Obsession's Bargain

Obsession was hard at work again today. 'Ugh... I'm dizzy.' [Calm] had been so diligent that the sheer scale of the change was almost too much for my two legs to bear. The range had expanded so rapidly that the energies radiating from all the newly detected entities were overloading my mind. 'Ugh... too wide isn't good either...' The world itself hadn't changed, but the one I carried inside me had become something entirely different. 'Haa... even after dying, I still suffer. Aigoo.'

By the time I managed to steady myself, an abrupt message had already appeared.

'...What? Well, good work.' After soothing the trait like a neglected child, I swept my expanded senses across the dungeon. Two kilometers only covered a tiny fraction of this place, but even so, the area around this popular spot was clearly crowded with others besides us.

'......As expected, quite a few survived.' Within the widened range, I detected roughly three hundred more people beyond those who had been on the small island in the swamp. They were scattered—under trees, beneath collapsed stairs, between gravestones—but the number of survivors was higher than I'd anticipated. 'Three hundred in this range... that means at least half the entrants are still alive, right?'

It was only a guess, but even a conservative estimate suggested at least that many had made it. The fact that multiple Skeleton Knights were still roaming with their groups made the number of survivors even more surprising. 'I should try to keep as many alive as possible...' My experience soloing boss-level monsters had given me that luxury. Still, the more hunters gathered in one place, the more volatile the atmosphere became. I had to decide the scope of my assistance.

'Hmm... food supply... maybe? Water is out of the question.' If word got out about Irma’s water, it would only cause trouble, so I decided to keep it hidden until we had a proper supply line. After reaching that conclusion, I spent several hours guarding the bridge. The fourth night of the survival trial had arrived.

Night didn't make the already pitch-black dungeon any darker or scarier, but the monsters' stats would have risen sharply. Even so, their field of vision narrowed at night, so combat frequency would drop noticeably. In this gloom, not even the usual chirping of insects could be heard. Perhaps because of the bleak atmosphere, people naturally began clustering together. The party leaders gathered in front of me now were probably seeking emotional stability under the pretext of a meeting.

In truth, there wasn't much to discuss. I simply relayed the information I'd gathered outside and spread it around.

"So there are at least two boss-level monsters in this dungeon?"

"That... seems to be the case."

"Haa... we're screwed. Heh heh—"

"There are still that many boss-level monsters..."

"They're weaker than the one in the hidden dungeon, but they're still monsters, right?"

"They're a cut above us. Or maybe two?"

I had told Yeonhee not to mention that I'd taken down the boss-level monsters. A little tension would keep everyone sharp. Thanks to that, worry was etched across the party leaders' faces. When Yeonhee suggested distributing food to the hidden hunters nearby, their frowns deepened even further.

Of course, that suggestion had come from me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠first.

"...Uh... why?"

"I was thinking... do we really have to?"

"Is that... the unified opinion of the White Alliance?"

"Mm... it's my personal opinion, based on Ilwol's information."

"I-I see."

"Well, then..."

Yeom Tae-seok nodded quietly, signaling his agreement, but the other leaders seemed less convinced. Still, since it was Yeonhee's suggestion—and her summons had accounted for over forty percent of the combat contributions in every battle so far—they couldn't voice any objections and simply kept rubbing their chins.

Only after Yeonhee reassured them that we had plenty of food did their expressions ease. 'They don't know how many Big Boars I'm carrying.' Their defensive reaction stemmed from a lack of information. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠understood. 'We still have ramen and over four hundred Big Boars. Enough food to last three days and then some.'

Of course, I had no intention of giving the food away for free. I'd collect proper compensation and use it to stock up on dungeon-optimized rations—compact, high-calorie, nutrient-balanced meals in premium quality. They couldn't compare to Big Boar in taste, but they'd be far more efficient, and the smell would be less noticeable when eating. The people on the island were probably surviving thanks to someone who had stockpiled enough of those rations in their subspace.

'Good thing we prepared in advance.' I was even considering setting aside a whole day just to hunt more Big Boars.

After the meeting ended, our party—including Yeom Tae-seok and No Hayun—gathered separately.

"Opposing other parties distributing food is a natural reaction, right?" Bae Jua asked cautiously.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Yeonhee and I nodded. Then Baek A-rin spoke up.

"So how are we going to handle the food exchange?"

"Obviously Ilwol can't go alone."

'Of course not. If I went alone, it'd look like I was picking a fight.'

"Originally, I was planning to go back and forth with Ilwol, but... if a summon gets too far from me, the summoning gets canceled, so I have to stay here. O-of course! I could go to nearby places, but... anyway, that's how it is..." Yeonhee said, head bowed as if asking us to understand how tragic this was. Was it really that disappointing? We'd be back soon enough.

