Wait

"Wait. You're giving this job to just one person?"

Ban Soyeon put the question to Ji Gyutae.

"The one who kills the target with their own hands receives a high-grade. The two who go along receive a mid-grade."

"Since when are you this generous? And you need all three ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of us? The whole point is killing one person."

Choe Gangmin couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

Ban Soyeon laid the terms out clean.

"So whoever takes the target gets high, and the other two get mid. All three of them skill gems?"

"Correct."

"What have you even been doing in the Demon Realm? And how did you get your hands on skill gems?"

"You don't need to know that."

Ban Soyeon jutted her lip.

"Choe Gangmin. And who else?"

"I'll go."

Ban Soyeon raised her hand.

"Good. Ban Soyeon. Reliable as ever."

"Me too! If Noona's going, there's no way I'm sitting this out."

Cheon Sihyeon, eighteen, shot his hand into the air.

He was a prodigy who had been dragged into the Tower of Infinity at thirteen and climbed to the place he stood now, and from the very first moment his eyes had been fixed on Ban Soyeon.

She scowled.

"You. Stay out of it. Don't even try to wedge yourself in."

"That's mean. I just want to be with you, Noona..."

"Which is exactly why I don't want to go anywhere with a brat. Take some other job."

"Wait. If I get a skill gem, I'll give it to you right away."

"......"

At the offer of a gem, Ban Soyeon's mouth shut.

Ji Gyutae smiled, well satisfied.

"Song Taeyeong. You don't appear to want to go."

"A job that needs three members of Coordination? And you're scattering three gems, you said? Sounds far too dangerous. I'll pass."

"It is hardly so dangerous."

"I take you for a sharp man, Brother. A wise one. If this were any ordinary job, you wouldn't be throwing gems around like that, no matter how many you had to spare."

Ji Gyutae nodded.

"Then the matter is settled."

It was a place where players gathered by the thousands—the Black Market. Yujun stood at its heart.

His reason for coming was simple.

What should I sell?

He had only come to see whether he had anything worth putting up. It wasn't as if the errand would eat much of his time, and though he already carried hundreds of millions of points, more money was always better.

Last time I sold a single shield for eight hundred million.

Once he counted what he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had slipped Yoric as a gratuity, the commission had skimmed him for something like ninety million points. Even so, it had been an extremely profitable trade.

At the Black Market he went by the name Wandering Knight.

He was about to step into the tent when a guard moved to block him.

"Your token, if you would..."

Yujun flashed the gold token.

The guards' eyes went round as saucers.

"Please, go right in."

"See that you remember next time."

"Yes, sir!"

The moment Yujun entered the tent, the mustached man who had guided him before—Yoric—came hurrying over.

"You've returned! Sir Wandering Knight!"

"You remember me."

"But of course! How could I forget a man such as yourself, Sir Wandering Knight? Perish the thought."

"Hm."

"And what brings you today?"

"Selling items. And buying, if there's anything good."

"Ahh. They say some truly tremendous pieces have been put up for today's auction. You've chosen an excellent day. Fortune favors you."

"I already knew."

"O-of course you did."

"There are an unusual number ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of people."

"Indeed. Word got out, and guests have poured in from all across the Continent."

"The more, the better."

"This is a secret, but..."

Yoric glanced around, then leaned in to whisper at Yujun's ear.

"I'm told that some of the wealthiest figures on the Continent—men and women who rank at the very top—are here today."

"The wealthy?"

"I can't give names, but the money on them is absurd. Which means... the odds of your items selling high, Sir Wandering Knight, are very good indeed."

Yujun gave a slow nod.

"What do you think is the most expensive thing that sells at the Black Market?"

"The most expensive item... That's a difficult question."

Yoric made a thoughtful sound in his throat.

Equipment wasn't automatically the priciest. Among consumables, anything bound to stats, skills, or traits changed hands for staggering sums. Even so, demand ran highest for equipment, and that was a fact no one could deny. Swap in a single better piece and your combat power jumped in a way you could see.

"It depends on what you have in hand, Sir Wandering Knight, but in my view, selling equipment is the efficient choice."

"Why?"

"Equipment can lose some of its value as players rise in level. The higher they climb, the better the gear they want."

"Hm. There's sense in that."

"Consumables, on the other hand, hold their value. Take an item like an Essence of Strength. It raises Strength by fifteen, does it not? No matter how high a player's level climbs, that fixed increase never shrinks, so the price has no reason to fall. If anything, it will only keep rising."

"Hm. Thank you."

"Not at all. Was it of any help?"

"A great deal."

He had already known every word of it, but he tossed Yoric an answer anyway, for the trouble of explaining at such length.

"I'm glad."

Yoric beamed.

He hadn't intended to sell consumables in the first place. Unlike equipment, those were things he would use up himself someday. Equipment was different. Plenty of it was junk he would never touch if he lived forever.

"Once you've decided, do let me know."

"I will."

What would sell best?

The shield had turned a handsome profit last time.

Could I even put a Mythic-grade weapon on the block?

He had yet to see another person wearing an item of Mythic grade.

Those Coordination bastards. Would they have Mythic-grade items?

If they were past level 500, it was plausible enough.

I'll only release two. Legendary grade, and nothing higher.

He opened his inventory.

Yujun picked out two pieces he had no chance of ever using, whose performance was nothing special by his standards—items he simply didn't need.

Two items for which "exceptional" was barely adequate—and yet, to Yujun, completely useless. From level 400 onward he had been able to outfit himself entirely in Mythic grade. Legendary equipment was something he would never wear again.

