Chapter 109

"I didn't come all this way for these trinkets."

"…What?"

"You're right, humans can't keep up with your craft in this field. However, do humans really have to?"

Seojin dropped a huge pouch on the table.

"It's gold. I can buy as many other goods as I want with this gold."

"Don't compare my work to mere gold."

"Would you like to make a bet?"

"…"

"I'll get something better than your work. Right here and now, in five minutes."

"Ha, you dare to make a bet?"

Berg snorted as it was, in his opinion, impossible. His way of thinking was still trapped within this desert. He had once been the best in the region, and he still took that as a given fact.

"You're making a bluff that you can't handle. Alright, what's the deal? I'll do it as long as you shut your mouth and piss off after you lose."

"Berg! Calm down! That human being…"

"Silence! Are you insulting me?"

The elf who tried to stop him stepped back, biting his lip. With that, Berg faced the arrogant adventurer once again.

"Answer me. Will you leave?"

"I will, but what if I win?"

"Tell me what you want."

"You should help me. Sincerely. On your honor."

"I refuse."

"Didn't you just say that it was impossible anyway?"

"That's not something to bet. Our mission, I mean."

Seojin tapped the table.

"Please answer me honestly. Were you planning on throwing me three pieces of your craft and kicking me out from the start?"

"Yes."

"Aren't they rather precious?"

"No more precious than my kin's safety."

"Bet these three pieces, then. If you lose, they're mine."

"I accept."

A contract levitated into the air as both sides signed, making their promise an unbreakable constraint from that moment onward.

Entering: Auction.

Meanwhile, Seojin tried hard to keep his laughter in.

Filters: Elemental Affinity, Elven.

'I already see tons of them.'

There were an infinite number of items on the list, as the conditions were pretty simple: Elven accessories with elemental affinity bonuses. Seojin had also filtered out every piece of equipment below a unique grade.

'He's so confident in himself.'

The oldest elf, also a craftsman, was an elf of pride in his own abilities. Just showing him a decent item wouldn't be enough.

Filters: Elemental Affinity, Elven, Legendary.

Once he changed the filters, only top-level gear showed up in the list.

'It's incredible.'

The specs were mind-blowing… and so was the price of them.

Thunderstone Necklace: 68,000 Gold

Deep Sea Pearl Ring: 16,000 Gold

"How can an accessory be so expensive?"

Even a simple ring cost one-point-six billion won, and the slightly bigger accessories, like necklaces or bracelets, came out at a whopping six billion won!

'I can't afford that with this amount of gold…'

Seojin had to take payment for the goods he had sold before, and even then, he still had to purchase more gold with his real funds.

Gold: 16,300

Item Purchased.

Deep Sea Pearl Ring | Legendary.

* Millions of years ago, the Green Forest was a sea, and Helena, the Elf of the Green Forest, accidentally found a pearl that had been buried for all time. The results were incredible, as she could wield the power of the water at her will just by wearing it. Now, that power is yours.

The background of the item was much more detailed as well, living up to both its spec and grade.

* Water Affinity: +388

* Earth Affinity: +293

The ring could easily be an end-game gear for any classes related to the elements.

'I bet that rich guys wrap their entire bodies with things like this.'

Berg laughed triumphantly as he saw Seojin pouting.

"Looks like things are difficult for you, aren't they?"

"Quite the opposite. I hesitated because I guessed that I bought something too flashy. I'm worried that I'll hurt your ego."

"I see you're bluffing until the very end. If you're so confident, show it right…"

"Here."

Seojin gently put the one-and-six-billion-won ring down on the table.

"This. What about it?"

"It doesn't matter what you have…"

Berg closed his mouth and his eyebrows twitched. His anxious gaze shifted between Seojin, the elves behind him, and the ring.

"… Hm?"

He picked it up with his fingers, lifted it before his eyes, and glared fiercely as if he believed that he could melt it with the intensity of his gaze. As expected, nothing changed.

"…Good forest!"

Berg only leaked soulless murmurs. As a good craftsman, he instantly had a hunch.

"…This can't be."

"Looks like it's hard for you to accept reality."

"Where the hell did you get it?"

"That's a secret."

"How much did it cost?"

"Sixteen thousand gold."

"O-only that? For this ring?"

"So, you admit it."

"It's, uh, it's…"

Berg opened and closed his mouth like a clueless fish for a while before he carefully laid down the ring.

"…I have no choice but to admit it."

