Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: 13. Opening of the Port (2)
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“Al... aliens? You mean the merchants are actually aliens?”
Inside the speeding car, Myeong-ho asked.
It didn’t take long for him to realize it was a foolish question.
They were beings descending on a pitch-black pillar of light from beyond the sky—what else could they be but aliens?
“Yes. Strictly speaking, they are aliens, but...”
Young-woo trailed off in response to Myeong-ho’s question.
It was true that the merchants were aliens, but they didn’t match the common image people had of ‘aliens’ at all.
If he had to find another term, something like ‘beings from another world’ felt more fitting than ‘alien.’
On top of that, through his conversation with the orcs—whom he’d thought were just simple monsters—he’d learned they too were beings from another world, with their own homeland and sense of purpose.
Didn’t that make all monsters, orcs included, aliens as well?
‘Then what’s the difference between the ones coming here as merchants and the monsters? Why are some merchants and others monsters?’
It was also a mystery why only the monster-role aliens appeared in forms familiar to humans.
Why were monsters always goblins, orcs, and the like?
“......”
His mind reeled.
But he knew well enough that no amount of pondering would help right now.
‘I’ll figure something out if I just keep surviving.’
Soon, the merchant appearance timer vanished from view, and the black pillar of light in the distance flashed with a thunderous roar.
Kurrrung!
The merchant had finally arrived in Mungyeong City.
At the sound, Myeong-ae—who had been unconscious until now—snapped her eyes open.
“...Y-Yun-ho!”
Waking while screaming her second son’s name, who had become a corpse, it seemed she’d been trapped in a horrific nightmare even in her dreams.
But reality was no kinder.
“Aaah...!”
Realizing she was still in that nightmare, Myeong-ae burst into wretched sobs.
Kurrung!
Right on cue, the black pillar thrashed again.
Seeing it, Young-woo gripped the passenger door handle.
“Pull over.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll head ahead. Bring your mom and follow.”
“I-Is... is that okay?”
When Myeong-ho said ‘okay,’ he naturally meant for himself and his mother.
“Yeah. It’s not far, and no monsters around. Honk if anything happens.”
With that, Young-woo flung open the passenger door and leaped out.
It was first-come, first-served with merchant trades, after all.
In a city where the First Sword and mutants had teamed up to clear monsters, there’d be plenty of survivors.
Of course, how many would dare approach the black pillar on their own two feet...?
‘Still, you never know. Variables can pop up anytime.’
Young-woo sped through the streets straight toward the pillar.
Before long, he spotted people racing toward him from the opposite direction.
Survivors from the area fleeing the merchant’s mark.
‘Huh, quite a few people...’
Perhaps because he’d just had that surreal conversation with orcs moments ago, Young-woo felt glad at the sight of other humans.
But the people coming his way?
“Huh?”
“Wh-what’s that...?”
Just like the Jeong family had when they first saw him, they sensed something off about him right away.
He wasn’t laden with sacks on his back this time, but he was barefoot on the ground and clad in bizarre gear, which looked utterly strange.
His movements were so superhuman they were hard to believe came from a person.
Even those who’d built up stats to fight monsters couldn’t imitate moves like that.
Only after he’d shot past them like an arrow did it hit them, a few seconds later.
“Huh...? Wait.”
The man who’d just zipped by looked exactly like the face stamped on the coins that had fallen from the sky earlier.
Shweeeee!
Brushing off the stares that treated him like a monster, Young-woo reached the merchant’s landing site.
Unlike the main road where people had been fleeing in droves, the area around the pillar was eerily quiet, almost deserted.
But there were definitely people there.
“Ugh, what the hell is that?”
“Huh? Someone’s here?”
“Sh-shit, you scared me.”
A trio with pretty aggressive vibes.
They were the only humans lingering near the merchant—and the only group around.
They seemed to be debating whether to approach closer.
Young-woo lightly positioned himself between the black pillar and the trio, then casually asked,
“Not started trading yet, right?”
“...Trading?”
The tall man at the front of the trio snapped back reflexively.
Judging by position and the early bardiche in his left hand, he was clearly their leader.
“......”
Young-woo stared him down, and the bardiche—aimed threateningly at him—slowly lowered.
Sure, the sudden intruder cutting in line pissed him off, but the movements he’d witnessed earlier were so unnatural that he instinctively held back.
“If it hasn’t opened yet, mind if I go first?”
Leaving the trio frozen—neither backing down nor starting a fight—Young-woo strode boldly toward the black pillar.
“Hey! Wait!”
The man scowled belatedly and tried to chase, but his two companions hurriedly held him back.
“Are you nuts?”
“Look at this quick.”
Swoosh.
What they shoved in front of his eyes was...
“...Ah.”
A golden coin.
* * *
Meanwhile, Young-woo wasn’t particularly scared of the pillar or the alien merchant, thanks to his prior dealings with the alien caravan.
If anything, he was in a hurry.
‘Where’s Kubu? Didn’t it say I’d see it again at the next trade?’
Kubu, the main broker for Gyeongbuk First Sword Jeong Young-woo07.
Per its promise, starting from the second trade, Young-woo would pay only half the fee and could view all bidding caravans.
That’s why he’d risked it to take out Mungyeong’s mutant...
‘But the merchant’s already here—what happens now?’
By then, the distance between Young-woo and the black pillar had shrunk to about ten meters, and the merchant’s silhouette inside began to take shape.
‘Whatever it is, it’s huge.’
As Young-woo tilted his head and closed in further—
Srrrrk.
The space between him and the black pillar tore open longways, revealing the broker in question: Kubu.