I don't even use daggers.

The Dagger That Thirsts for Blood was Legendary rather than Mythic, but its performance didn't fall far short of a Mythic piece. It was fair to call it an item sitting in the gap between the two grades. The option that raised his damage with every kill was the real prize. Stick an effect like that on a weapon and its value shot up. Yujun was certain the dagger would fetch a high price.

He went to Yoric.

"I've decided."

"Which items?"

"Somewhere without people."

"Understood."

Yoric led him into a two-story building.

"No one listening in, I trust."

"This building is mine. You've nothing to worry about."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Good."

Yujun produced the two items he had already chosen.

"Look them over."

"Yes, sir!"

Yoric examined the information on the Helm of Radiance and the Dagger That Thirsts for Blood. The moment he finished, his eyes went wide as lanterns.

"W-wait a moment. You've truly settled on these?"

"Yes."

"It's astonishing enough that you own items like this... Isn't this a bit much?"

At first Yoric had assumed the Wandering Knight meant only to show his goods off. The man did not put them away.

"I'll leave these two with you."

"...Understood. Ah, and Sir Wandering Knight—this may be a presumptuous bit of advice, but once these sell, a great many people will try to uncover who you are."

"It doesn't matter."

Yujun said it without a flicker of expression.

"No one can do me harm."

An arrogant way of speaking. Once again, he was playing the fictional figure called the Wandering Knight.

"I expect you're right."

Yoric nodded and kept nodding.

"When does the auction start?"

"Same as last time, more or less, though I suspect it'll begin about thirty minutes later. A great many items were registered this round."

"Understood. Should I leave the items with you now?"

"Ordinarily, yes. But for pieces of this caliber, it would be better if you brought them to me ten minutes before the auction begins."

"I'll do that."

"Then I'll go on ahead. There's something regarding the items I need to tell the administrator."

"I can come back here?"

"Yes."

Yujun parted from Yoric and wandered the Black Market. There were certainly more players today than before—no comparison to his last visit. He hadn't expected this vast market to feel so packed.

He passed the time looking over the items on display. Then, thirty minutes before the auction was due to start, he turned back toward Yoric, and someone came up to him.

"Wandering Knight."

"......"

"That's you, right?"

"It is. And you are?"

"I'm the Rabbit Queen."

Yujun narrowed his eyes.

He had thought the voice familiar, and it was the woman from before—the player who had lost to him in the bidding war over Behemoth's Blood. She was also Pink Pinkku Rabbit, who had played War of the Gods with him all the way to the end. It wasn't confirmed. Even so, Yujun was certain. If she weren't that person, she wouldn't have pried so hard about No-Pay Casual Gamer.

"I remember. Why did you call me?"

"Last time, we agreed to exchange messengers."

"I never said I would."

"Would it kill you to just do it?"

"There's nothing in it for me."

"I'll tell you who I am. Then will you tell me?"

"......"

"I'm Do Jiyun. I lead the Shinjeon Guild. You know it, don't you?"

Yujun nodded.

The Shinjeon Guild was famous in the Tower of Infinity, and for good reason. It was one of the Four Great Guilds, and Do Jiyun was its master.

Pink Pinkku Rabbit was Do Jiyun?

That was something of a shock. He had assumed, of course, that a user who played War of the Gods all the way to the end would have received a fine privilege and be sitting somewhere high. He had not expected her to be sitting at the head of the Shinjeon Guild.

She turned out to be an even bigger deal than I thought.

Do Jiyun took one step closer.

"Now tell me who you are."

"I never said I would."

"What?"

"You simply got excited and revealed yourself. That was all."

"...You're really going to play it like this?"

"Sorry, but I can't tell you who I am."

"No-Pay Casual Gamer. That's you, isn't it."

"Didn't you say the same thing last time? Who in the world is that supposed to be?"

Yujun played it even more shamelessly. The sudden interrogation had rattled him a little last time. This time was different.

"If you're going to deny it like that, I don't have anything else to say. Even so, I still think you're No-Pay Casual Gamer."

"Fine. Let's pretend that's true. But why are you so fixated on the name No-Pay Casual Gamer?"

"That's..."

At his question, the Rabbit Queen closed her mouth.

"Is it something you can't say?"

"No. I want to bring him into my guild."

"You want to recruit him?"

"Yes. The name of our Shinjeon Guild comes from shortening War of the Gods. Most of the guild's officers are people who played that game."

"I see."

"No-Pay Casual Gamer was the overwhelming number one in War of the Gods. In a one-on-one, nobody could beat him. Even when several people rushed him at once, the result was the same."

"So he made a name for himself there. Is that all?"

"No. If it really is No-Pay Casual Gamer, I think he received privileges that don't even belong in the same conversation as mine, or any other ranker's."

"Why?"

"Because he was on a different level. The money he put into the game, I mean. I spent about ten million won myself, and even that got me an absurd reward. Anyone who spent more than I did got a reward to match."

The corner of the Rabbit Queen's mouth lifted.

"No-Pay Casual Gamer spent tens of times what I did. Hundreds. So wouldn't his privileges scale with that? If a man like him joined our guild, I'd be willing to do anything. If he asked me to hand over the guild master's seat, I could hand it over."

"Hm. I don't fully follow, but I understand the shape of it. You want to recruit him because he's strong. Is that it?"

"Yes. That's why I came to you."

"......"

The Rabbit Queen smiled as if she already knew everything.