Scamming Is Bad
My method for dealing with Morning Goblins was simple.
Three fireballs, bang, bang, bang, and done.
That's why I thought Goblins were treated as total weaklings on Earth, too.
...Or so I thought.
[Hey, fuck! Block properly in the front!]
[Behind, behind!! It's coming from behind! Block it!!]
[Argh!! My arm!!]
Unpleasant screaming spilled out from the monitor.
A whopping six people, including the cameraman, were fighting five Goblins.
And they were even losing.
"This is... the standard strategy?"
No way.
I scrolled down, believing the truth would be in the comments, but.
- Wow, as expected, Myth Guild is just different.
ㄴ Fr, their positioning is clean. And they take turns drinking potions well.
ㄴ Now I see why everyone talks about Myth.
- Do six people usually go into Normal mode?
ㄴ Welcome, Tower noob. You can clear the 1st floor solo regardless of difficulty, but from the 5th floor up, you can't catch them without a party.
ㄴ What floor is that right now?
ㄴ Looking at the background, looks like around the 10th floor? They're Myth, so they're clearing the 10th floor with 6 people; anyone else would've gone with an army.
ㄴ Damm, Myth is insane.
...I'd taken the red pill in a different sense.
They weren't even fighting Morning Goblins, just regular Dagger Goblins.
"Magic was just insanely OP."
I tried looking up other strategies as a test.
There was a spear strategy for the 1st floor of Normal mode, so I checked that out too.
[Now, the method to catch five Goblins is simple!]
"Oh, oh, are they finally going to show me something?"
[First, the required item is one hundred smoke grenades.]
"...What?"
[Use these to block the Goblins' line of sight, then catch them one by one; if there are no variables, a 1-hour clear is possible.]
I lost my mind.
**
"...It's gone."
In the cupboard I checked by using a chair as a step stool, there was no ramen.
I was sure there was one left...
Just in case, I opened my bankbook, but.
[Remaining Balance: 0 won]
"...No money either."
I had no choice but to settle for a strawberry candy for dinner tonight.
Lying on the sofa, sucking on the candy, a thought occurred to me.
"I need money."
It was a strictly realistic problem, and an urgent matter right now.
I really don't have a single cent...!!
At this rate, I might really have to start fighting for a spot at Seoul Station instead of climbing the Tower.
I have to get money somehow.
There was something that could be worth money...
-Clink, clink.
Colorful jewels rolling around on my hand, making a pleasant sound.
Magic Stones.
"They said selling Magic Stones makes money..."
The Magic Stones I had right now were 18 lowest-grade ones.
How much would these go for?
"This is what the gallery is for."
I turned the computer back on and logged into the Tower Minor Gallery.
[Does anyone know how much Magic Stones go for?]
I climbed the 1st floor and got about 18 lowest-grade Magic Stones?
Roughly how much are these per piece?
I even attached a photo just in case.
Because it would be troublesome if I got banned for trolling.
"It'll probably take a while for replies to come in."
Just as I was thinking about eating a melon-flavored candy this time.
-Ding!
"Oh?"
A comment was posted immediately.
But, it wasn't the kind I wanted.
ㄴ ?? You got 18 Magic Stones after clearing the 1st floor?
ㄴ (OP) Yeah, 15 from the reward and 3 from catching Goblins.
ㄴ BS;; What kind of reward gives 15 on the 1st floor? Even Hard mode doesn't give that much.
ㄴ (OP) It did though?
ㄴ Yeah, sure, whatever.
"This... they don't believe me, right?"
They don't believe me even after I sent a verification photo?
Just then, a new comment was posted.
ㄴ There are more psychos in the Tower Minor Gallery now.
ㄴ (OP) I'm telling you it's real, this is frustrating.
ㄴ Yeah, yeah, I'll believe you.
ㄴ Anyway, if it's lowest-grade, you should get about 100,000 per piece.
"1, 100,000...??"
"This tiny stone is worth 1 million won?"
ㄴ Ah, but since the quality looks good, you could probably get about 1.5 million.
ㄴ Be careful not to get scammed.
"1.5 million???"
Three question marks popped up in my head.
I earned 1.5 million working part-time at a convenience store every single day for a month.
This stone, no, no, the value of this jewel is a whopping 1.5 million won?
"Wh, where's the jewelry box!"
Of course, there's no way I have something like that at home.
So I just laid a tissue on the table and respectfully placed it on top.
"If I have 18 of these 1.5 million won..."
Anyway, it's over 10 million won.
Enough to eat pork belly until I'm stuffed every day, not ramen.
"...But."
"How do I sell this?"
Magic Stones only become money when you sell them.
But I don't know how to sell these.
To me right now, the Magic Stones were just pretty jewels.
"Would a jewelry store buy them?"
No.
