Chapter 180
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 180
He recognized the names of the monsters. As his gaze drifted down the parchment, the caliber of the beasts gradually declined. The very last monster listed was barely worthy of being called A-rank.
Of course, even a creature of that level could easily wipe out a small human village on its own.
“Where are the monsters now?”
“We decided we couldn't let them enter the Spirit Forest without permission, so they are currently hiding in various parts of the surrounding woods.”
“I see.”
Listening with half an ear, Patrick glanced at the bottom of the parchment. Next to the name of the final monster, the number 291 was written.
Two hundred and ninety-one monsters.
Two hundred and ninety-one monsters in just two weeks.
“How many employees does the Leprechaun Merchant Guild have in total?” Patrick asked.
Scobina answered without hesitation. “A total of 1,320, including everyone from the lowest contract workers to the Guild Master.”
And 1,320 of them had recruited 291 monsters in two weeks.
“……”
To have successfully recruited 291, the actual number of candidates they scouted must have been far greater. Moreover, since every monster they sought had to be A-rank or higher, the guild members couldn't have moved alone. Assuming they traveled in groups of at least two, and factoring in the travel distance and time…
They must have mobilized the guild's entire strength.
The most decisive proof was Scobina's attitude. Unlike before, there wasn't a single trace of fear in her; her confidence was plain to see.
A merchant's confidence always stemmed from thorough preparation. As she was now, Scobina could counter any complaint Patrick threw at her with flawless logic.
“You've worked hard.”
Patrick rolled up the parchment and tucked it into his breast pocket before pulling out a contract he had prepared beforehand.
“I must pay you.”
Wrapping a faint trace of magic around his fingertips, Patrick revised the terms written on the contract. Scobina accepted the document politely, a small, joyful smile gracing her lips.
She had passed the test.
Since the death of North, the former guild member in charge of the Primordial Core, they had only commissioned Scobina for menial tasks. Most of it was procuring food or running errands for Patrick.
Then, out of nowhere, this request had arrived. From Scobina's perspective, it was a test—a test to see how well she could perform in North's stead.
And now, judging by Patrick's satisfied expression, she seemed to have passed with flying colors. Without a single issue…
“……I think there's a mistake.”
…except a single issue was staring her right in the face. It was the most critical issue possible in a transaction.
“I believe the amount is incorrect.”
The down payment the Primordial Core had paid for this request was 50,000 ounces of gold.
To call 50,000 ounces an “astronomical sum” was an understatement. It was an amount that defied easy comprehension.
For humans, who actively circulated gold coins, an ordinary citizen would have to work themselves to the bone for a month just to save a single ounce. With 1,000 ounces, one could build a local lord's castle and still have plenty left over.
In other words, the down payment alone was enough to build fifty castles, fully furnish their interiors, and still have enough left over to throw a grand feast.
That was the scale for humans, who spent a lot of money. For monsters, who sourced most of their food, clothing, and shelter from nature, the value was even greater. For small dungeons, it was common for their annual budget to be less than three ounces of gold. Carrying more than two ounces was considered wealthy enough to make one a target for surrounding monsters.
Such was the value of gold.
Therefore, the guild had assumed that the 50,000 ounces would cover the bulk of the commission fee. With that much, depending on how hard they bargained during recruitment, they could easily pocket a profit margin of over 5,000 ounces.
“We would be fine receiving just 10,000 ounces as payment for this job. If the Primordial Core is dissatisfied, you can even accept less.”
That was what Guild Master Valer had told her.
“I think an extra zero was added,” Scobina said, the moment she saw the figure of 200,000 ounces written on the contract. It was a reflexive utterance.
“Shall we settle on 20,000 ounces then?”
“Ah, no. That's not what I meant……”
“You think it's too much.”
Patrick chuckled playfully, as if he had anticipated her reaction. Failing to settle on a price was a merchant's disgrace, and he was essentially teasing her.
