baek Bal Baek Jung."

"Yeah?"

"You're crazy strong."

"...Pardon?"

"You one-handed that ranker earlier. Dude was huge, muscles bulging everywhere."

"Oh, that? No big deal."

Baek Bal Baek Jung waved it off like it was nothing.

"He's just bottom-rank. Pathetic weakling."

"...Weak?"

He'd seemed plenty strong.

"Empty carts rattle loudest. Even without me, he'd drop out of rankings soon."

"You cleaved that giant boulder like tofu, though?"

"Well, I am pretty strong."

Finishing his choco bar, Baek Bal Baek Jung smacked his lips and chucked the stick over his shoulder.

"Ah!"

It bonked Tteoksoon-i's head as she followed, then hit the ground.

"Oops, hit ya? Sorry."

"It's fine. No problem."

...Feels like watching a skit.

"But you're an archer, right? No matter how strong you are, pure strength should lag behind warriors, yeah?"

"Pfft—"

Baek Bal Baek Jung chuckled and unslung the bow from his back, handing it to me.

"Wanna try drawing it?"

"Sure."

I took the massive jet-black bow—it looked high-end. Pretty heavy.

One hand on the grip, the other yanked the string with all my might.

Or tried to.

"Hnnngh...!"

"……."

"Grrraaah...!"

My face turned beet red from straining, but the string didn't budge a millimeter.

Felt like it was bolted with iron.

"Heavy, right?"

"Huff—pant—yeah. Insanely tough. Isn't it just welded shut with metal?"

"Nah."

Baek Bal Baek Jung took it back and effortlessly drew the string like elastic.

"……!"

It wouldn't move for me at all.

"Arrow power depends on draw weight. Archers crank it max for speed and force."

"Oh..."

"Think about pulling this all day. Archers are stronger than most warriors."

"...Didn't expect that."

"Common misconception. Exceptions like Beda aside."

As we chatted idly, a new landscape came into view ahead.

"We're here."

Far off, solid ground gave way to rippling waves of sand—a true sand ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠desert sea, endless.

"Whoa, epic."

"...Indeed, Master."

"Waaah... What a sight!"

Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i gawked in awe.

Meanwhile, Baek Bal Baek Jung stared piercingly into the desert and muttered.

"Hmm. More monsters than expected."

"Pardon? Where?"

"All over that sand desert. Thought it'd be dead land."

Myeongji—dead zones—meant beyond the world map, outside playable areas.

Westward through endless sands, nothing but more desert, apparently.

Even the Demon King's black lands were a myeongji.

"Just dunes from here."

"Pretty far out."

"...You can see that far?"

"Yeah, good eyesight. Told ya I'm great at scouting."

"What kinda monsters?"

"Lemme see..."

Baek Bal Baek Jung shaded his eyes and scanned.

"Sand worms, giant scorpions, mummies, skeletons, giant sand crabs, desert foxes, giant cobras, coyotes. Gross. King spiders too."

"...A lot."

"Don't worry. I got this."

He drew his jet-black bow.

"From here?"

"Yeah. Gotta pick 'em off as they show."

...How far does this guy shoot?

As he pinged arrows without hesitation, a good idea hit me.

Archery and throwing—similar, right? Both about hitting targets.

"Baek Bal Baek Jung."

"Yeah, shoot."

He replied while firing into the sand sea.

"Teach me to shoot that bow?"

"...Pardon?"

* * *

Evening, with pitch-black night outside the window.

"Ugh, break time."

Dahyun tossed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠herself onto the bed after logging out of Dream Gear.

Plop—the motion woke Sebastian dozing by the bedside.

Sebastian yawned wide and toddled over.

"Aww~ Did sis wake you, my Sebastian?"

He wagged his tail and hopped closer silently.

Dahyun scooped him up in a hug.

"Meeeow~ Sis loves you~"

After playing with him a bit, Dahyun rolled around checking her phone.

She browsed pinned eateries—photos, reviews, locations, views—mulling where to go.

"Today's... still Tuesday."

She glanced at the desk calendar.

Held up three fingers one by one.

"Wed, Thu, Fri till Saturday. Three whole days left."

She stared at her fingers.

"...Why's time crawling?"

Saturday. Dinner with Hura.

She smacked her lips and rolled about.

"After food, what? Cherry blossoms first. Then, like Sera unnie said, till dinner..."

Sera's voice echoed in her head.

'Just knock him flat.'

"……."

Pssshhh—Dahyun's face burned red.

"Wh-what am I thinking?!"

Thud thud—she punched the innocent bunny doll's solar plexus.

Startled, Sebastian scampered to his house.

"Hah—hah—whew, better check my phone."

Fanning herself, Dahyun scanned Fantasy World news.

Plenty of intriguing stuff—she dove right in.

"Huh? Berry Merchant Group?"

"Gasp. What happened to Sera unnie?"

It even included an interview from a nearby Nimal Village player.

Time flew as Dahyun surfed excitedly.

Then, one post title caught her eye.

"...Huh?"

She couldn't scroll past it.

"...What the heck?"