The Price
"A higher-order existence, you say?"
"Yes."
"Did you manage to identify what it is?"
"Not exactly."
"Then it's the Arctic Giant."
Yang Jin-seon slowly shook her head side to side instead of answering.
"It was hard to classify it as a Giant."
"Then what's the classification? It's a Large Species, right?"
"That much I confirmed. It is a Large Species."
"Then it's the Arctic Giant."
"……?"
"That's just what Arctic Giants are. If an ordinary Giant is a monster on the level of an ogre, an Arctic Giant is something close to a god. So what you felt checks out."
"I don't think……"
"So what else did you find out? Nothing?"
"Let me explain first."
"Explain what?"
"My Gift extracts information in percentages. The closer it gets to one hundred percent, the closer the information comes to a complete walkthrough."
"And?"
"But this time was different. The extraction hit one hundred percent. When that happens, the information is supposed to come flooding out."
"So?"
"There was one more thing. There was a second stage. I've never seen anything like it. I've collected information on countless events across towers, dungeons, and the field, but this is a first."
"What kind of bizarre case is that supposed to be?"
"That's what I'm saying."
Won-goo was already well-versed in cases like this. Once the apocalypse properly opened up, events locked behind multiple stages came pouring out in a steady stream.
So it wasn't particularly rare. It just made him think that if the Arctic Giant was an existence sealed behind such a mechanism, cracking it might prove even harder than he'd anticipated.
"So there's no way around it? You couldn't undo the second stage before coming back?"
"It's not something I can unlock on my own."
"Then you need more people? Can you at least tell what kind?"
"That's the interesting part. The first-stage information isn't about the monster causing this phenomenon. It's about what's needed to obtain the second-stage information."
"You've got to be kidding me…… does that even make sense?"
"That's why I said it seemed to be a higher-order existence. But quite a few of the conditions have already been met."
"Like what?"
"First, keeping this domain from expanding beyond a certain area. Second, taking out more than five hundred monsters. Third, repelling the monster waves at least nine times."
"All done."
"Right. So now we just need to bring in more information brokers."
"That's all it takes?"
"Yes. That's the condition. Bringing in five survivors with different information-gathering Gifts."
"Different Gifts won't be easy."
"Pathfinders count too."
"Pathfinders?"
"Yes. Strictly speaking, pathfinders fall under the information trade as well."
At that, Gong Won-goo snorted.
"Don't ever say that where they can hear you. Pathfinders hate that talk."
"It's true, though?"
"Pathfinders think information brokers get paid way too much for the work they do."
"That's because pathfinders do work that important. Don't they?"
"No denying their job is easier than a pathfinder's."
"Director!"
Yang Jin-seon bristled, but Won-goo didn't budge an inch.
"That's a fact too."
It was an undeniable fact. Pathfinders, whose primary duty was route guidance, had no choice but to shoulder far greater risks than information brokers ever did.
Brokers, on the other hand, almost never found themselves in danger the way pathfinders did.
Apart from the rare occasions when they joined a raid themselves, there was hardly any reason for a broker's work to put them in harm's way. Gathering intelligence before the operation and handing it over — that was the whole job.
"We just do different work. It's less that it's easier and more that……"
"Credit where it's due. Compared to the labor a pathfinder puts in, brokers have it easy — that's just a fact. And what's the point of picking at it anyway? We're two different fields. Mutual respect."
"Fine. Either way, we need five people from the information trade, pathfinders included. Can you reach out to them?"
"How many do you think I can manage?"
"I can bring in two more. They happen to be nearby, too."
"Good enough. Call them. You know I'm not the type to shortchange people on the advance, right?"
"I know."
"Tell them to come on down — say I'll take good care of them."
"You don't need to say that. Anyone would come if it's work brokered by Director Gong. You're squeaky clean when it comes to money, after all."
"Jin-seon."
"……?"
"That had a little sting in it, didn't it? Are there rumors that everything else about me is dirty?"
"W-well, word is your love life's gotten a bit…… complicated?"
"Huh? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Why are you getting so serious about it? Besides your clean money habits, your image isn't exactly that of an angel, Director."
"I'll grant you that, but 'complicated love life'? Me?"
"Rumors do tend to grow in the retelling, don't they? You did take in a whole group of female members recently, after all."
"Hey! Is Pacific a woman? That bastard's legs are ruined, sure, but everything else is hanging and swinging just fine!"
"You're awfully worked up for a Director."
A faint smile played across Yang Jin-seon's lips.
"No, seriously…… if I actually went around doing that, I wouldn't have anything to complain about. Someone's watching all of this. Don't go spreading rumors like that."
"Who exactly is watching you?"
"Never mind that. Anyway…… who is it? The one spreading this crap?"
"I don't know. I only heard it secondhand. But this one really doesn't seem like something you'd do, Director?"
"That's because the injustice is just too great. Give me a minute and I'll figure out who did it. It's Agari, isn't it?"
"……?"
"It's Agari. Bet you anything that bastard's the one spreading it."
The trailer was hauling the massive ogre back toward the shelter.
Survivors clustered around it as it rolled, keeping a close watch.
Just in case the ogre tried to make a break for it.
"So the drugs worked. Look how calm it's gotten."
"Ogres don't have any particular resistance to them, so sedatives do the trick. The downside is you have to pump a lot in, given the sheer size of the thing."
"So — can we actually sell the thing off?"
"Aw, come on, Mubopsa. You think we can't offload one live ogre? There's plenty of people who go crazy for these things. Even the blood of a dead ogre sells as a magic ingredient, and this one can be bled alive. It doesn't get better than that."