The elves that were gathered around them sighed simultaneously, knowing that Berg had lost. They couldn't kick the human out anymore, and they also had to turn over three pieces of jewelry.

Acquired Equipment

Acquired Equipment

Acquired Equipment

Of course, Seojin had already put the items in his inventory, and uploaded the Deep Sea Pearl Ring for auction again at the same price.

"Do you have any other suggestions?"

Berg simply frowned in response.

"If you don't have, let's get to the point…"

"Who made this?"

"I'm not going to tell you. Let's get down to business. From now on, I'm not asking for permission, I'm simply notifying you. Keep that in mind…"

"I asked you who made it."

"Is it really so shocking that you aren't the best? You are not the only elf on the continent."

"So, I'm asking who made…"

"If you want to know that badly, go look for it yourself. Leave this dry desert for once and explore the world."

Berg clenched his jaw, glaring at Seojin, but Seojin had no intention of yielding to his temper tantrum.

"Berg, I know that you and the elves have a different point of view from me. You even prepared such a clumsy show to kick me out.

"…"

"I will solve this problem in my own way, and I don't need your permission. I just thought that it wouldn't be harmful to hear your advice because you guys have lived long enough."

"I have no advice to give to humans."

"Don't be mistaken, Berg."

The corners of Seojin's lips twisted upward.

"I'm not asking for advice, I'm giving you a chance to advise me."

"Typical human being. You'll have to go through a painful failure to face reality. Your kind does stupid things over and over again…"

"Yet it is you guys who suffer thanks to that cycle."

"What?"

"Balance will be destroyed by stupid human mistakes, and your mission will be a complete failure."

Jin had told Seojin that the Sleeping Desert swallowed life, mentioning how adventurers were good sources of energy for the being underneath it. The more adventurers rambled in; the harder the elves' work became. Berg opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound as he fully understood what Seojin meant.

"You can't stop me. You've probably heard about the things I can do from Jin and Maya."

He could lead hundreds, no, thousands of adventurers into the desert.

"We can kill you all."

"Didn't you hear? Adventurers love mysteries and opposing forces more than any other being."

"We do not give up. You'll be the ones who run away first."

"That might be… if the only entrance was in Shahav…"

"The entrance is…"

"The Sleeping Desert is not a castle, there isn't such a thing as a front gate. You'll have to guard the entire desert with only a handful of elves… well, good luck with that! I'll take my leave."

Seojin stood up. Berg's expression was grim and murderous, along with elves who were about to jump him and kill him at the place.

"If you're going to kill me, do it now. At least you'll be able to buy a week."

Key NPCs:

* Maya: absolute ally.

* Jin: absolute ally.

* Berg: extremely hostile.

* Taihi: hostile.

* Ludos: neutral.

The only thing that Seojin was seeing was the neutral elves, who would serve as a crack to break the entire group.

"Jin, Maya. Let's go. We'll be busy."

Seojin knew that he may or may not die there, however, he turned around as if he didn't care at all. He walked toward the door, grabbed the handle, and…

Bang!

A violent shock racked through his entire body.

"Adventurer!"

Seojin was seeing the face of an elf right before his nose, his face distorted with anger.

It was Berg, who grabbed Seojin by his collar and pushed him up to the wall.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Seojin didn't lose his composure as he stared at Berg with calm eyes, waiting to see what he was going to do.

Of course, Berg couldn't kill him.

Instead, he let go of his collar by shoving him and growling.

"Maya said that you were a good human being, I said that was bullcrap."

Adventurers could never be good.

"Maybe, by Elven standards."

"Death is not permanent for adventurers. You have become arrogant because you don't have to fear such a thing."

"It may seem so."

"I know that you're desperate for my help behind your bluff."

"That's…"

"Tell me then. You said that you could do it, but you didn't say that you don't need our help."

That was true. Maya would have known it if Seojin let out a single lie.

"Speak, adventurer. Tell me that you don't need our help, then, I'll put my tail down as you wish."

"I…"

Seojin licked his lips and opened his mouth, exchanging glances with every elf in the room. Eventually, he smiled.

"I don't need your help… that much."

Berg looked back at some of the other elves before his gaze landed on Maya, who spoke in a trembling voice.

"He's telling the truth."

"No way!"

"I can finish things up by myself. Your help would be convenient, but not necessarily. You guys are optional."

"That was also true."

Berg's hands trembled upon hearing the unbelievable answer. However, right before Seojin's eyes…

Berg: Optional.

…was a clear foundation for his answer.