Chapter 33
Chapter 33: Sepiro
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Sepiro
Demon merchants were beings who facilitated the exchange of valuable items.
However, approach one without a second thought, and you'd regret it dearly.
'Every demon merchant is a swindler.'
They certainly weren't the sort to sell goods at fixed prices.
They didn't display their wares on stalls with price tags attached.
They vaguely explained that they assessed the 'value' of items to facilitate trades, but even the same item could have a different value depending on the other party and the circumstances.
In other words, they were swindlers.
In many cases, demon merchants even created the circumstances themselves, deliberately cornering humans into unfavorable situations.
They were nothing but highway robbers who tried to seize people's bodies and lives for a pittance.
Demon merchants were monsters who committed murder under the guise of a transaction.
Make an honest deal with creatures like them?
Unless you'd taken a bullet to the head, such an idea was insane.
Park Chan-woo had even more reason to think so.
'I've spent a full twenty years struggling through the Abyss. In all that time, I've never met a single demon merchant with a conscience.'
He had never once managed to make an ordinary deal with one upon their first meeting.
Demon merchants always tried to gain the upper hand before agreeing to a transaction.
If they decided they stood to lose anything or were at a disadvantage, they would disappear without a moment's hesitation.
That didn't mean there was no way to make an exchange of equal value.
You could force them into submission with your strength, seize their weaknesses, or entice them with something irresistible to encourage them to trade.
Of course, there was another method that was far more reliable.
'You can bankrupt a demon merchant, too.'
That was right. Bankruptcy.
The demons of the Abyss weren't easy to kill.
How could a human possibly hunt beings that had been born and raised in the Abyss?
And yet, under certain circumstances, even weak humans could kill demons.
Through bankruptcy or a broken oath.
In particular, if you knew a demon's name and drove it into bankruptcy, it couldn't escape death.
That was why demons resorted to begging under the guise of a 'trade' when they were on the verge of bankruptcy.
They would plead for their lives.
They would beg to be spared bankruptcy, promising to hand over their livers, gallbladders, or anything else they possessed!
"H-How did this happen...?"
Dagon's eyes trembled uncontrollably. He had fallen into his own trap.
It was only natural. An unimaginable name had just come out of the human's mouth.
"Didn't I tell you from the beginning that the information would be expensive?"
Park Chan-woo clicked his tongue softly.
Everything had gone according to his plan.
He had anticipated Dagon's every move.
'He probably assumed I'd learned the rules from another demon merchant.'
Demon merchants had appeared throughout the dungeons.
Dagon must have assumed that Park Chan-woo had traded with one of them and learned the 'merchant's rules.'
If he had exchanged information with another demon merchant, the transaction would likely have included a 'non-disclosure' clause. Dagon intended to trick him into revealing the name of the merchant who had explained the rules, trigger the contractual penalty, and then demand payment in exchange for waiving it.
After all, the finer details of these contracts were written in the demonic language, which humans had difficulty understanding.
Dagon had been certain his plan would work.
...Unfortunately for him, Park Chan-woo knew the merchant's rules better than anyone.
"There's... no way a human could know that name..."
Dagon continued to deny reality.
But refusing to accept the truth wouldn't make it any less real.
The message floating before his eyes and the contract written in the demonic language that had appeared beside it made that abundantly clear.
Crack!
Dagon ground his teeth.
"How... How do you know that name? The one that must never be spoken?"
...A name that must never be spoken.
Indeed, demons often referred to Dragon Sovereign Sepiro in precisely those terms.
They hated him as though he were their sworn archenemy.
Long ago, Sepiro had killed one of the 'Great Ten Lords.'
According to an unbelievable rumor, that was how the Great Ten Lords had become the 'Great Nine Lords.'
'Sepiro. I didn't believe it myself until I saw his true form.'
Even Park Chan-woo had initially doubted the story.
The Great Nine Lords stood at the very pinnacle of the Abyss's rulers.
Even the Twelve Sovereigns treated them with apprehension.
Only after witnessing Sepiro's true body—the Transcendent Dragon—had Park Chan-woo finally understood.
Sepiro really had turned the Great Ten Lords into the Great Nine Lords.
And just as the demons hated Sepiro, Sepiro hated them in return.
What made matters even more remarkable was that he had once distributed the 'Demon Dictionary.'
It had happened during the end-of-the-world era, but thanks to that dictionary, Park Chan-woo had learned a great deal about demon merchants.
It wouldn't be wrong to say that Sepiro himself had revealed the merchants' rules.
'Still... Sepiro's name alone is worth an astronomical amount.'
Simply mentioning a name had saddled him with a debt of 20,000,000.
Was it because the name belonged to someone who must never be mentioned?