Letting his laughter fade, Patrick wiped the playfulness from his face and continued, “We will be relying on your help a lot in the future, Miss Scobina. The more competent you prove to be, the more work we will entrust to you. Consider this an advance investment from the Primordial Core.”
At the word “investment,” Scobina flinched. In short, it meant they intended to squeeze out every drop of value equivalent to what they paid.
But even taking that into account…
“……No matter how I look at it, this is far too much. Perhaps we should report this to Lord Swallow and go through formal procedures……”
“The Boss doesn't care unless the gold in the treasure vault disappears to a degree that's obvious at a glance.”
“……”
“There's no need to feel so burdened. Just make sure that whenever we trade or give you a job in the future, you prioritize our requests above all else.”
“T-That is……”
“Just like you did this time.”
Ah.
She had been cornered.
Looking at Patrick's sly smile, Scobina realized with absolute certainty: the Primordial Core hadn't been testing her, but the merchant guild itself.
“Do you understand?”
“……”
Shifting priorities for every single request was impossible. If that happened frequently, other clients would complain, and the guild would lose its credibility. In a worst-case scenario, its very survival could be threatened…
She had to refuse.
No matter how powerful the Primordial Core was, some things simply couldn't be done.
A flurry of thoughts rushed through her mind.
Should I say, “I'm sorry”?
No, more firmly… Yes.
No matter how much money you offer, our guild cannot be bought so easily. Please do not insult the Leprechaun Merchant Guild.
Words like that…
“Of course. Without a doubt.”
—As expected, it was simply too much money to refuse.
“Please call upon us anytime.”
Scobina shook Patrick's outstretched hand.
* * *
[You may enter now.]
Several hours had passed since Scobina, who had ordered them to wait indefinitely, entered Graphenia's forest.
From the edge of the woods, her faint voice, amplified by a magic tool, spread across a radius of several kilometers. The moment the message reached them, the monsters hiding throughout the forest began moving toward the Primordial Core.
They were already exhausted from marching for days. Having to match their paces despite their vastly different strides had made them incredibly irritable. The aggressive manner in which they rushed forward almost looked like an invasion.
However, in accordance with Scobina's orders, none of the monsters rushed past Room 1. Everyone stopped there. Upon arrival, half of them stared blankly at their surroundings, completely spellbound.
One with a mouth gaped.
“The Primordial Core…”
Room 1 was far too massive to be called a mere room.
Its end was nowhere in sight. The deeper one went, the closer it got to pitch-black darkness, making them feel like lost children drifting in a subspace just by standing there.
Yet, despite how wide open it was, the air was heavy.
It stole their breath.
—This is the strongest dungeon.
The dazed monsters shuddered. Since Room 1 had been completely empty before their arrival, the pressure they felt was radiating purely from the space itself.
If the space alone was this overwhelming, what would it be like once monsters occupied it? What would happen if they ventured even deeper?
Just imagining it made them tremble. Overawed by its sheer grandeur, most of the monsters maintained a solemn silence as they waited for Swallow in the center of the room.
“This room is huge. It'd be perfect for me to manage, don't you think?”
Of course, not everyone felt that way.
Some monsters wandered around, driven by curiosity. They belonged to the category of so-called “named” monsters.
Not all A-rank monsters were of the same caliber. Among the 291, there were those hailed as exceptionally strong—beings who, if categorized further, would have a plus sign attached to their rank.
Such was the case for the Yaksha Sisters, mythical beasts, and monsters with epithets who had once ruled over their respective territories.
A tense, noisy battle of nerves had been brewing among them since the start of their journey.
After all, rumors that the administrator positions for Room 1 and Room 2 of the Primordial Core were vacant had already spread far and wide.
There were 291 monsters, but only two prime spots. Since no A-rank monster wanted to end up as a mere grunt, what had started as simple posturing was gradually turning into blatant rivalry.
“Welcome, everyone.”
—Until that voice rang out.
The sudden voice plunged everyone into silence.
