Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Revisiting the Black Market (2)
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◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Here, pick whatever you want."
"Oh..."
The drug dealer confidently placed the vials on the table.
From pills in pristine white containers to mysterious potions in ornate glass bottles.
I quickly checked out today's four recommended items.
⚙ ITEM INFO ⚙ Pleasure 1004: Grants supreme hallucinogenic ecstasy upon consumption. To consume again, you must complete the quest given by the demon. Unlimited uses. Price: 4444C 'What the hell is this...'
Something suspicious right from the start. It was blatantly a trap item.
A quest from a demon...? No matter how I thought about it, it was bound to be something insane. No sane person would ever buy this.
Having already fought a demonist once, I knew what those demons were like. Parasites that infested human bodies and reveled in eating flesh. In the end, they'd twist the user into something neither here nor there and mock them.
I averted my eyes from Pleasure 1004. It wasn't even worth considering. A cornered human might swallow it in desperation, but I had no need for drug-induced ecstasy.
I quickly checked the next one. It looked just like birth control pills.
⚙ ITEM INFO ⚙ Sense Push: One dose halts sperm activity for a month. Ease your worries! Minimalist vasectomy in pill form, Sense Push! 12 pills included. Price: 8000C "Uh... this one."
"Yeah. Birth control. The most reliable one I have. Makes you 100% infertile during the duration."
"Uh... oh..."
"Nothing beats a seedless watermelon, right?"
The drug dealer winked, closing one eye playfully.
It was a different vibe from what I'd imagined for birth control... but it was still birth control.
"Thanks..."
I shelled out 8,000 coins for a year's supply. Pricey, but it lasted long. With this, I'd become a seedless watermelon myself.
'Now I can fool around freely without slaves... though who else would I even do it with besides slaves...'
With my original goal of birth control secured, I relaxed and checked the remaining two items.
⚙ ITEM INFO ⚙ Pet Human Cleanser: One pill per day, one per use. Expels all bodily waste through urine. Caution: Pet humans may experience hematuria. 30 pills included. Price: 5400C ⚙ ITEM INFO ⚙ Vaporization Potion: Turns you into vapor upon consumption. Effect lasts 1 minute. If dispersed by wind, you won't return. Replica. Price: 1111C "I'll take these two as well."
"Good choice. Excellent decision."
The cleanser would be handy when I couldn't bathe. With 30 pills, I could split some with Eun-ji and Ha-rin—perfect for the forest trip. The vaporization potion was cheap and had such a unique effect that I bought it on a whim. It might come in handy as a wildcard.
I stuffed the purchased drugs into my large bag.
"Well, we're heading out now."
"Already? Have some tea first~"
"No thanks."
"Heh heh heh... Smart kid. Come back anytime."
The drug dealer waved regretfully, lamenting that he couldn't slip us anything.
"Where to next?"
"Poacher's hut, then the slave trader."
"Sounds good. If we have time, I'll finally show you the black market's pride: Central Square."
"Uh... thanks."
As I opened the shop door and stepped out, my body was sucked away, landing me in a familiar yet eerie dark alley.
Sure enough, bizarre food stalls lined the underground market, and bipedal figures shrouded in black robes wandered about.
"Right? Or left? Either way leads straight to the poacher eventually. Left's desserts. Right's Western-style grub."
"That... is dessert?"
I stared at a rock monster squeezing red pus from its facial wounds into sizzling oil and asked her. I couldn't believe that was dessert.
Who the hell would eat that? But as the pus fried, surprisingly many gathered to taste it. Worse, they were all similar rock monsters.
Wasn't that cannibalism?
"Yeah. Super popular over there."
"Urk..."
"Hahaha! From a normal human perspective, it might be gross. I've rolled around here so long, it doesn't faze me!"
Cheshire laughed as she spoke. She was no ordinary foe. This woman wasn't right in the head either.
I dry-heaved and checked my wristwatch. Fifteen minutes spent at the drug dealer's. No time to gawk.
