Chapter 183
Chapter 183
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 183
Chapter Title: Transcender (5)
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Acam's Water of Life.
The water created by Acam, who was called the noble guardian of life, by gathering his own essence—that was Acam's Water of Life.
It was said to have such outstanding effects that it could even revive the dead, a peerless elixir whispered to grant immortality upon consumption!
Yet Acam's Water of Life was a treasure among treasures that even the Merchants' Guild had only managed to obtain one of after a long time.
A cherished heirloom of the guild, one they hadn't sold even at the requests of the lords.
Even if Dagon was the hero who saved the Merchants' Guild, it wasn't something they could easily hand over.
And yet, he was demanding it, forsaking even the value of his own promotion and collateral that humans held dear.
...It was absurd.
Promotion to Special-Class Merchant was something everyone dreamed of.
A reward no merchant could dare refuse.
Was Acam's Water of Life truly worth throwing all that away?
But there was a problem.
They wanted to give it, but they couldn't.
"Acam's Water of Life is not something I have the authority to touch..."
—Hand it over.
It was then.
A massive voice that echoed through the entire Merchants' Guild.
"Ah...!"
"Th-this voice, could it be?!"
The merchants' eyes widened as they flew into a frenzy.
They had a good idea of who the voice belonged to.
The chairman bowed his head toward the source of the voice.
"We pay respects to the Great Merchant, Lord Ber."
The Great Merchant Ber!
As that name left the chairman's lips, the merchants froze in place.
They trembled, holding their breath.
Ber was a legendary figure among the countless demon merchants.
A true power broker wielding immense influence over every Merchants' Guild in the Abyss.
A being even demon lords and Creators couldn't face lightly!
And.
"...Father."
He was Dagon's father.
However, to Ber, Dagon was little more than a discarded child.
The most worthless among his dozens of siblings.
He possessed no outstanding talents, no skills that could aid Ber—he had been thoroughly ignored.
Yet.
"Understood. However, Lord Ber, what about the promotion...?"
—A deal. Demote him to the lowest-class merchant.
"Pardon? Demotion? Ah, yes. Understood."
The chairman, who had tilted his head thinking he'd misheard, quickly pulled himself together.
You couldn't survive in the Merchants' Guild without obeying Ber's words.
If he declared a stone to be gold, then it was gold.
In fact, Ber was the sort who could sell stones at the value of gold.
Dagon's demotion was no different.
In an instant, the festive atmosphere of the guild turned solemn.
They had been about to celebrate a promotion, but instead, it was a demotion to the lowest rank!
"Dagon. Are you really going through with this deal?"
"...Yes. I will."
Yes. It was a deal.
Dagon nodded firmly.
There were no regrets.
He knew that saving his contractor held value beyond all else.
Without the contractor, he wouldn't have even gotten this chance.
Besides.
Smirk!
On the contrary, Dagon even smiled.
Father Ber.
His intervention meant he was finally taking an interest in him.
Dagon knew how his father handled his children.
He would impose brutal trials on those with promising talents, evaluating them based on how they overcame them.
Until now, Dagon had never received such treatment.
Only indifference.
Ber hadn't treated Dagon as a son.
But now.
'...I'll climb back up.'
For the first time, he had shown interest.
Demoted to the lowest-class merchant?
That was nothing compared to his father's attention.
It only fueled his fighting spirit.
He would rise again and prove his worth.
No.
He couldn't settle for that.
'I'll become a merchant who surpasses Father.'
Surpass him.
All merchants.
Even Ber, the legendary merchant and his father.
Something he couldn't have imagined before.
Dagon was changing.
Through his contractor.
By observing his ways and efforts, he was heading in a positive direction.
...Perhaps that's why.
Greed was born.
It was the first time he'd felt such intense desire.
A burning ambition to reach the top and become the true master of the Merchants' Guild, surpassing even his father Ber.
But to do that, he had to save his contractor.
Sepiro.
He seemed ignorant of human bodies, so assisting him was Dagon's role.
He would do his utmost to keep him alive.
"What's with that guy...?"
"Demoted to the lowest rank, and he's smiling?"
"Has he lost his mind?"