It echoed from deep within the dungeon, slowly drawing closer to the crowd.
Yet, its approach defied logic. The voice that had seemed to be drawing near was suddenly right in front of them before they even realized it.
By the time most of the monsters noticed and turned their heads, Patrick was already standing atop the tallest stalagmite near the center of the room.
“Thank you all for making the long journey here.”
Patrick smiled warmly. Despite there being over two hundred mouths present, not a single word came in reply.
Everyone remained silent.
Only glances were exchanged in the quiet. Two hundred and ninety-one pairs of eyes locked onto Patrick simultaneously, scrutinizing him thoroughly. Some were even insolent, trying to gauge whether he was truly fit to be a gatekeeper.
Unbothered by their scrutiny, Patrick swept his gaze over the monsters with mild indifference.
Seeing how the front ranks are mostly made up of the strong ones, they must have already established a hierarchy, he thought. Well, just as expected.
The Yaksha Sisters…
His gaze locked onto the two smallest figures in the front row. Even among the colossal beasts, the pair stood out remarkably. Patrick and the Yaksha Sisters locked eyes. The Yaksha grinned.
They're about what I expected, too…
If asked whether they were the strongest here, it was hard to say for sure due to monster matchups, but they certainly seemed more than qualified to be room administrators. Having finished his assessment, Patrick broke the silence once more.
“The Boss will be here shortly.”
The atmosphere seemed to plummet.
At the single word “Boss,” everyone in the cavern reacted in unison. To them, the name Swallow was the ultimate catalyst. Judging by his achievements alone, he was a living legend. Indeed, some of them had come here solely because of that fact.
“Once the Boss arrives, we will immediately begin preparations for room assignments.”
Only then did the way they looked at Patrick begin to shift. Instantly transforming from an object of suspicion into someone they needed to impress, their attitudes became remarkably polite.
Patrick sat down cross-legged. Having successfully set the mood, all that was left was to wait. Rene had said earlier that she would bring Swallow, so they would probably arrive in about twenty minutes.
Perhaps filled with anticipation, the other monsters also waited in place, each wearing a solemn expression. Every passing second of waiting was torture. It felt as though an hour had already passed.
…And indeed, a whole hour passed, yet he did not show.
“Ugh.”
*
Patrick's hands were heavy, for he was dragging a completely limp Swallow behind him.
His heart was equally heavy, for the tension he had painstakingly built up among the monsters had completely eroded over time.
“Everyone, we are a bit late.”
Two hours past the promised twenty minutes.
“Actually, we are terribly, terribly late.”
Swallow, dragged along by Patrick's grip, finally made his appearance in Room 1.
—Dammit.
He had thought sending Rene was a stroke of genius, but it turned out to be a stroke of pure idiocy. It was a move, alright—a massive blunder. When Patrick had rushed to Swallow's room, Rene had already been completely won over, lying on the floor beside him in the exact same posture.
Rene's excuse had been:
“Lord Swallow said we could stay here together forever. How could Rene possibly refuse such an offer!”
In reality, the word “forever” had probably been omitted from the proposal. …Come to think of it, had Rene been feeling anxious lately about her position being taken? Sending her under those circumstances was definitely a lapse in judgment on his part.
I don't know why I have to be the one to accommodate such things, Patrick thought, a sigh escaping him naturally.
“No, seriously. Kids these days hate this kind of stuff,” Swallow grumbled, even as Patrick dragged him along. No matter how much he rambled, his point boiled down to a single complaint: why on earth did he have to go see the monsters?
“Come on, Boss. They all came here just to see you. You're the dungeon master, after all. You should at least go say a word or two.”
“No way. If I get attached and they end up dying early, it'll only make things difficult for me.”
“Well, that's true, but…”
“Besides, I saw something when I visited a human town recently. The director of some swordsmanship academy gathered all the trainees to give them a lecture or whatever. But every single one of those trainees looked like they had just chewed on crap. Isn't my situation basically the same?”