The Merchant and the Shoveling

Translator : Elizabeth

Just then, a voice resounded.

"All hands, land! Subdue the remnants and take control of the situation!"

The command of Roan, the Southern Admiral, echoed through the fortress. The marines and knights who had landed on the shore moved with perfect order, entering the interior of the fortress.

"I can't believe it…."

"To think the Kraken is knocked out."

The knights stood with their mouths agape. The collapsed walls, the shattered buildings, and the fainted ancient demonic beast, the Kraken. It was a result that was hard to believe had been caused by a single human.

Kang Jin-ho was seen standing there, dusting off the debris from his clothes, with the masterminds of this incident sprawled at his feet.

"Fist Emperor… you really… Ha! I truly can't believe it."

Roan approached, clicking his tongue. This was a fortress that even he, the Southern Admiral, had been wary of, unable to attack rashly. Yet, the situation had been settled before they even landed.

"You got here fast."

Kang Jin-ho spoke apathetically as he looked at Roan. To him, this fortress hadn't been much of a challenge. Dealing with the insane fanatics who mistook him for an Outer God had been the most tiring part. Now, he just had to leave the cleanup to the others.

"There are two crazy bastards here, so hurry up and collect them."

"Understood. Thank you."

Between them, a blue-haired woman came running, her dress fluttering. It was Serafina. Having followed Roan inside, she saw something and her eyes flashed. As soon as she navigated through the ruined fortress, she headed straight for the fainted Verdo on the floor.

"Found you."

Serafina’s voice was low and heavy. She hiked up her dress and strode toward him. The usual elegant and dignified image was nowhere to be found. Her eyes blazed with nothing but hatred for the enemy who had tormented her and driven her father to death.

"I finally found you… you wicked man!"

Serafina raised her foot without hesitation. Her shoes were pointed and hard at the tips. With that heel, she stomped down with all her might on the back of the sprawled Verdo’s hand.

Crunch—!

"Uuuugh…!"

With a sickening rupture sound, Verdo’s fainted body jerked upward. Serafina had accurately crushed the back of his hand, putting her full weight into the stomp. The sensation of finger bones shattering was transmitted through the sole of her foot. Even in his unconscious state, Verdo writhed in pain and let out a groan.

Crunch—!

"That’s enough for now."

Serafina took a sharp breath. She quickly composed her emotions. This much venting was enough. She couldn't afford to waste time on useless spite and miss what was important.

"Hmph…."

Her face was still flushed, but her gaze had cooled into a chilly calm. She looked around. Feelings of anger and revenge had already been pushed to the background. She was a merchant. The most important thing was practical gain.

'Let’s think rationally.'

The Charon Guild Master is a merchant. No matter if he belonged to the Followers of the Abyss who serve an Outer God, the fact that he was a merchant remained unchanged. And a merchant's psychology is best understood by another merchant.

'Where would I have put it if it were me?'

The collapsed ceiling, the shattered walls, the countless ruins, and the floor. Her emerald eyes scanned the area rapidly. Investigating her surroundings, she finally reached a conclusion. Even if it weren't Verdo, but herself or any other merchant in the same situation, the answer was fixed.

"Fist Emperor-nim."

Serafina called out to Kang Jin-ho.

"Fist Emperor-nim. The request was clearly to retrieve the items I lost, right?"

"That's right."

"Then I ask of you. Beneath here, my items… no, the things I must possess seem to be buried."

Kang Jin-ho smirked at those words.

"Fine. It's part of the request, so I'll grant it."

Serafina smiled brightly. However, at the same time, an even deeper greed dwelled in her eyes.

"And… since you won't need them anyway, may I take any additional harvests?"

That was the gaze of an ambitious person that Kang Jin-ho had hoped for.

"Merchants are cowardly. Especially someone with a dirty background like Verdo is highly suspicious. He wouldn't have kept the real ledgers and valuables—his lifelines—far away."

Her gaze then turned to the floor.

"One hides things in the place where they feel most at ease. In the place where they sleep or work, at the closest spot reachable just by stretching out a hand. That’s the only way to sleep peacefully with legs extended."

Serafina spoke with conviction.

"The place he thought was safest. He would have hidden everything right here, in the basement of this fortress where he resides."

"Ho-oh."

"It's not just the Moonlight Grass. The slush funds they’ve illegally collected, the ledgers, and even the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠list of accounts. Everything will be here."

Serafina pointed to the floor.

"I will seize all of those and swallow the Charon Merchant Guild whole. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is my first step as the Golden Queen that I will show you, Fist Emperor-nim."

Kang Jin-ho let out a short laugh. She definitely had the right stuff. Revenge was revenge, and profit was profit. She wasn't a fool who would lose out on immediate gain by being swayed by emotion.

"Good. You pass."

Kang Jin-ho nodded readily.

"Now, hurry up and drag them away!"