"How much do you reckon it would fetch? I wonder if we haven't already spent far too much money fighting Ganjeol Point."
"True. We really burned through a lot this time. Honestly, seeing Ganjeol Point for myself, I think we could've handled them just fine without most of it?"
Pacific chimed in. Everyone had been feeling the same way.
"A mage never knows how the board's going to turn. That's why you clean things up fast and early. And didn't I tell you before? If you can bring people along, bring as many as you can. If we hadn't spent the money this time, a good number of us would be dead by now. That's the bigger loss."
"So are you going soft…… or do you actually have a plan? You never used to care about anyone outside the crew, you know? Are you planning to bring everyone in as crew?"
"I don't grow the crew carelessly. But I did tell you — if you can take someone with you, you should. That's what this whole thing was for, so everyone should understand that. We'll make it all back soon enough."
Won-goo offered no specific explanation for why people had to be brought along.
It still felt too early to lay all the cards on the table.
"That's new of you, then."
"Back then I couldn't tell who needed to come with us. And it wasn't the time to be babysitting anyone. You remember, don't you? Until just recently we were running around catching Bloodfans for a living."
"Boss!"
"What?"
"I can see Sabaoth, Boss!"
"Yeah? About time to get off, then. Drop the ogre at the shelter first. I'm going to see the Shelter Master."
"Planning to cut a deal with him before anything else?"
"Yep. If the Shelter Master buys it, that's the cleanest outcome."
"I wonder — could it be the shelter doesn't have many coins to spare?"
"That's excessive worrying too, Mubopsa. Come on, you think a shelter can't cover the cost? Even without coins, there's plenty we can take as payment. Honestly, that might work out even better for us than coins."
Won-goo went straight to see the Shelter Master.
He was the only survivor in the shelter who could get an audience with the Shelter Master whenever he pleased.
It would have been hard to find a comparable case in any other shelter, either. At Shelter Slow on Mt. Yuhyang, for instance, the Shelter Master never made an appearance at all.
"Been keeping well, I trust?"
"Well enough, thanks to you, Won-goo. And this time it's an ogre, I hear."
Kane was soaking his feet in an enormous bathtub, indulging in a leisurely foot bath.
The shelter administration office was decorated with an interior so extravagant it would have made most survivors' eyes pop out of their heads.
Yet only a tiny handful of survivors ever got to set foot in this place. Most went to their graves without ever coming within a hundred paces of the office.
"Fast with the news, as always."
"Everything that happens in the shelter gets reported to me. You're here about disposing of that ogre, aren't you? Won-goo?"
"That's about the size of it. You know how I am, right? The kind of man who gives what he takes and takes what he gives."
"I do. You're nothing if not firm on give-and-take, Won-goo. That said…… a live ogre. We don't actually need one right now."
"Even so, if you take it, you'll come out ahead. There's not much demand here, but up top it's a different story, isn't it?"
"Is there anything you don't know? You're right. We could hold an auction, or call in merchants. But…… the shelter's finances aren't in great shape at the moment."
"I expected as much. It's a beast that size — I didn't come here expecting an immediate disposal."
"Then I'm relieved. And judging by that look on your face, you've brought an alternative along. Shall we have tea while we finish this foot bath?"
"That pastime isn't a hobby of mine. But I'll take the tea."
Kane snapped his fingers, and tea arrived almost at once.
"So, tell me this method of yours, Won-goo."
"There are plenty of methods. We could draft a contract. Or you could open the shelter warehouse for us one more time."
Kane shook his head.
"That seems like a dangerous route, doesn't it?"
"Then the contract works too. Money flows into the shelter every day, after all."
"A lot flows out as well, Won-goo."
"It's still a profitable deal. Business has been booming lately, hasn't it?"
"You're asking me to pay as the money comes in?"
"That's the idea."
"How much? You're aware, of course, that in cases like this, most of the friction happens over the price."
"I'm fully aware."
"Then shall we hear it? What figure are we talking about?"
"The deal might close surprisingly simply."
"……?"
"Just listen first. It'll take five minutes."
As the explanation began, Kane's expression grew steadily more serious.
When Won-goo emerged from his meeting with the Shelter Master, he was practically beaming.
"So it went well?"
Montage asked. The live capture of an ogre was a massive deal, and everyone was swollen with anticipation.
And yet none of them could relax completely. With Large Species like ogres, disposal negotiations had a way of hitting delays.
"Went well. No — it went better than well."
"The hell's that supposed to mean?"
"Let's head to Sanghae's place first and talk there."
The whole crew moved out to the diner. Everyone who mattered in Sabaoth gathered there — everyone except Dr. Woo.
Sanghae had a banquet waiting for the survivors who'd finally come home.
"Good food calls for conclusions first, so I'll get straight to it. I met the Shelter Master, and we're handing the ogre over to him."
"How much did you sell it for?"
Sapiens asked.
"We're not taking money."
"……?"
"……?"
"……?"
Everyone blinked, sure they'd misheard.
"You're not taking anything? You just gave it to him for free? That what you're saying?"
"In exchange, we're going to where Ganjeol is."
"Then explain it proper-like. Why's Ganjeol Point coming up all of a sudden?"
"Kane has agreed to open a window for us. Exactly three hours. For that window, no matter what happens inside Shelter Slow where Ganjeol is, the administrators won't intervene."
Won-goo had come home carrying a proposal that left every jaw in the room hanging open.