Starting with the Zhuge Clan
First up, the Zhuge Clan. Finally, a female character besides the Saintess shows up in my drab Multidimensional Secondhand Market life. The Saintess feels kinda unapproachable... like I'd get divine punishment or something.... Not that I'm trying to hit on her or anything. It's just basic male instinct, y'know? This isn't even real life anyway. It felt like a hot new girl character popping up in a 4D game.
I cleared my throat unnecessarily and responded in a low, gentlemanly voice.
"Nice to meet you too. Zhuge Seyoung, Dang Yeohae. I'm the Philosophizing Repairman."
As we exchanged names, Zhuge Seyoung in her white uniform snapped her fan shut and spoke expressionlessly.
"There's something I'd like to say first."
"Sure, go ahead."
"Ma Daewhaep and Yeon Daewhaep strongly urged me to join this meeting, but I must emphasize upfront that our Five Great Clans do not engage in worthless trades. We have no time to waste on mere curiosity."
"Pardon?"
Right from the first meeting, she drew a hard line. As I blinked in confusion, Dang Yeohae in her deep green uniform smiled with her eyes and chimed in from the side.
"Seyoung unnie sounds so stiff, right? Truth is, we've gotten quite a few fun trade proposals from other users. Exclusive deals, even."
"Exclusive deals?"
"Yeah. Their offers were pretty tempting... I was actually mulling over accepting one when Yeon Daewhaep twisted my arm, so here I am meeting you, Repairman So-hyeop. You'll need to show us something more tempting than them to make this worth our while, don't you think?"
What the hell? There's some guy hustling deals everywhere but with me? And bold enough to pitch exclusives to the Five Great Clans? Who the fuck is this...? Plus, if he can sway stuck-up folks from the Zhuge Clan and Tang Family, he's no ordinary player.
I shot puzzled glances at the Tower Master and Royal Alchemist alternately.
"Do either of you know who it might be?"
At my question, the two elders shook their heads in unison.
"No idea. But he seems to have goals similar to ours. Repairman, have you checked the community chatter boards or other trade forums since the recent update?"
Hmm, honestly, no. With offline hunter board duties, repairs, and chasing that Spirit King marble, my plate's overflowing. No need to trawl virtual community chit-chat. My deals with the fantasy quintet were basically exclusives anyway.
"Nah, haven't bothered. Why?"
"Then make sure to swing by later. Some anonymous user is flooding the boards, scooping up trade partners left and right. The weird part? The scale and capital don't look like one person's work."
Some organized force building power in the community...?
"But if it's selling weapons or proposing trades to martial artists, odds are it's a merchant group from the Ereinia continent, right?"
"Likely. How many items could even the likes of Zhuge or Tang not procure on their own in the martial world? Must be tempting them with otherworldly goods."
Hmm, still, under the Five Great Clans banner, they can snap up mundane stuff no problem—that's their clout. That's when Zhuge Seyoung cut in calmly.
"Exactly. We're not hiding it or anything—we genuinely don't know who it is. Interestingly, they use anonymity even in private chats."
"Wait, really? Isn't there a unique ID for community registration?"
"Seems like a special item from the Karma Shop. We still don't know all the system's functions."
Oh? An item that hides your ID for full anonymity? If they're operating in the shadows like that...
Something smells fucking fishy...
Even in real-world internet communities, those anonymous drifters stir up shit. Probably scammers or shady operators hiding their tracks. Someone from Ereinia working anonymously...
I let out a smirk. How useful would Ereinia's magic tools be in a wuxia world? Sure, health potions or shield scrolls would tempt them. But would martial artists actually use them?
From my analysis of wuxia novels, prideful martial folk avoid otherworldly magic items in real fights unless it's dire. Why? These stubborn old fucks call tumbling on the ground during battle a disgrace to their honor.
Pride incarnate ripping a magic scroll mid life-or-death duel for a barrier? Or fireball scroll for attack? The onlookers would spew:
'Demonic arts!! That coward's using cult sorcery!! Cut his head off!!'
Next thing, you're public enemy number one, limbs torn asunder. Exaggeration? Nah, those name-your-honor maniacs would totally do it.
So, selling to martial artists means avoiding obvious magic tools—offer something else.
I interlaced my fingers and eased in smoothly.
"Anyway, enough about the mystery peddler. Let's get to our business. Any specific direction for items you're after?"
I tossed out bait, but Zhuge Seyoung fiddled with her fan, maintaining her icy wall.
"Frankly, our Zhuge Clan lacks nothing in funds, force, or knowledge. We've already studied most otherworldly items via Ma Daewhaep. Why don't you propose something intriguing first, Repairman So-hyeop?"
First time for this... No specific wants, so impress us yourself?
"Propose what, exactly...?"
She tilted her chin slightly, exuding clan pride.
"Our Zhuge Clan is the martial world's top think tank, gathering prodigies to research and advance mechanisms, formations, beast-taming arts, and battle arrays. We've borrowed much from other dimensions via Ma Daewhaep."
Hmm... mechanisms and formations. I'd mulled it since the Tower Master's pitch, but as a modern guy, outdoing him for a classical clan like this wasn't easy. Mechanisms? Gears and traps, but without modern infrastructure like electricity, tossing parts wouldn't let them fully adapt in the martial world. Hell, I barely grasp how they differ from modern machines.
Formations are different, though. The classic terrifying Zhuge formations from wuxia—life gates mixed with death gates, intruders hallucinating and trapping eternally if they miss the path.
I zeroed in on formation setup and operation. In countless novels, the power hinge was tiny details and timing.
Time to go all-in. Watched those sales masterclass vids again, huh? Don't list product perks—ask questions first.
"Zhuge Seyoung, about those famed clan formations."
"Yes, go on."
"Don't precise orientations, bearings of the artifacts, and timing errors in deployment massively affect power?"
Her expressionless eyes finally sparked curiosity as she nodded.
"Hmm? You grasp our secrets deeply. Correct. For mighty formations, bearings must align flawlessly, designed in the exact instant matching qi flow and flux—that unleashes true power."
"And in battle, that has to happen fast and fluid, right? Like..."
"Yes. Some require setting all artifacts and activating in split seconds. Demands elite focus and training."
One of those frustrating wuxia tropes that drove me nuts. Why are time and length so vague? Time's somewhat okay—sijin roughly two hours, half that one. But combat drops to minutes, seconds? Game-changer. Novels spew ildakyung, ilgak—exactly how many seconds? Lengths too: cheonri vague for big distances, but precision work? Cheok, chon, jang—what the hell? So delicate, yet no millimeters?
So I prepared. Knowledge's symbol to hook the haughty Zhuge. First killer item.
"Wanna see this?"
I pulled something out and held it before Zhuge Seyoung.
"Hm...? What's this?"
Palm-sized smooth metal body, plastic clicky buttons on top. Transparent front display blaring [00:00:00:00]. Best part? Tiny solar panel on top.
Yup, no batteries needed—sunlight charges it for 10 easy years. Eco-friendly solar-powered ultra-precise digital stopwatch.
"You said timing's key for formations, right? Question: how do you teach that precision to young disciples? How do you measure time?"
She faltered slightly.
"Well... through hundreds of reps, building intuition..."
Bingo! Rule-of-thumb senses and talent-dependent training! I inwardly cheered, clicked the solar stopwatch, and briefed her on usage.
"So, let me explain this thing..."