"Instead of thinking about this, I can just write a post on the gallery, right?"
I put my hands back on the keyboard.
[Anyone know how to sell Magic Stones?]
I can't give a reward, but
I'll give you a Ppoppo-corn
(Magic Stone photo)
It's about this much, does any gallery user know someone who buys them?
Comments started rolling in at high speed again.
ㄴ Wow, what is this? How did you collect this? What's the difficulty?
"Difficulty? Difficulty..."
It's definitely not Easy, Normal, or Hard.
I searched the internet hard, but there was no information about a difficulty where Morning Goblins appear.
In other words, a mode above Hard that only I discovered.
Then, can't I just name it whatever I want?
ㄴ (OP) I'm climbing Limited Difficulty.
ㄴ Where did this idiot come from...
ㄴ (OP) I'm telling you it's real? I climbed the 1st floor there and got 15 as a reward.
ㄴ Yeah, yeah, so jealous.
"Ugh, it's real."
I wanted to record a video and send it to these foolish Hunters who couldn't believe me, but I decided to hold back.
Things like this are better kept hidden, after all.
Anyway.
The next comment that was posted.
ㄴ M@gic St0nes, buying all : Telegr@m Qcvs12f3
"Oh, found it!"
The person who buys all the Magic Stones kindly came to find me directly.
In this case, I definitely have to trade with them.
I installed the app written next to the ID, added them as a friend, and sent a message.
A message arrived immediately.
[Tonight at 11 PM, come alone to the 00 pier.]
"11 PM..."
I wanted to sell it right now and grill some meat with Fireball.
Well, okay!
Brokers have schedules too, I guess.
Let's not think too much about myself.
Then what should I do until 11?
Just as I was thinking about browsing the gallery on the computer, the pile of equipment caught my eye.
"Oh, I should go return that."
I pulled the hood I was wearing down low, packed the equipment, and went out of the house.
**
Near the Tower.
"Ugh, it's heavy...!"
Should I not have brought the Morning Star?
I brought it thinking I'd give it as a thank you for lending me the equipment yesterday, but this is really heavy!
I managed to bring all the luggage to the Tower area somehow.
"Where do I find the ahjussi?"
Yesterday, the ahjussi came to where I was.
But I don't actually know where the ahjussi is.
But it's a waste of the energy I spent to just go back.
"Hmm..."
I looked around, hoping to just stumble upon him.
I saw a familiar face through the window of a one-story building not too far from the Tower.
"Found him!"
Looks like he was the shop owner.
I dragged the Morning Star along and opened the door.
-Jingle!
"Haa, welcome... Oh! You're that kid from yesterday, right?"
"...Who are you calling a kid."
If you count my time in the other world, I've lived for a whole 40 years.
But my appearance is undeniably a little kid... so I have nothing to say.
Anyway, I'm not a kid.
The ahjussi brightened up and ran toward me.
He scanned me up and down, then let out a sigh of relief.
"You must have been lucky. Seeing that you aren't hurt much."
"It wasn't luck, it was because I was skilled."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's go with that."
"...."
It felt like something was off, but I decided to let it slide for now.
I handed the equipment I brought to the ahjussi.
"I came to return what you lent me yesterday."
"...You came to return this?"
"Yep. It was a borrowed item anyway. Oh right, this too."
I handed the ahjussi the Morning Star I had set down behind my back.
Maybe because he's big, the ahjussi lifted that Morning Star easily.
The ahjussi examined the Morning Star here and there, then asked me.
"...Where did you get this?"
"I found it in the Tower."
"You found an item of this quality in the Tower? Just the rental fee for this would be 500,000 won."
"Oh, 500,000??"
Was that Morning Star that good?
Even if it was broken, should I have brought all three?
Just then, the ahjussi stared at me.
"But, don't only Goblins appear on the 1st floor of the Tower? How did you get a Morning Star of this quality..."
"I'm a bit special. It's a Limited Edition difficulty, after all."
"...I see. That's amazing."
He looked like he didn't believe me at all, no matter how I looked at it.
Ha, this won't do. I have no choice but to show him this.
I wasn't going to show anyone, but since he's a nice ahjussi who lent me equipment.
I opened the mouth of my pouch slightly and showed it to the ahjussi.
"These are Magic Stones I got from climbing the Super Limited Edition difficulty."
"...! You, how did you get Magic Stones of this size..."
"So—."
I wanted to explain the greatness of the Super Ultra Limited Edition to the ahjussi, but.
Looking at the clock, it was already 7 o'clock.
I have to leave now to walk to the port.
I left the stunned ahjussi behind and ran toward the shop entrance.
"Anyway, thanks for the equipment back then! The Morning Star is a gift, so keep it!"
"H-hey! Wait a second—!"
I ran, ignoring the ahjussi calling me.
