Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Fame Shop
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Stealthy Betrayer!
The title earned by being the first to destroy another deserter's mark.
Just like that, the "Second Night of the Abyss" hid countless quests.
Clearing them raised your qualification rank or granted special abilities and other benefits.
'Pretty useful.'
Park Chan-woo nodded slightly.
The "Stealthy Betrayer" title he'd just obtained came with some seriously handy options.
Destroying a deserter's mark granted a whopping 400 points in one go—the best condition possible.
Of course, it wasn't without risks.
For one, rescuing prisoners to earn contribution points would be off the table.
And then...
'No one can find out I took out the doppelganger.'
If he got caught, his existence and identity could be exposed to everyone.
He had no idea how the reveal would happen, but the moment it did, he'd have a horde of "enemies" on his tail. That much was clear.
High chance he'd end up hunted by both deserters and pursuers alike.
High risk, high return.
No such thing as a free lunch—even here.
'Just handle it quietly and discreetly.'
Park Chan-woo planned to wipe out the doppelgangers anyway.
Left alone, they'd multiply explosively, and once they built up enough power, they wouldn't run anymore.
Instead, they'd turn the tables and attack the pursuers—the Earthlings.
And if one evolved into a "Doppelganger Lord"? Catastrophe.
He had to avoid the worst-case scenario.
Besides, with "Non-Existence," he could minimize the danger.
Quietly, discreetly.
He needed to take out pursuers and prisoners in one clean sweep or pick off isolated deserters.
Park Chan-woo regained his composure.
'Deserters replaced by doppelgangers. Everything else is the same as before.'
Not much different from the past.
Just the deserter group swapped out for doppelgangers.
All other rules and progression identical.
Naturally, as a regressor, he knew exactly how to tackle this "Night of the Abyss."
He knew what mattered most right now, too.
'After the Second Night ended, people regretted it.'
Humanity kept chaining one wrong choice after another.
They left their failures and regrets scattered everywhere.
Park Chan-woo had always paid close attention to those "diaries" of theirs.
The Second Night was no different.
The common regrets all tied back to "quests."
Most people ignored quests.
Clearing them only netted tiny contribution points.
Better to spend that time capturing deserters or rescuing prisoners from pursuers. More bang for your buck, right?
Wrong.
'Quests first. Always.'
Quest.
Priority one: hunt down and clear the hidden elements.
Finding them wasn't hard at all.
'Quest Compass.'
Park Chan-woo opened his map.
In the bottom-left corner sat a compass—the marker pointing toward the nearest quest.
Solve one, move on to the next.
But...
'Anyone using this is a total noob.'
He shook his head inwardly.
The compass was beginner-level stuff.
'Buy a quest map from the shop.'
The last tip message that had popped up.
The system sprinkled "tips" for things participants needed to watch or must-do.
A safety net of sorts for us hopelessly outmatched humans in the Abyss.
Park Chan-woo recalled the tip's exact wording.
The shops sold all sorts of goods.
Including a book called the "Quest Map."
A guidebook revealing quest types and locations—leagues beyond any compass!
Special currency required, sure, but Park Chan-woo didn't care.
'I've got plenty to spend.'
Enough to buy everything he needed and still have leftovers.
Lord of the Moon, Aheta.
He opened his warehouse.
Only shop owners could access it, but not all demon merchants used it "equally."
"Welcome to the All-Purpose Contribution Shop!"
One demon merchant called out cheerfully.
A massive stone-walled structure.
Fortress-sized—that was the Contribution Shop.
Inside, dazzling treasures filled the space, enough to drop jaws.
"Merchant, can you only use contribution points here?"
A man asked upon entering, and the demon merchant nodded.
"Yes! Buy items with 'contribution points.' And we boast the most treasures of any shop."
All sourced from Lord of the Moon Aheta's warehouse.
The number of items you could take depended on your shop's size and specs. The Contribution Shop was the biggest of them all.
Naturally, it had the most goods on display.
"...'Moon Necklace' for 1 million contribution?"
"'Pursuer's Sword' at 5 million?"
"They put those out just to look pretty, right?"
Some were ornamental treasures with sky-high prices.
But contribution points? Easiest currency to farm here.
As a contribution-only shop, customers flooded in.
'No worries about sales.'
The owner, high-rank demon merchant Bibola, grinned.
He'd competed fiercely to run the Contribution Shop.
The cutthroat rivalry paid off in stellar customer numbers.