"Straight to the poacher. Uh... right."
"Got it!"
Cheshire naturally offered her hand. I took it. She seemed to like skinship. She wasn't like this last time. Was this the bonus for the extra 10,000 coins? Not bad.
Soon, we passed the mad food joints and reached the end of the poacher's alley. Oddballs tried approaching us, but Cheshire's neon mask shifted to an Illuminati-like eye, sending them fleeing in terror.
I didn't know what it symbolized, but even staring at the eye, I felt nothing. Seeing my lack of reaction, Cheshire patted my head, saying, 'As expected of my favorite human.'
I might be traveling with the black market's most dangerous being.
Anyway, we entered the hut.
Inside, the poacher still wore his black mask, meticulously cleaning some unknown animal egg.
"Hm. That human from before? Properly masked this time. And with... Cheshire."
"Hey, old man. Long time no see."
"Hm. Quit being a low-earner or a brothel crawler and take over my shop already."
"No way~ I'd never take a gloomy, mind-numbing place like this, even for billions."
"Damn brat. Ahem. Sorry for the spectacle. Check today's recommended goods."
The poacher set the egg on the counter and rummaged out items. This egg was smaller and bright yellow, unlike last time.
"Here, 'Player.' These four are all you can buy here."
I checked the table items from left to right.
⚙ ITEM INFO ⚙ Unknown Egg: Unknown what will hatch. Price: 10000C The egg looked different from last time, but the price and description were identical. If I came with a class that could identify beasts, maybe I'd know what it was.
'Should bring Ye-won-i next time.'
She's a beast tamer, so there might be special interaction.
"Do you know when this hatches?"
"Hm... let's see."
The poacher pressed his ear to the egg. Somehow discerning from sound, he nodded to himself before answering.
"Doesn't want to come out yet. Probably 5-6 days at least. Tip: To be recognized as master by the hatched beast, carry it without washing until it hatches."
"Then it'll treat me as master?"
"Yeah. Not widely known. Special since Cheshire's here after ages."
Come to think of it, what was their relationship? She called him "old man" fondly. Their banter felt like father and rebellious daughter—he pushing succession, her running off.
'Maybe he'll explain if affinity rises.'
For now, buy quick and go.
"I'll take this."
"Oh, finally buying something."
I bought the egg and checked my watch. Still time left.
But anything could happen here—better wrap up fast. I checked the next item.
"Why's this covered with a towel?"
"It goes berserk at the sight of humans."
"Pardon?"
The poacher chuckled foolishly and removed the cloth.
A tumbler-sized glass jar appeared.
Kieeeaaaa!!!
Thud! Thud!
'What is this...'
The thumb-sized larva inside went wild upon spotting me, slamming the jar like it wanted to shatter it. Light purple, grotesque with teeth lining a cylindrical mouth like a sea eel.
"Seems to like you a lot. I can feel its joy."
"Uh... yeah."
Probably thanks to the All-Demon's Favor.
⚙ ITEM INFO ⚙ Alcid Larva: Parasitizes the host, transforming it into an adult alcid. Price: 3000C "What's an alcid...?"
"Alcids? Psychic bugs. Infamous parasitic swamp race with powerful psionic energy."
Gulp.
Swamp parasites...
"This too..."
"Hold on. I'll package it."
I'll feed it to one of the slaves later and turn them into an alcid. Psionic energy suggests superpowers—perfect to awaken non-awakened into psychics.
The poacher wrapped the jar neatly in black cloth and handed it over. The larva wailed grotesquely, thudding the jar. Fearing breakage, I stowed it quickly.
The next was green spores in a sealed triangular flask.
"This is..."
⚙ ITEM INFO ⚙ Parasitic Mushroom Spores: Grows mushrooms from a living body. Delicious taste. If matured, births a mushroom human. Price: 47000C "High-end ingredient."
The poacher explained. Leave an infected body in a dark, damp spot, and in a week, harvest delicious mushrooms.
