Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Weight of Silence
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Hwan-in suddenly had a thought. If Earth's cheetahs had personalities like Ssa's, they would've bred like rabbits.
Earth cheetahs were known to be extremely introverted, shy, and downright cowardly.
No wonder they couldn't even mate properly and ended up on the critically endangered list.
But Ssa, despite having a cheetah's head, was incredibly sociable. Like a cheetah raised alongside retrievers.
'The Lukil-Hou incident too... Their appearance is strikingly similar to Earth's animals, but they're entirely different species.'
Seasoned meat pies glazed to perfection. Fish roasted golden with a heavy sprinkle of pepper. A vibrant salad of greens, reds, and whites that whetted the appetite, alongside a stew bobbing with chunks of meat and assorted vegetables. Bread baked with cardamom and pine nuts, paired with sugar-dusted dried fruits. And finally, a frothy, bubbling yellow alcoholic brew.
As he savored the table laden with mouthwatering dishes fit to break a board, Hwan-in deftly steered the conversation toward his desired topic using the silver tongue he'd honed in office life.
When the tales of Ssa's travels—peddling wares across cities, villages, and hamlets—finally surfaced, Hwan-in feigned perfect timing and chimed in.
"You must have encountered all sorts of currencies along the way."
=Of course. These days, currency values are standardized, but just a hundred years ago, everyone used their own.=
Now, all four major tribal nations used iron-copper-silver-gold-red currencies as unified tender, but back then, there were dozens just from the Lukrang tribal nation Radsea alone.
=On my travels, I've seen Karajal coins from the ancient empire era, metal plaques from the distant Tribal Alliance capital, bronze plaques, copper plaques, and sack coins from our Lukrang capital before the refinement era. Even the bronze coins of the Savi tribe after they adopted standardized measures. Easily over a hundred varieties.=
Ssa chuckled, explaining how he'd endured every hardship over twenty years to carve out trade routes, all in pursuit of that ironclad rule among merchants: the more currencies you know, the sharper the trader. In the end, though, he'd chosen the honest path of a traveling peddler, one that sat well with his heart and gut.
=And hey, it led me to forge deep bonds with these folks, so no complaints here. Built up a tidy fortune without envy, too.=
True to his words, one of the three escorts radiated a clear aura, while the other two exuded sharply honed prowess.
"They say the most priceless assets a person can gain are connections and true companionship."
=Oh, that hits home. Indeed, a friend who truly gets you is worth more than a hundred gold coins. Without her, I'd be dead several times over.=
With that, he patted the shoulder of the cheetah-eared, tailed warrior woman leaking aura.
The topic wrapped up naturally, and everyone had eaten their fill. Hwan-in seized the moment.
"In that case... you might recognize this, Ssa. Mind taking a look?"
=Hm?=
Ssa's eyes widened slightly at the gold coin Hwan-in revealed, his tone laced with surprise.
=A metal plaque exclusive to the Tribal Alliance capital. May I see it?=
"Sure."
Ssa took the coin, sniffed it—sniff sniff—then gagged, throat bobbing as if he might retch.
=Whoa, what a stench. Smells like it's soaked in blood from multiple monsters and beasts...?=
"Had to take down attackers in the labyrinth, so it picked up some."
He'd kept it in his pouch during fights, but plenty of blood had splattered his clothes regardless. Combat meant getting messy; no avoiding it.
Hearing this, not just Ssa but the escorts listening in all instinctively glanced westward.
It was a natural reaction, given the village tales they'd heard.
=Ahem. One moment...=
Realizing the implications, Ssa scratched his head sheepishly, carefully placing the coin on the table. From a small pouch at his waist—like two fists joined—he pulled out a balance scale far larger than it, plus a dozen dice-sized blue cubes.
"...?"
How did something that size fit in there? Hwan-in wondered if he'd hallucinated.
Setting aside the mystery, he watched Ssa intently place the coin on one pan, then add blue cubes to the other, one by one.
'Ultra-low density material.'
Even with three cubes, the 500-won-sized gold coin outweighed them. Hwan-in furrowed his brow.
It took five full cubes and two a third the size to balance.
=Five and two-thirds. Impressively high phase crystal purity. Doesn't seem minted by the Alliance Currency Bureau.=
These blue cubes must be a unique material from this world—phase crystals, evidently contained in the coin...
'Anti-counterfeiting measure. Probably more to it.'
Hwan-in grasped the basics and pressed on.
"So, where might it have been made?"
=Anything boosting purity by two-thirds over standard marks it as premium-grade, circulated only among the Alliance capital's upper echelons. As you know, standard gold coins are fixed at fifth-grade purity. Forging them isn't hard—any capital high-tech division or equivalent could manage—but pinpointing which? Tough, with so many candidates.=
"Definitely from the Tribal Alliance capital, then."
=Precisely. Easy enough to make, but why bother upping purity on another tribe's coin when standards exist?=
"..."
Hwan-in curbed his curiosity about the Alliance capital's location and nature, and how to get there.
"First time seeing one, so I was curious about the material. Thanks for clearing it up."
=No trouble at all. Any seasoned merchant would know. So, picked it up in the labyrinth?=
"Yeah. By chance."
=Lucky break! At five and two-thirds purity, it's worth nearly 1.7 gold.=
Handing it back with a grin, Ssa offered advice.
=Smart showing it to me, though. Keep it under wraps elsewhere. You seem unaware, Soul Shaman, but its rarity for special trades makes it a target beyond face value.=
"Noted."
Forcing a wry smile as he pocketed it, Hwan-in's mind raced.
The group that dragged him into this bizarre world. He'd figured they weren't ordinary, but upper crust...?
Like most modern folks, he harbored deep distrust of elites and power brokers. It applied here too, sharpening his wariness.