"So someone else has to go with Ilwol?"

"Ahem— Then I'll—"

Yeom Tae-seok cleared his throat and stepped forward, but the others quickly stopped him.

"You need to stay here and keep everyone's morale up, sir. Besides, having a woman along would help lower their guard, wouldn't it?"

"And we need someone agile. We're moving at night, after all."

"Hmm— That's true."

Convinced by No Hayun's reasoning, Yeom Tae-seok scratched his head.

"So how about I go? If anything happens, I can just freeze them all."

No Hayun conjured a small ice vortex on her palm, brimming with confidence, but Yeonhee offered a counterargument.

"Um... if we need someone agile... Hayun-ssi won't do, will she...? She's slower than me..."

The unexpected provocation made everyone's eyes widen.

"M-me? You're saying I'm slower than Yeonhee-ssi?"

"Yes..."

"Pfft— No, that can't be right."

"It probably is..."

Even though she'd already decided to stay behind, Yeonhee didn't seem keen on letting No Hayun accompany me. No Hayun looked dumbfounded.

"Wahaha— What am I supposed to do? I can't even show it right now."

While No Hayun reacted with disbelief, Yeom Tae-seok's subtle expression suggested her victory wasn't guaranteed. In the end, they agreed to settle it with a duel after the survival trial ended, though they hadn't decided what kind of duel it would be. The conversation fizzled out.

Despite all the glances exchanged, the one who ended up partnering with me was Baek A-rin.

"There's a rumor that beastmen can't lie. People will find it easier to accept."

The memory of a beastman merchant who had scammed me back in my past life as a low-tier hunter flashed through my mind, but I kept my thoughts to myself.

"W-well then, shall we go?"

"Clack clack!"

Baek A-rin received [Acceleration] from the spirit Ran, allowing her to match my pace. Of course, if I used additional skills the gap would widen instantly, but this was enough to outrun the relatively slow undead. Not long after we started running, Ran was unsummoned, but the duration of [Acceleration] had increased enough that we'd reach our first destination without issue.

Thanks to my thorough cleanup that afternoon, the number of monsters near our base had dropped sharply. Baek A-rin stared at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the scattered bone fragments in amazement.

"Oh my god... you did all this by yourself?"

I simply clacked my teeth once and focused on finding the safest route. Our first trading destination was the small island in the swamp. The people there grew visibly wary when they spotted us, but their eyes wavered the moment they saw the cleaned Big Boar meat slung over my shoulder. I'd wrapped it in the hide like a bundle—enough to feed everyone here until the end of the survival trial if rationed carefully. The sound of gulping echoed across the water.

Then Baek A-rin stepped forward and called out cheerfully.

"Hello-yeong! I'm Baek A-rin! We came to trade food! So... hand over everything you have-yeop!"

'......' The last part was a bit off, but fortunately the islanders didn't seem to notice anything strange. They created a bridge of plant vines across the swamp, and about ten people crossed over. Seeing the plant ability reminded me of Yu Dali, the mage we'd met in the Goblin Dungeon. With talent like that, she'd probably already reached D-rank and was active in the closed school or harpy dungeons.

"H-how much for one?"

The haggard man who approached cautiously turned out to be the group's leader. He was clearly at his limit, and the transaction proceeded one-sidedly.

"How much do you have-yeong? Let's see all the mana stones you have first!"

'......' It was a different flavor of extortion than Bae Jua's, but the man had no room to haggle. Soon, a pile of mana stones emerged from his and his companions' pockets. There were a lot—clearly they wanted to buy all the meat I'd brought.

'How am I supposed to count all this...' As I stared at the mana stones scattered on the ground, feeling slightly overwhelmed, a message appeared.

'......? What does that mean?'

'...... You're incredible, Obsession.' I couldn't help but be surprised by the trait's ability to quantify a 247-fold difference in value. Did it also have an obsession with preventing unfair trades?

'W-wait a second! I'm not the one trading here.' I could feel its strong desire to organize the messy pile of mana stones as quickly as possible. 'Seriously, what is this? Did Tania add some extra function?' No matter how much I thought about it, I only ended up shaking my head. Even if skills and traits still held many undiscovered secrets, this was clearly an unusual ability.

"Clack clack."

"...Ahem— Shall we trade at this rate-yeong? You look desperate, so we're doing you a special favor by not haggling!"

"O-oh— Thank you! Your side must not have much food either. Just as rumored, you're not only beautiful but kind-hearted too. Cough— Cough—"

Anyone in their right mind wouldn't trade when their own food situation was dire, but the man had clearly lost that capacity for rational judgment. He looked to be in bad shape, so we handed over the meat and collected our due (?) compensation without delay. The moment the scent of Big Boar meat spread across the island, even the sleeping people jolted awake, causing a commotion.