A Grim Encounter with the Devil's Eye
p>The quest was complete.
“I survived!”
“Thank you so much! We would have died without your help.”
The remaining battle against the goblins ended in a complete victory for our side.
Just as the life-and-death moment passed, the surviving merchants approached.
“This was a minor case, but still… I owe you my life.”
Experience acquired.
50 silver acquired.
Red Giant Aurora Lobster meat acquired.
These were the food traders hauling expensive ingredients and spices!
Even though the materials were pricey, at times like this we had to offer them freely.
“What’s your name?”
“I’m Fafnir. We should leave this place quickly.”
As Fafnir answered the merchant captain, he glanced toward the distant forest.
A single black orb with an eye in the center still lingered there.
‘The Evil Eye…’
The Evil Eye.
A demonic race monster with levels from 200 to over 500. Even a top-ranked opponent couldn’t defeat it head-on.
Thankfully it hadn’t moved much yet.
“We should get out of here before it does anything.”
“Hm… you’re right.”
At that moment, just as the merchant captain turned to look at his people,
A dark mana vortex began to swirl.
A dark mana vortex began to swirl.
“Kiki… I had fun watching that.”
The Evil Eye that had been floating quietly finally spoke.
“Interesting people… let’s bet.”
“No way!”
“That’s the Evil Eye!”
The merchant NPCs and players alike were stunned.
‘Damn… I ended up on the blade edge after all.’
Fafnir took a deep breath and said,
“The bet is a riddle, right? You make it, and we guess.”
A dark mana vortex began to swirl.
“Kiki… you’re quick on the uptake.”
The Evil Eye was what people called an event monster.
It lived in the second dimension until suddenly popping out randomly.
That was why its appearance and location were unpredictable!
And that wasn’t all. It had immense power, but if you beat it in a certain bet, it would send you away without a scratch.
Moreover, the more bets you won, the more it lavished out massive rewards with multiplicative multipliers.
Basically a being equivalent to a lottery first prize if you kept your wits about you.
‘In the original novel too, when people reported seeing it, quite a few were restless.’
The memory of the Evil Eye that popped out the moment Flush appeared like it had been waiting still lingered.
Of course, such luck couldn’t be expected now.
“Send out three people. If even one of you guesses my riddle correctly, I’ll let you all go.”
The Evil Eye wore an evil smile.
“I’ll go first. I’ve been traveling around the lands honing my blade.”
“The other two…”
The merchant captain NPC stepped up first, but everyone around avoided his gaze.
Fafnir raised his hand to draw attention.
“I’ll go third. The second one can handle it.”
“Who…? Me?”
The person pointed out second was the male player in the merchant party.
“M-me? How?”
“It’s fine. Guessing right or wrong, it doesn’t matter.”
Fafnir smiled wryly and thought,
‘Even if it’s by force, I’ll bring you along.’
When he was pondering how to help, this man was the one who called out to Fafnir loudly.
Of course it wasn’t 100% because he was mean.
‘The moment I showed hesitation, he called out— that means he’s pretty quick.’
With that much, he should be able to come up with an answer somehow.
“All three of you are chosen. Kiki ki ki!”
The Evil Eye laughed evilly and posed the question.
“First question: Where is the place with the breath of the divine dragon, the sacred artifact?”
“W-what?”
Even the middle-aged merchant captain NPC who had dealt in commerce for decades was taken aback by this.
“…The… Volcain Volcano…”
– Fatal Blow!
“Wrong. Two chances left.”
The Evil Eye followed up with another question.
“Second: Raccoon.”
“Y-yes…”
“Kiki, how many schools are there for necromancers?”
“…! Th-that…”
The player’s expression filled with confusion, then he asked back.
“What’s the classification of that school? Is it research into same-type schools, or an organization for disciples following powerful mages?”
Instead of knowing the answer, he flipped the question around.
At that instant the Evil Eye flicked its hand.
“Eh… kuaaaaaaaaah!”
The player who had his mouth open was slammed into the corner at incredible speed.
“I can ask questions, but you can’t.”
The Evil Eye cut straight to the point.
“Only one left.”
It was now Fafnir’s turn.
Everyone watching clenched their lips in tension.
After a short while the Evil Eye’s final question fell.
“What is one?”
At the same time Fafnir tightly closed his eyes.
‘This is the worst case.’
Nose on the hook, ear on the hook. Because the hardest question had come.
‘If I get it wrong, everyone dies.’
Fafnir scanned the surroundings.
Thirty-plus members of the merchant group.
Plus Hilde.
Whether all of them lived or died depended entirely on his answer.
“…Sigh.”
After long deliberation, Fafnir gave the answer.
“The answer is 0.99999…”
– Fatal Blow!
“What…?”
For the first time the Evil Eye’s smile broke.