He had the so-called "shop monopoly" locked down.
But that wasn't the only reason it thrived.
'Humans are so simple.'
The treasures Bibola picked from the lord's warehouse mesmerized them, and they lined up to blow their contributions.
Strategic placement exploiting human psychology worked wonders.
Walk in, get overwhelmed by the sparkle, tour the shop, snap out of it—and boom, your points are gone.
What a simple, beautiful cycle.
'Time to check the leaderboard?'
First place was his, obviously.
Bibola chuckled and summoned a window.
Twelve shops handling various currencies.
Bibola's Contribution Shop dominated first, no contest.
His grin widened.
'Paripim and Kimerling can't touch me.'
Fellow demon merchants, bitter rivals.
Mark Shop dealt in deserter marks; Body Shop traded body parts for value.
Surprising, though—the Body Shop.
'Didn't expect it to climb to third.'
Thought it'd peak mid-tier at best.
Humans hate pain and treasure their bodies most.
Yet they sell parts to shop there?
'Kimerling specializes in fusion goods.'
Meant the owner Kimerling crushed sales.
An addict for "fusions."
Talent for sourcing artificial bodies or compatible monster parts.
Humans desperate for power spikes sold bits of themselves and bought Kimerling's recommended fusions.
...Whatever.
'Still just third place.'
Worlds apart from first—him.
Bibola's eyes scrolled down to the bottom.
He smirked wickedly.
'Dagon, last place as expected.'
Dagon, owner of the Fame Shop!
Living up to expectations—or lack thereof.
Dagon's father was a top exec overseeing all demon merchants.
A legendary merchant whose feats during his shop days were mythic.
A living legend who'd climbed to exec via pure performance!
...And one of his sons, Dagon? Infamous "eternal last place," "perpetual failure."
'Why pick Fame Shop of all things? Tsk tsk.'
Humans had barely any fame accumulated now.
He knew that, yet chose it anyway. Why?
Nothing dumber than supplying unmet demand.
Grasping at straws, probably.
Thought he'd turn it around personally?
"Got somewhere to be. Mind the shop."
"Yes, sir, Bibola."
The underlings bowed deeply at his order.
Bibola shrugged and left his shop.
Glanced over the others—rivals and underlings.
"Puhahaha!"
At 12th, the Fame Shop, he couldn't hold back laughter.
Simple reason.
"This a shop?!"
A ramshackle hut of slapped-together wooden planks.
Pathetic compared to fortress shops.
Dagon-made, clearly.
Meaning no investment from the Merchant Guild for setup.
Makes sense—building here costs a fortune.
No way they'd fund a surefire flop.
Tongue clicking, Bibola entered the Fame Shop.
"Hey, Dagon! Planning to sell anything?"
"...Bibola. What are you doing here?"
Dagon's face hardened at the sight.
Training batchmates before becoming merchants.
Bibola always top; Dagon always bottom.
Dagon shamed all demon merchants.
Still kicking only on daddy's halo—Bibola's disdain was natural.
Bibola scanned the shop and sighed.
"Knew it'd be junk overload. Think any human can afford these high-value items?"
Fame Shop wares.
Every single one priceless.
Way beyond current human fame levels—utterly unattainable.
And even those weren't normal.
Who could even use them?
'Classic Dagon. Doesn't know basic merchanting.'
Fame Shop should've flooded with cheap bait, yet Dagon failed basics.
"...Mind your own shop, Bibola."
"I'd love to, but... this pitiful shack on the verge of collapse—you didn't build it yourself, right?"
"..."
"No way. Guild went too far. No expectations, fine, but zero investment? Want help?"
"...No need."
Dagon swallowed his rage.
Bibola wasn't the only mocker.
Others laughed their asses off too.
"Aw, don't be like that. We're batchmates! We gotta help each other out."
"..."
"Keh keh! Call anytime you need me. Dagon!"
Still cackling, Bibola turned and left.
Alone, Dagon closed his eyes and bit his lip.
He'd anticipated this.
Foolish choice, self-inflicted suffering—mockery and scorn galore.
Yet.
Still.
Why choose the Fame Shop everyone shunned?
Why stock this cramped shop with priceless treasures it couldn't handle!
Tok, tok.
Then.
Footsteps.
He turned toward the sound, and Dagon's stiff expression melted.
A man stepped through the entrance.
"...You've finally arrived."
Dagon beamed at Park Chan-woo—a smile he'd never shown before.
His long-awaited savior had come.