―It is an honor to meet again, Earth human and Gyeongbuk’s strongest, Jeong Young-woo07!
Pitch-black eye sockets, white pupils.
Eyelid blinks using empty air.
It was definitely him.
―I am Kubu, owner of the Tenta Clan and guardian of Daro, here to broker this trade.
Kubu introduced itself with the same proud flair as during their first trade.
Then—
―The brokerage fee for this trade is 10%, included in the item prices. A total of 4 caravans have bid on this trade.
―Would you like to see the list of bidding caravans and their offers?
It delivered the main broker perks as promised last time.
“Yes. Show me.”
Kubu blinked its eyes wide at Young-woo’s nod, then added a warning.
―Excluding the Mir Alliance already here, you’ll communicate directly with the other 3 caravans, so it may be a bit uncomfortable.
“Uncomfortable...?”
As Young-woo echoed the word—
Kiiiiiiiiii!
The black pillar suddenly turned red, blasting out an enormous noise.
“What the fu—!”
The screech like nails on a chalkboard made Young-woo—and even the trio far off—clamp their ears and scream.
“Gaaah!”
“Wh-what the hell are you doing?!”
“Turn that shit off!”
But a mere human’s pleas wouldn’t work.
The cacophony dragged on, and only when his ears were ringing did Young-woo realize.
There was meaning embedded in the maddening sound.
It felt like reading billboards flashing past on a speeding subway, but certain phrases cycled through clearly.
「Life... concealment... peace.」
Unlike the threatening noise, the actual message was incredibly friendly.
‘Life, concealment, peace...? What the hell does that mean?’
Young-woo glanced at Kubu, but got no further hint this time.
Maybe that was as much help as it could give.
It wouldn’t have set up ‘direct communication’ with the alien caravans if it planned to assist more.
Life, concealment, peace.
Confirming no other meanings were hidden, Young-woo told Kubu,
“Got it for now. Connect me to the next caravan.”
Kubu blinked silently, and the pillar shifted to purple, shoving away the surrounding air.
Whoooosh!
“Ngh...!”
A different unease than before made Young-woo tense up, but it only raised goosebumps—no real pain.
‘What? This one seems meaningless.’
Whoooosh!
The air surged again.
And again, no meaning detected.
‘What’s the point...?’
As Young-woo furrowed his brow to skip ahead—
Whoooosh!
Same timing, same intensity.
“......”
That’s when Young-woo first felt something familiar from the alien caravan.
The reason?
‘This is breathing.’
Whoooosh!
He finally got it.
The other side was emphasizing they breathed like humans.
Whoooosh!
The anonymous entity kept shoving air, like someone on a phone call just breathing into the receiver.
In a way, wasn’t it a pretty sophisticated marketing tactic?
“Can I check the remaining merchants before deciding?”
Kubu’s white pupil swiveled to look at him.
―If you wish, yes.
“Yeah. Next one, then.”
―Understood.
Kubu blinked wide again at his command.
Fwooooosh!
The third merchant was off-kilter from the start.
The pillar ignited instantly, spewing blistering heat.
“These crazy bastards... are they really here to trade?”
Young-woo panted, squeezing his eyes shut. His eyeballs felt like they’d melt.
Whooooaaah!
But the message within the searing heat was clear.
Not so much words as raw pride.
Ferocious nature, thirst for power.
Whatever race, they were unmistakably warlike, so their wares were probably combat-related.
“Ugh! N-next!”
Young-woo grasped the bare minimum and hurriedly called the next.
Fwoom!
The scorching heat vanished as if it had never been, the pillar reverting to black.
“...Ah.”
Because the one already waiting here was the final merchant.
-Grgrk.
A small sound like rolling stones leaked from the black pillar.
And for this—
―The final trader is the Mir Alliance. They’ve waited quite a while but aren’t displeased.
Kubu translated directly.
Probably a perk for the first bidder.
If Young-woo hadn’t shown up, the Mir Alliance would’ve been the only caravan here.
“Ah... sorry about that.”
Young-woo sent a genuinely awkward, friendly look into the pillar.
The massive silhouette-only form of the Mir Alliance merchant twitched.
-Grk, grk.
Maybe it wasn’t just appearing as a silhouette—maybe its whole body was shadow?
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
―The Mir Alliance is a venerable caravan that’s conducted inter-dimensional trade for a staggering 800 million years in Earth time. They’re leagues above peddlers hawking war trophies.
Kubu launched into a verbose translation.
‘No way—just two gravel rolls, and that’s how it translates...?’
But the Mir Alliance’s message wasn’t over.
―The Mir Alliance specializes in consumables and items useful for breaking special situations. Affordable prices, top quality.
“...Can’t you just show the item list directly? You’re here already.”
Young-woo asked, but Kubu flatly refused.
―Bidding has already restarted. Direct disclosure of trade details is forbidden by law.
Whatever—point was, no.
Young-woo stared awkwardly at the silhouette inside, then looked away.
“Then sorry, but you’ll have to leave empty-handed. Call the one that just did the breathing.”
―Are you certain?
“Yes.”
Kubu blinked at his firm nod.
―Per Jeong Young-woo07’s request, returning the Mir Alliance and summoning Boltak’s Wandering Merchant.
As Kubu finished, a racket erupted from inside the black pillar.
-Grgrk! Grk...!
The tone made the meaning obvious even without translation.
Kubu skipped it and proceeded with the switch.
Piiiing!
With a crisp departure chime, the Mir Alliance merchant got sucked upward out of the pillar, followed by—
Gaaaaah...!
A massively intimidating roar as the pillar turned purple.