“This guy is saying nonsense! How can 1 be 0.9999?”
Soon after, confusion overtook the Evil Eye.
“In the first place, the latter starts from 0, so how is it 1, you human brat!”
“Because 1 is indeed 0.99999… There’s proof too.”
All Stats +50%
“Nonsense!”
Soon after came intense fury!
Dark mana gathered in the Evil Eye’s eyes.
“No more looking. I’ll kill you all!”
“Then if I teach you the answer here, will you believe me?”
A dark mana vortex began to swirl.
“…”
“If you kill me, you’ll never hear the answer.”
“…”
“No opportunity.”
Finally curiosity beat the rage.
The Evil Eye withdrew its power.
As Fafnir approached the thing,
“What’s the answer?”
“I’ll teach you, but this is rare, so… can you come a little closer?”
“Closer?”
“Yeah, loosen that barrier too. You couldn’t approach anyway.”
A dark mana vortex began to swirl.
“…”
The Evil Eye was a being from the second dimension with incredibly strong power.
Its mana overflowed so much that it had even maintained a 24-hour protection barrier against possible attacks.
“With this, I can’t explain up close. Is there no other way?”
“Got it. I’ll loosen it, so come closer and explain.”
Swish. The semi-transparent black barrier around the Evil Eye vanished.
Fafnir strode right up to it.
“Now explain. How is 1 equal to 0.99999?”
“Like this.”
Fafnir picked up a stick and began writing numbers on the ground.
The Evil Eye’s eyes followed.
‘Now.’
Swish. The Slaughterer’s sword in Fafnir’s hand pierced the Evil Eye’s eye.
– Fatal Blow!
“Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Critical hit!”
– Fatal Blow!
Fafnir kept striking the spot and drinking mana potions.
– Fatal Blow!
“Weak point attack!”
“Attacking the same body part consecutively.”
“Additional damage applied.”
“Weak point attack!”
“Critical hit!”
“Additional damage applied.”
“Weak point attack skill proficiency rose.”
“Weak point attack!”
“Weak point attack!”
“Weak point attack!”
To prevent retaliation,
Fafnir clung desperately and attacked.
“Summon Knight’s Seal activated.”
“Penelope summoned.”
“What again, necromancer…?”
“Attack!”
“…!”
It was only natural for a knight to deal with demons.
Penelope struck the same body part as Fafnir without a word.
A dark mana vortex began to swirl.
“Aaaah! You bastard! Aaaaah! Aaaah! You promised! Kugh! Kuk! Kaaaah! Wait! Kuaaaak! Gwaaak! Gwak!”
“No, wait…”
“What on earth is that…?”
The watching merchants, adventurers, and NPCs were left stunned.
How could they beat the Evil Eye so brutally?
The merchant captain and player adventurers who had braced for death were completely bewildered.
A dark mana vortex began to swirl.
“Khuuuuueh!”
The Evil Eye finally burst into tears.
“Stop! It hurts, it hurts! It’s too painful! Painful—!”
The once-fearless Evil Eye sobbed uncontrollably.
“I’ve never been hit once in three thousand years! Not by the likes of you!! Haaah!”
Sob, sob. Every time the Evil Eye cried, a blue drop of tear flew from its single eye.
They soon hardened on the ground, becoming lustrous crystals.
A dark mana vortex began to swirl.
“It hurts! Waaaah! I’ll bite my dad! I’ll tell dad and you’ll all die!!”
From the surroundings of the finally sobbing Evil Eye, a massive mana vortex erupted.
“Kuaaaah!?”
“Be careful!”
As Fafnir was sucked upward, Penelope grabbed him and retreated.
Meanwhile the Evil Eye hurled itself into the newly formed black crack beside it.
“I’m going home! Waaaah!”
“Experience acquired.”
“Level up!”
“Level up!”
“Level up!”
“Experience acquired.”
“Level up!”
“Level up!”
“Level up!”
“Experience acquired.”
“Level up!”
“Level up!”
“Level up!”
With those words, the crack closed.
Left behind were several pitch-black crystals.
And one strangely glowing rainbow-colored ore.
“…”
“Are you alright?”
“A, uh, I’m fine.”
“Good. Then…”
With those words Penelope coldly brushed Fafnir aside.
Clicking his tongue, Fafnir approached the loot.
‘This looks expensive.’
◈ Unknown Property 1
◈ Unknown Property 2
“I have acquired the Evil Eye’s Tear X71 (Epic).”
Epic?
While Fafnir was stunned, someone else spoke up.
“We… we actually got it?”
“From the fact that it’s still breathing, it seems correct.”
“Aah, since my cheek hurts, it wasn’t a dream.”
It had passed so quickly that the reality of the situation hadn’t sunk in yet.
“Anyway, let’s get out of here. If that thing’s real dad shows up, it might be troublesome.”