More pressing: Did the coin hold some special power? Or was Ssa just insensitive to it?
'Need more intel and common knowledge.'
The village chief's piecemeal lessons weren't nearly enough to quench his thirst.
After the meal, Hwan-in parted from Ssa's group and headed to a hill overlooking nothing but the horizon, Emergency Ration in tow.
He needed quiet to sort his thoughts.
Kuet. Kue-
Gazing at Emergency Ration waddling goose-like, Hwan-in said,
"Emergency Ration, fly."
Kue? Ku-oo!
Flap. Fwooosh flap flap.
"...You're turning into a pig. Cut back on feed?"
At the bird's futile wingbeats—no liftoff—Hwan-in muttered. Startled, Emergency Ration flapped wildly, sprinting in circles.
It gained a bit of air with effort... but that was gliding, not flying.
Ku-ek! Kue-et!
"..."
Gliding down the hill and back, it snorted triumphantly. Hwan-in was mildly exasperated.
An omnivore devouring anything human-edible, with decades-long lifespan. During dinner with Ssa, he'd indulged every demand...
Staring at the eerily perceptive bird, Hwan-in silently stroked its head and plopped into the grass.
Smart or not, it was a beast driven by instinct. If it couldn't curb its appetite, he'd help.
Unfurling the map against the breeze, he recalled Ssa's words.
? We'll leave Yukam in two days, heading back to the holy city. Passes three hamlets, villages, and a small town en route.
— Barring major issues, about twenty days.
? If you're aiming for the nearest city, traveling with us is a solid option.
— Ten years trading here means I know the terrain and monster haunts inside out. Ha ha.
He'd whispered if Hwan-in bought the map from the general store—it was his own stock, after all—and winked about uncharted villages.
"..."
From chats with the chief, Hwan-in knew settlements were classed into five rough tiers.
Hamlets: county-sized, under 1,000 souls. Yukam qualified.
Villages: town-sized, 1,000+.
Small towns: city-like.
Mid-sized cities, holy cities above.
Capitals at the top.
Small towns varied wildly—some called any walled village with tiger-folk a town; others demanded 50,000 people, castles, and walls.
Mid-sized: 200,000 minimum, Earth-city scale.
Holy cities: special-city size.
Capitals: national seats, four worldwide. Holy cities 7-9x more, mid-sized 40-70x, small towns over 2,000.
Villages and hamlets? Countless. Population dwarfed Earth's Middle Ages.
He scrutinized the crude map, charcoal-scrawled: single lines for roads, doubles for rivers. Mountains mere symbols, settlements dotted haphazardly.
'Not a bad idea tagging with Ssa's crew.'
They knew his basics, eyed him as a Soul Shaman with wants. Mutual benefit.
But trust strangers? Hwan-in, who'd hoarded weaknesses even back home, wasn't one to.
Still, pros outweighed cons.
Moral as they seemed, Ssa knew he held billions in modern terms.
Greed could flip them. Plus, supernatural powers existed here—his own included, but risks remained.
For safety, he'd resolved to hide his origins till grasping norms. Ignorance bred mistakes.
No net, no computers—primitive world.
Otherworlder exposed? Human experiments easy.
'Risk it for faster common sense absorption.'
Three escorts meant monsters lurked between hamlets.
Together: no solo outnumbered fights, intel on foes, local beast strengths.
"..."
Deep in thought, Hwan-in rose, muttering,
"Small town it is."
Life-or-death scales tipped both ways. To reach the Tribal Alliance capital unsuspected, he needed savvy.
No clue on security or registration—big cities risky. Small town ideal.
Decision made.
=Traveling with us, then?=
"Yes. I can wield spear and blessings a bit—not dead weight."
=Who'd call the guy who escaped a sixth-grade labyrinth with four helpless girls weak? Right?=
Escorts and porters nodded vigorously at Ssa's cue.
"Looking forward to it."
Ssa beamed, clasping Hwan-in's hand with both of his, shaking heartily.
=To Weyford small town and beyond—pleasure doing business!=
Simple reason for joining: better guarded caution than lone peril.
Unknown wilds solo or with wary company? Pick safer.
He'd survived a month hibernating post-drop. This was extension.
That evening, over dinner with the chief's family, he announced leaving in two days.
=Wish you'd stay a year, Soul Shaman. Heh heh.=
"Yukam feels like home—hate to go."
Pure lip service. To him, it was a 150-soul speck: four girls, simple folk.
The chief unearthed his prized reserve brew—aroma, taste akin to Earth's fine wines. A twinge of nostalgia.
Sealed away Earthly longings for good.
This world's sole regret? Not tech, but booze culture.
Welcoming feast decent. Inn beer beat Korean brews.
But a bar regular like him found lacks.
Forgivable in a 200-soul hamlet. Cities promised premium.
This vintage? Mind-blowing.
Expectations soared for urban delights.
Night brought surprise: chief's eldest daughter, first visit.
Two weeks brooding, decision post-departure news.
"Heard you're engaged."
=Engaged, not married...=
"You sure?"
Implying pregnancy wrecked wedding odds. She shrugged it off.
Raise any child, or marry sans.
Beastly instinct for strong seed, he thought—but no refusal.
No reason to.
"..."
Afterward, absorbing her warmth to the hilt, he covered the five-times-fainted girl.
Wind chilled.
By moonlit window, breeze cooling sweat, he pondered.
'Could kids even result between me and this world's women?'
Similar looks, different species: pregnancy impossible, per science.
Tigons, ligers rare—but felines shared traits.
He: Earth human. Here: not Earth, women likely not human.
Common sense said no...
'Common sense doesn't rule here.'
Regardless, he wouldn't fret. One-night terms, tacit pact.
Breeze whispering through open window, Hwan-in lay beside her, eyes closing.