"Three will grow. Burn any red ones immediately—they spew spores everywhere. Unless you're a mushroom expert, you can't handle it. Could overrun the planet. Start of a new disaster."
"..."
"No need to panic. Just kill the red. The two normal ones, left on the corpse, become mushroom humans."
"Mushroom humans...?"
"Overgrown inedible mushrooms. Hermaphrodites—two suffice for self-mating. Left alone, they'll devour the corpse and multiply. Lucky they're not parasitic. Intelligent too—could communicate as allies. Not recommended."
Sapient... slaves. Even human sacrifices viable.
'Mushroom human ranch... breed and sacrifice. Solves shortages even if humans dwindle... Must buy this.'
Breeding speed unknown, but more mushroom humans mean more devouring zombies, exponential growth. Sterilize to control numbers. Perfect slave race. Might end human hunts altogether.
"How long for mushroom humans to breed?"
"Heh. Question machine. I'll answer, but don't bail after."
"I'll buy first."
47,000 coins? Worth it for perpetual slaves.
"One litter takes a week—gestation one week, three offspring. Issue: both mate each other, so both pregnant. No incest taboo—geometric increase post-first litter. Blink, and area's mushroom humans only."
"Ooh...!"
"Excited for slaves or sacrifices, huh?"
"Uh... yes."
He pierced my class and skills at a glance. His eyes gleamed through the mask.
'Kuh...'
Felt like being Appraised. Unsettling peek into my depths, but Cheshire unbothered, so I stayed put.
"It's fine."
"Yep..."
Sensing my unease, Cheshire patted my shoulder. Tension eased.
"Old man, enough scanning? Kid's embarrassed. Service turning weird."
"Ahem... sorry. Merchants sell, don't scan. Habit."
The poacher cleared his throat.
"I get why you want mushroom humans. But overpopulate, and trouble."
"Uh... why?"
"Keep under 300. Over that, the queen emerges..."
"Queen...?"
"Mushroom queen. Beyond your current level. Might need that 'spider' and wriggling 'tentacle' behind you simultaneously."
A monster requiring both Kyseria and first tentacle Aynax...
Red spore mushrooms too. One slip, and I could wipe out humanity myself.
"Understood. Thanks for the advice."
"No prob. You're my only customer—gotta keep you alive."
I carefully bagged the spores amid his warning. Grow to 200, then cull. Strictly under 300. Use after forest—can't risk unchecked growth.
Last item: ginseng-like plant with bandaged head.
⚙ ITEM INFO ⚙ Screaming Grass: Blindfolded, still alive. Eat raw: +20 Magic Power. Myriad Ghost Realm affiliation: +50 Magic Power. Scream kills humans under 100 Magic Power. Price: 33000C Boosted more for Myriad Ghost Realm class. Ha-rin and Hee-sun Noona qualified. Hee-sun needed summons, so her higher Magic Power better—more spirits with expanded slots. Mine sufficient already; her gain bigger.
"But..."
"How to silence the scream?"
"Yes."
"Simple. Snap head while bandaged—dies before screaming. Shock elsewhere first, and it starts. Weak humans mass-die from cry. Caution. Must eat within 2 minutes post-decap, or no effect."
"Got it."
Over 30,000 coins, but Magic Power boost—bought immediately.
No scream, no problem.
"I'll take it."
"Sold out today. Great. Come with Cheshire next—show you behind the sliding door."
"Oh..."
I nodded at the breeding pen tease. Probably big beasts or critters. Maybe dragons.
Cheshire at the entrance confirmed.
"Slave trader next?"
"Yes."
"Awesome! Let's hustle!"
Holding her hand, we exited—to the abandoned amusement park with the slave trader.
Upon arrival, the sunlight statue at my waist suddenly reacted.
Hmm... The area... is overflowing with souls too much to bear... A frightening place... Probably those black shadows lurking in the ride corners, watching me.
I hurried after Cheshire to the circus tent with the clown slave trader.
No good lingering in this creepy place.
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