Perhaps that taboo had added a premium to its value. Whatever the reason, even the Abyssal Lords who concealed their names probably couldn't command such an enormous price.
After gathering his thoughts, Park Chan-woo spoke.
"You can figure out for yourself how I know Sepiro."
"......"
Dagon gradually calmed himself.
There was no doubt that this wasn't an ordinary human.
Earth had yet to make contact with other realms.
Under normal circumstances, humans shouldn't even have known that the Twelve Races existed.
And yet, this man knew.
He knew the name of the Dragon Race's sovereign—the very name of an existence that inspired despair!
This was far more serious than a human forming an incarnation pact with a high-ranking Abyssal Lord.
'A human who is close enough to Sepiro to have the merchant's rules explained to him directly...'
Was such a thing even possible?
It was utterly implausible.
If Dagon told the other demons about this, they would ridicule him.
'Could he have made a contract with Sepiro? Given that Sepiro is the sovereign of the Dragon Race, crossing between worlds to enter into a contract wouldn't be entirely impossible.'
The thought briefly crossed his mind.
...But he had no idea.
Nothing was certain.
Perhaps he could find out by climbing the ranks and gaining access to those higher up, but at his current level, there was absolutely no way for him to discover the truth.
One thing, however, was certain: this human was playing him like a fool.
He had approached Dagon knowing everything and calculating every move in advance.
'A bastard more demonic than the demons themselves.'
It was too late for regrets.
The one who had taken the bait wasn't Park Chan-woo.
It was Dagon himself.
At that moment, Park Chan-woo spoke in a relaxed tone.
It was time to collect payment for the 20,000,000 in value.
"Dagon, it's time to pay up."
"......"
"Or would you rather go bankrupt right here?"
For Dagon, bankruptcy meant death.
Park Chan-woo knew his name, after all.
With considerable difficulty, Dagon forced himself to speak.
"......What do you want from me?"
"World Tree Fruit."
"That... is an item my rank doesn't permit me to handle."
"Then go bankrupt."
"W-Wait! Now that I think about it, I might be able to make it work. For a value of twenty million, this could be a fairly reasonable deal."
Sepiro's name was worth 20,000,000.
Considering that even a high-grade elixir could be purchased for 500,000, the amount was absurd.
Dagon had no way of paying that much, so he was offering to settle the debt with World Tree Fruit instead.
In other words, he was assigning the fruit a value equivalent to 20,000,000.
Shuaaang!
Soon, World Tree Fruit materialized above Dagon's palm.
Aside from its sparkling, self-emitting glow, it looked exactly like an ordinary apple.
"What do you think? If you accept my offer, I can hand it over to you right now."
Dagon tried to entice him.
However, Park Chan-woo scoffed at the proposal. Times changed, and circumstances shifted, but certain things never lost their value.
No matter how potent World Tree Fruit might be, it wasn't worth 20,000,000.
"Ten million."
Half that amount might have been reasonable.
Honestly, even half was a generous offer.
To avoid bankruptcy, Dagon had to sell his goods for as much as he possibly could.
He needed to reduce that twenty-million valuation as much as possible if he wanted to escape bankruptcy.
That was why Park Chan-woo had offered ten million.
The real bargaining with the merchant had begun.
And Park Chan-woo held an overwhelming advantage.
"Fifteen million. I can't go any lower. I have to make a living, too, you know."
"I thought demons didn't eat."
"......I need to maintain a minimum rank to continue working as a merchant."
"Rare rank, you mean?"
"That's right."
Dagon's demotion was already inevitable.
He was simply standing at the crossroads between bankruptcy and survival.
'This human bastard really does know everything.'
All the strength drained out of him.
If Park Chan-woo even knew the requirements for maintaining a merchant's rank, then he truly knew everything.
Dagon could only conclude that lying would put him at a disadvantage.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"I'll be honest. My existence is worth fifteen million. Since I owe you twenty million, the remaining five million will be collected as excess payment. I need to retain that much value from our transaction if I want to survive."
After hearing Dagon's explanation, Park Chan-woo considered his options.
Should he bankrupt Dagon here and now, or spare him and put him to use?
'Even if I kill a demon merchant, all I get is one coin.'
When a debtor went bankrupt and ceased to exist, there was no proper settlement.
If Dagon refused to complete the transaction and accepted his own annihilation, Park Chan-woo would get little more than a single coin.
Park Chan-woo spoke in a low voice.
"Taking the minimum rank requirements into account, you'll need to retain six million in value."
"Exactly. If you're not willing to leave me that much value, there's no reason for me to trade with you. I'd rather cease to exist."
Dagon's expression was resolute. It was clear that if Park Chan-woo pushed him any further, he would choose death instead.