Meanwhile, Roan was managing the scene. First, he had the culprits, Verdo and Malak, dragged out. The remnants of the Charon Guild hiding throughout the fortress, the laborers moving cargo—they ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were all tied up and dragged out in a line.

"W-we were wrong! We just did as we were told!"

"Please, just spare my life! I don't know anything about Outer Gods or whatever!"

The laborers slammed their heads against the ground and begged, but Roan’s marines were merciless. Once involved with the Followers of the Abyss, a thorough investigation was required.

After they were dragged out and the area was cleared, only Kang Jin-ho, Serafina, and a curious Roan remained at the site of the ruined office.

"Alright, let's dig. Everyone, step back."

At those words, Roan and Serafina quickly retreated.

"Hmm."

Kang Jin-ho looked down at the floor. It was a floor covered in top-grade marble, but it was already cracked and broken in places from the aftermath of the battle. However, he couldn't just smash it down blindly with his fists.

'If I mess up the power control, the entire basement will collapse.'

It wouldn't matter if the contents were gold bars. Even if crushed, gold is gold. But Moonlight Grass was an herb. If it was buried and crushed under piles of dirt, its commercial value would drop. The same went for the ledgers. Delicacy was required.

'Excavation work. As I thought, this is the best.'

Kang Jin-ho pondered for a moment, then reached out his right hand. A bluish Aura bloomed from his fingertips. However, the shape he was creating wasn't a structure meant to wrap around a fist. The form of the Aura was changing.

Vwoom—.

The Aura condensed and flattened, soon taking on a wide shape with a pointed tip. There was no handle. It was just a massive, shimmering blue blade extending long from his fingertips. It was the unmistakable shape of a shovel used for digging.

"…A shovel?"

Roan, who was watching, widened his eyes. The Fist Emperor creating a shovel? It was a combination that didn't fit at all.

"What's wrong with it? This is the best for digging the ground."

Kang Jin-ho answered nonchalantly and took a stance. His gaze turned serious. It was a level of concentration comparable to a martial artist facing a strong enemy—no, even greater. He was recalling the nightmares of military enlistment in South Korea and remembering the experience of that time.

"Then, I’m starting."

Swish!

Kang Jin-ho’s hand moved so fast it was invisible. The shovel blade made of Aura dug into the marble floor as smoothly as pudding.

Crunch! Shwaaaaa!

There wasn't even time for dust to rise. Kang Jin-ho wasn't simply digging the ground. He was wrapping the shoveled soil and rocks in a membrane of Aura, floating them into the air.

"Wh-what?"

Serafina doubted her own eyes. Every time Kang Jin-ho’s hand moved, a massive pile of dirt soared into the air. Those piles of dirt, as if loaded onto something invisible, lined up and flew out the window.

Rumble, splash!

The sound of dirt and debris pouring into the sea outside the fortress was heard. A perfect excavation job without a single speck of dust flying. Dig, float, and discard. These three steps were being carried out precisely and rapidly.

Crunch! Crunch! Shwaaaaa!

The speed grew even faster. Kang Jin-ho’s hand no longer even left an afterimage. He was digging through the floor with a rhythmic motion, almost as if he were dancing. It didn't matter even if a layer of solid bedrock appeared. Before the shovel blade imbued with Aura, marble and granite were all just soft soil.

"Wh-what on earth is this…?"

Roan stood with his mouth wide open. He had trained in the sword his whole life. He had seen tens of thousands of techniques for handling Aura. But he had never seen anything like this. This delicate Aura ability was surprising, but…

There was something even more surprising. It was that pointlessly perfect shoveling form.

'That… is not the realm of martial arts.'

The angle of the knees, the rotation of the waist, the snap of the shoulders. This merely borrowed the power of Aura; the motion itself was a realm of craftsmanship perfected through tens of thousands of repetitions. It wasn't a combat technique. It was the crystallization of pure labor.

"Phew!"

Kang Jin-ho continued the work without shedding a single drop of sweat. The experience of being hardened by fortification ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠work during his military service in South Korea. The shoveling tips he learned then were meeting transcendent physical ability and Aura, creating a miraculous synergy.

'Damn, have I still not overcome this?'

The angle, the power control, the snap to shake off the dirt. Everything was perfect. Shoveling was the first skill he had ever mastered. After all, he had learned to shovel before he learned boxing. However, thinking of his army days, he couldn't help but feel dark emotions swirling within him.

Kang Jin-ho thought as he struck away the dirt.

"Ah, things I don't want to remember keep popping up. Dammit."

"Things you don't want to remember?"

Serafina asked dazed, but Kang Jin-ho just increased his speed instead of answering. In an instant, the ground was carved away, and the basement space began to be revealed. The depth was already exceeding 5 meters. It was a job that would take dozens of ordinary laborers days to complete. Yet, he was finishing it alone, and in just a few minutes.