The merchants whispered as they looked at Dagon.
Dagon, who had forsaken all personal gain for Acam's Water of Life.
Of course, it was a treasure among treasures, but there was no guarantee such an opportunity would come to Dagon again.
Yet Dagon didn't lose his smile.
He ignored the murmurs around him.
He simply gazed toward where Ber's voice had come from, his eyes filled with unwavering resolve.
Opening his eyes, a rather long string of messages was arrayed right before him.
"Mm..."
When had he collapsed?
The certain fact was that he'd lost too much blood—even Super Regeneration couldn't handle it.
His body, reaching its limit, had forcibly shut him down.
A-are you alright?"
Park Chan-woo turned his head to the side.
There stood Dagon.
Holding a single crystalline, transparent vial.
"...Did you feed me Acam's Water of Life, Dagon?"
"Y-yes. You seemed like you would die if left as is..."
Ha.
Park Chan-woo was inwardly surprised.
He knew full well how precious a treasure Acam's Water of Life was.
It was rarer than all the elixirs he'd consumed so far combined.
Thanks to it, Super Regeneration's grade had skyrocketed.
Beyond that, energy overflowed from his body.
'Abnormal status Weakness has been erased.'
But the most astonishing part was the removal of the abnormal status.
Weakness.
The curse that always sapped his energy.
He'd thought the abnormal statuses from his regression were irremovable.
'...So they can be removed after all.'
An incredible discovery.
Sure, 'Weakness' was the mildest among them, but the hope that they could be erased had emerged.
'Still, it didn't erase Frailty or Extreme Weakness.'
Acam's Water of Life was undoubtedly the supreme elixir called top-grade, yet it only erased one mild Weakness.
It hadn't touched 'Frailty,' which made him prone to illnesses and curses, nor 'Extreme Weakness,' which fixed all his stats to 1.
A slight disappointment lingered, but this was still something.
'With Weakness gone, my thinking feels more positive.'
"That's not something an ordinary merchant could obtain."
One question remained.
How had Dagon procured such a treasure?
Dagon scratched his cheek awkwardly and spoke.
"Well... I made a deal."
"A deal?"
"I transferred all the contracts I took during the 'Third Night' back to the guild. And in exchange for being demoted to the lowest-class merchant, I received it."
"......"
Park Chan-woo was at a loss for words for a moment.
In other words, he'd forsaken everything for Acam's Water of Life.
Why?
Dagon was a merchant.
Demon merchants never made losing deals.
Dagon smiled as he said,
"Think of it as an investment."
"An investment... Do you mean raising the contract share ratio?"
The profit distribution from the exclusive contract.
Was that what he wanted?
But Dagon shook his head.
"No. It's just... please take good care of me going forward."
"...That's an overly lavish courtesy."
Park Chan-woo couldn't help but chuckle.
Still, thanks to him, he had survived.
If Dagon hadn't brought Acam's Water of Life, it would have been a dire situation.
He might have actually died.
"Contractor. Please don't push your body so hard. Sometimes it feels like you live as if there's no tomorrow. It's like you have no self-love at all..."
"...I'll keep that in mind."
Normally he'd deny it, but now it didn't seem entirely wrong.
For some odd reason, he had been treating his own life carelessly.
Even when pushed to the brink of death, he'd kept drawing blood.
It was reckless to the point of stupidity.
...Why had he done that?
'Because of Weakness?'
With Weakness gone, he now realized how reckless his actions had been.
It seemed Weakness didn't just drain energy—it made him disregard his life itself.
Park Chan-woo shook his head once.
Then voiced another curiosity.
"By the way, how did I drink Acam's Water of Life?"
He'd clearly passed out.
He wasn't in a state to drink it himself.
Dagon shrugged and replied,
"Huh? Well... with my mouth."
"......"
"Wh-why? Isn't mouth-to-mouth just symbolic for humans?"
"......"
Thanks to Super Regeneration reaching Ancient grade, repairing the golems proceeded even more smoothly.
He'd planned for a week, but by the third day, he'd repaired every last one.
A total of 900 golems.
The moment he completed repairs on all the golems.
......