'Dagon. He's a fairly capable merchant.'
In the future, Park Chan-woo had traded with numerous demon merchants.
Compared to them, Dagon was quite competent.
For starters, despite his rank being too low to handle it, he had somehow managed to obtain World Tree Fruit.
Demon merchants each specialized in particular types of goods, and their ranks determined which items they were permitted to trade.
To obtain goods outside their specialty—especially items of a higher rank—they needed approval from the Demon Merchants' Guild.
'He summoned World Tree Fruit instantly. Does he have backing in the guild?'
That was certainly possible.
Obtaining goods without the guild's approval meant either that he held a high position himself or that someone influential was backing him.
And that wasn't all.
Even when facing imminent bankruptcy, Park Chan-woo had never encountered a demon merchant who openly admitted the true value of his own existence.
Considering all these factors, Dagon was too valuable to kill just yet.
"If you trade World Tree Fruit for ten million, how much will you have left?"
"......Nothing."
"Nine million."
"Then I'd be taking a loss..."
"Eight million."
"Damn it! Seven million! That's the value of World Tree Fruit!"
Dagon shouted in exasperation.
Park Chan-woo gave a faint chuckle.
He had to admire Dagon's instinct to squeeze out a profit, even in a situation like this.
Dagon hurriedly explained.
"You already know this, but I can't sell an item for less than its value. I'm also forbidden from making a transaction that yields no profit, and the smaller my profit margin, the more it affects my rank evaluation. If I make a mere ten percent or so, I'll fail the evaluation anyway and won't even be able to maintain my minimum rank."
Demon merchants generally made at least one and a half times the value of an item when trading.
A ten-percent profit margin?
That was an embarrassment to the merchant's profession.
Park Chan-woo asked as though testing the waters.
"What if we entered into an exclusive contract?"
"......You mean you'd continue trading exclusively with me?"
"That's right."
"Hmm. To enter into an exclusive contract with me, you'd need to trade a minimum value of two million every thirty days. Under those circumstances, there would be some room to negotiate the profit margin."
Dagon looked troubled.
An exclusive contract bound both parties.
That meant Dagon could trade only with Park Chan-woo, and Park Chan-woo could trade only with Dagon.
"But can you handle that? I understand that you're no ordinary human, but reaching a value of two million won't be easy. Even so, I won't accept a profit margin below thirty percent."
"Five million at twenty percent."
"......What?"
"I'll guarantee a minimum trading value of five million a month. In exchange, your profit margin will be twenty percent."
"If you fail to meet that amount, ten times the value will be forcibly collected..."
Ten times five million was fifty million.
If Park Chan-woo couldn't pay that much, his entire body would disintegrate and vanish like dust.
However, if he could meet the requirement...
Even a twenty-percent profit margin would leave Dagon with a value of one million.
That was enough to maintain his rank. He wouldn't need to trade with other humans at all.
'No, it's more than enough. If I can consistently earn a value of one million every thirty days, I might even be able to advance to the next rank.'
That was assuming the arrangement continued without interruption.
Dagon spoke in a doubtful tone.
"What am I supposed to trust when entering into a contract with you?"
"So you need something tangible to believe in."
"Obviously. If we sign an exclusive contract, I won't be able to trade with other humans, either."
Dagon regarded him with suspicion.
Park Chan-woo pulled a hefty bundle of something from his inventory.
At the same moment—
"Gasp...!"
Dagon couldn't help but gasp in genuine shock.
Everything that had surprised him until now had been child's play in comparison.
'That's insane. Those are all coins?!'
The entire bundle consisted of coins.
Not just one or two, but dozens of them.
Exactly twenty-one coins lay in Park Chan-woo's palm.
"Is that enough to convince you?"
"...M-More than enough. It's almost too much."
For an instant, greed gleamed in Dagon's eyes.
To demons, coins possessed immeasurable value.
Who wouldn't want to get their hands on them?
"W-Wait."
Suddenly, Dagon's entire body began to tremble.
He had realized something else of tremendous significance.
"T-Twenty-one coins? H-How many Abyssal Lords have you already driven into bankruptcy?"
His expression conveyed more than shock. There was fear in it, too.
The Abyssal Lords were the rulers of the Abyss.
For a human to bankrupt one of them was extraordinarily difficult.
It was practically impossible.
And yet, the Abyss had only begun a few days ago...
'...What if this bastard isn't human?'
At that moment, Dagon arrived at a single conclusion.
Gulp!
Dagon swallowed hard as his entire body shook violently, almost as though he were having a seizure.
It was an extremely remote possibility.
But it was the only explanation that could account for everything he had witnessed.
'N-No way... Could this be Sepiro himself?'