It would be troublesome if the ahjussi returned it saying he couldn't accept the Morning Star.
Not because of some ethical stuff, but because it's genuinely heavy and that's troublesome.
So I finished the greeting quickly and started running toward the port at high speed.
**
"Hah, hah... I barely made it...!"
I ran hard and was able to arrive at the port right on time.
I need to learn movement magic quickly.
Movement magic is a spell that uses an amount of mana adjusted to the user's body.
Which means it needs readjustment to be used on a body like this.
I'll grill some meat with the money from selling the Magic Stones today and then do the readjustment.
"But when are these people coming?"
They told me to come at 11, but they didn't show up themselves.
"Are they deeper inside the port?"
I gripped the pouch containing the Magic Stones tightly and walked inside.
"Oh, are those them?"
A large gray van visible in the distance.
Several adult men were gathered in front of it, smoking.
Five people, maybe there are more inside the van.
"...I guess brokers usually travel in groups."
Thinking about buying meat to eat, I headed that way, humming.
Did they see me approaching from afar?
"Huh? Hey, what's with that brat?"
One of the men smoking said.
"Don't know, probably just a kid living in the neighborhood."
"It's troublesome if there's a witness... Hey, kid! Get lost."
The men gestured for me to leave while putting out their cigarettes.
Instead of turning back, I spoke to them.
"Are you the people who were supposed to buy the Magic Stones?"
"...What?"
"Hey kid, where did you hear that?"
One man's expression stiffened rapidly, and then he approached me threateningly.
'Are brokers originally this intense-looking?'
Well, they deal with expensive things like Magic Stones, so they must have to be tough.
Instead of answering, I took out the sack and showed them the Magic Stones.
"...Hey, I think this is the trader?"
"Really? This makes things a bit troublesome."
"What's troublesome about it? It actually became easier to deal with."
"That's true. Hey kid, don't make a fuss, just shut up."
The biggest man cracked his knuckles and approached me.
"...Huh?"
'Is this, by any chance, a dangerous situation?'
I've never traded Magic Stones before, but I could feel it.
These people aren't normal Magic Stone brokers.
"...Who are you guys?"
"Whoa, look at that expression. What, you gonna hit me?"
"Hey, hey, stop bullying the kid. He's going to die soon anyway."
"You're going to kill me?"
When I asked back, the big man laughed and answered.
"Yeah! We take the Magic Stones and dispose of the trader. That's our method. Thanks to that, we've become a pretty big organization."
"...Is that so?"
At the man's words, something from the other world suddenly came to mind.
Back when I hadn't yet grasped the environment there.
Because I got scammed and ended up a slave.
I still remember what the scammer said back then.
"Getting scammed is the fault of the idiot who gets scammed, not the idiot who does the scamming."
"...Come to think of it."
"You're a bit similar to that bastard."
"Wh-what? Hahaha!! Hey, he's cursing. It's so funny, seriously—."
Without a shred of hesitation, I extended my finger.
Mana gathered in an instant.
Soon, it formed a fireball.
-Bang!
It collided with the man's neck.
Simultaneously with the explosion, the man's neck said goodbye to his torso.
The neck, having left on its own, dropped with a thud in front of the man's colleagues.
"...What the."
The man's colleagues who hadn't grasped the situation yet.
The laughter that filled the pier stopped in an instant.
"What the fu—."
There were a few men who were quick-witted.
"Isn't it too late?"
By the time they grasped the situation, their torsos had already been blown apart.
-Bang! Puh-buh-bang! Bang!!
I fired fireballs in all directions, and corpses piled up, their wounds burned so badly that not even blood came out.
The only one left was the man I had been in contact with.
"Hiiik!! You, what are you!! Which organization sent you! Our boss won't just sit by—."
"Tell them all to come."
"...What?"
"You guys can't beat me anyway."
"W-wait a minute! Our trade—."
Not even worth listening to.
Bang, even the last remaining man became a pile of ash.
'...But this is a big problem.'
I can't sell the Magic Stones now, can I?
At this rate, I'll definitely be starving again tomorrow, which is a very big problem.
"Hmm, what should I do..."
"Should I enjoy the rights of the victor for now?"
-Rattle.
"Oh, jackpot. There's a ton."
Opening the van, I saw Magic Stones inside by the sackful.
I tried to lift it but failed. It was a sack heavier than the Morning Star.
To think there were dozens of such sacks.
"...How much is all that worth."
The moment I was wondering what to do with this.
-Thump.
I felt a presence.
Checking the direction, someone had fallen backward.
...It's a familiar face.
And at the same time, a good idea occurred to me.
I approached that side, bent my knees, and made eye contact with the person who had fallen backward.
"Ahjussi, do you happen to know anyone who buys Magic Stones?"