“…!!”
Everyone’s faces turned deathly pale.
***
“Thank you once again for saving our lives.”
“I thought I was going to die when the Evil Eye appeared… I’m in your debt.”
After reaching a safe zone,
The merchants of the merchant group bowed together and expressed their gratitude.
“My name is Yaron. I am the captain of the Red Pearl Merchant Guild.”
The Red Pearl Merchant Guild dealt mainly in high-end ingredients and spices.
As expected, besides the items they handled, they had considerable spare assets.
“A necromancer… This is my reward for life.”
◈ Physical Attack: 5~5
◈ Magic Attack: 132~215
◈ Durability: 100/100
◈ Intelligence +25
◈ Wisdom +15
◈ Critical Damage +30%
◈ Dark Attribute Attack Power +30%
◈ All Dark Attribute Skill Levels +1
◈ All Summoned Creatures, Minions HP +3%
◈ Skill Cooldown Reduction 10%
◈ Using magic 5 times triggers Lucky Steal on final skill attack
Lucky Steal: Opponent’s Luck Status –2
Success: Wearer’s Luck Status +1
Description: An orb made of dark pearl infused with darkness. Once a dazzling accessory, it now glows with the power of darkness, having absorbed the blood and desires of countless people.
‘This is an amazing item.’
Its performance was excellent, but since it was a necromancer item, its sale price wouldn’t be great.
In other words, it was completely tailored for Fafnir!
‘Just like the Evil Eye’s tears and the unknown second-dimension mineral, today was a jackpot.’
The Epic-grade crystal was the Evil Eye’s Tear.
And the unknown second-dimension mineral.
There was still one more thing he had to obtain.
“If there’s anything else you need, feel free to ask.”
“Thank you, we will definitely do that.”
After greeting the other merchants,
Fafnir stepped outside.
“You were surprised because you were called first, right?”
“…! Fafnir-nim.”
On the outskirts of the encampment.
The male player who had been hiding in the merchant group sighed deeply upon seeing Fafnir.
“Thank you for saving me. I am Jeraer. As you can see, I’m a merchant… and I handle anything that has value, even junk.”
“You just started gaming, yet you’re already in a merchant guild. I’m envious.”
“You’re flattering me.”
After a long sigh, Jeraer said,
“I was about to log out earlier, but thanks to you I survived.”
“You were going to quit the game? Just because you died once?”
“I respawn even if I die, but that’s not the case for other NPCs, right?”
It wasn’t easy being a merchant.
From the beginner stage, one had to endure hardships to sell goods and establish connections with village NPCs.
Even after receiving a recommendation letter and joining a guild, the real hardships had just begun.
Of course one had to farm for good information and items, but also to impress the guild master and subordinate merchants with nerves and effort.
Even after all that, if the merchant NPC targeted died, everything would be in vain.
“NPCs don’t respawn, so everything’s over. I’m going to be a new merchant player.”
“I see.”
“It’s common in NPC guilds, unlike trading with big guilds or ranking players.”
Just like this time, with Fafnir saving them, it was far less likely than winning the lottery.
“Really, thank you. I don’t know how to repay you for this…”
“Well, that’s simple.”
He did have something he wanted.
Actually, he had come to meet this person expecting that.
“Jeraer-nim, won’t you form a contractual relationship with me?”
“…!”
“You mentioned managing information from various trade routes and places, right? I want to use that cartel.”
Jeraer stared blankly at Fafnir.
‘Looking back earlier, his control and growth potential weren’t normal.’
Jeraer swallowed hard in his mind.
With this kind of potential, he might be a heavyweight, at least a top-rank level user.
‘Can I really form a fixed contract with such a player?’
“This is also a fate. I hope we continue this good relationship.”
“Then shall we make a friend request first?”
“Oh, before that, the thing we got from the Evil Eye…”
“I won’t sell it yet.”
Fafnir said bluntly.
“It’s fine. Instead, if the time comes when you want to sell it, please contact me first. I’ll do my best to find the best buyers.”
Jeraer continued confidently.
Selling high-end items for full value wasn’t easy.
But he was offering to handle it himself!
“Understood. If I ever need to sell, I’ll contact you first.”
“That’s enough. Please take care.”
“The same goes for me.”
Making a fixed network with merchant players was an unparalleled advantage.
You could sell the acquired item for 100% of its value.
Plus you could secure a secondary trading route with NPCs.
‘With connections like these, he’s set.’
Fafnir thought this and scanned Jeraer once more.
Because he wasn’t in the original novel, as a player his evaluation was entirely Fafnir’s.
‘From the beginning he knew how to think, and his eye for snagging the Evil Eye’s loot.’
And the result was…
‘Luck is on my side.’
Fafnir wore a faint smile.