God-Tier Enhancement: My Upgrades Never Fail-Chapter 138: Episode 27_The Secret Merchant of the Fog Region (3)

Chapter 138: Episode 27_The Secret Merchant of the Fog Region (3)

The anomaly continued.

—What the? Today he asked for 14 gold each.

—?? He asked me for 15 gold?

—Eh? I didn’t write a post, but yesterday I bought them for 8 gold.

—What is this? Does a mere NPC have a market price?

Not just a market price.

As time passed, interesting points continued to be discovered.

On the seventh day since the merchant selling Awakening Potions in the fog was discovered!

—But isn’t it strange? I don’t think anyone has ever mentioned monsters appearing when the Hidden NPC comes out.

—It must be a coincidence.

—Once or twice is a coincidence. Roughly estimating, there seem to be over twenty teams hunting in the Fog Mountain Range on the community right now, so try commenting. Anyone seen a monster when the Fog Merchant appeared?

—.......

—None?

A goosebump-inducing coincidence.

And the top-tier players playing 『Fantastic World』 never dismissed this as a coincidence.

—Is there really something to this?

—At this point, it really seems like a Hidden NPC.

—Or does the NPC dispose of the incoming monsters?

—No, no, that’s not it. Once the Secret Merchant disappears, they swarm in as if nothing happened.

These were monsters that showed up two or three times without fail whenever the fog descended, as if they had coordinates punched into a GPS.

Especially right when the fog came down, the monsters moved actively as if to make up for the two-hour gap. And they would wait just because the Fog Merchant appeared?

It might be systematically possible in other online games, but in the overflowing reality of 『Fantastic World』, it was absolutely impossible.

Even if it were a truly important NPC, wouldn’t it be a game where it wouldn’t be strange for them to be attacked and killed by monsters while conducting a quest in such a situation?

Infinitely free realism!

Because of that, people’s suspicions only grew larger.

A single Fog Merchant wandering leisurely in the fog, selling hard-to-get Fog Awakening Potions to users despite receiving no systematic protection.

They didn’t know at first, but the moment they realized how difficult that was as time passed, their vigilance increased.

—Possibility of it not being 1 person?

—Low. It’s possible, but I haven’t seen any reports of simultaneous discovery.

—How about we cooperate for a bit? Team leaders hunting in the fog area, please PM me separately. I’ll make a temporary chat room.

—Call. If we actually hook the Main Quest like this, there’s nothing to lose.

—Honestly, I had given up on the Main Quest. At this rate, maybe I can try again?

—Or it might be okay to just hang onto the leaders.

And in the end, things even went this far.

It couldn’t be helped.

Even though there was no evidence, clue, or information about the Secret Merchant who always walked around wrapped in a robe.

Considering stereotypes and the context of the game, this answer came out.

Special.

Out of the blue.

Because the results derived from those two words often lead to the answer to an unsolvable problem.

—How about trying a raid on the Secret Merchant?

—Seems impossible.

—Let’s do that at the very end, and first, I think we need to match the conditions for dialogue...

The community buzzed like people challenging the Sphinx’s riddle.

And that resulted in a phenomenon where users naturally headed toward the Unknown Mountain Range.

4.

Naturally, the Kenji Guild was also aware of the situation in the community.

“A Secret Merchant selling Awakening Potions, huh.”

For Kenji, who always felt a shortage of Awakening Potions, what news could be more welcome than this?

Interest naturally arose.

He didn’t like the expensive price, but he was prepared enough to spend money if it meant closing the gap with the Specialists within a month—no, before the completion of the Main Quest.

So he prepared.

“Since the price changes every day, if it drops to the 7 gold line, buy them all.”

“Yes, Guild Master.”

Gold collected in advance!

For Kenji, who had no hobby of saving money in the game, this was money prepared to be used at times like this.

That amount alone was a whopping 30,000 gold.

Of course, he wouldn’t use it all.

Seeing how the market price of the Awakening Potions changed every day, it didn’t seem like the Secret Merchant carried an unlimited supply either.

No more, no less, just a thousand!

That would be enough.

With that number, they would be able to level up as much as they wanted, at the speed they wanted.

And they would be able to escape the poverty of Awakening Potions and enter the path of stockpiling.

Like that, the Kenji Guild was bloodshot-eyed looking for the Secret Merchant rather than hunting in the fog today, and as if knowing that, the Secret Merchant revealed himself.

Secretly.

“Humans... The fog has no mercy for any living creature. Do you need the power to see through the fog?”

“How many can we buy?”

Kenji asked calmly.

Secret Merchant or whatever, it was an NPC.

A single word could ruin the deal, or the price itself might not come out as desired.

Even the mighty Kenji had to walk on eggshells to curry favor.

Though wrapped in a robe, there was no face to read.

“State the number you desire.”

But the Secret Merchant shook his head.

The audacity to boldly counter-offer to the person asking for a price!

Kenji let out a faint groan.

’As expected, he’s not easy.’

He knew from hearing about it in the community, but experience was revealed even in just a few words of bargaining for necessary goods.

He handled it steadfastly without wavering.

“We need one thousand.”

Ordinary people might have argued here, saying I asked first or whatever.

And Kenji, too, if he were in the position of Gap—the dominant party—would have nitpicked in that way to stand in an advantageous position.

But the opponent was an NPC made of zeros and ones, where such things didn’t work.

No matter how realistic the world was, the thoughts and values embedded in its head would be firmer and more flawless than anyone else’s.

Especially these special NPCs that BetaGo would have put effort into creating.

It’s easier to enter the negotiation with a losing hand.

The absolute, immutable truth that does not change in games.

Aim for the best effort, not necessarily the best outcome.

“One thousand is impossible.”

“I wish to purchase as many as possible.”

“Hmm.”

Whether that worked or not, the Secret Merchant stopped speaking and scanned the Kenji Guild members.

Acting as if contemplating how many to give!

A slight expectation arose.

There were one hundred guild members, so one hundred... no, even selling four per person for a day’s worth would be fine.

Today wasn’t the only day.

If they purchased like that, it would be four hundred.

Since it was a huge amount in gold, he might receive the shortcut quest to the Main Quest that the community was clamoring about.

“Twenty. You look strong, so I will give you twenty.”

Kenji was speechless.

He paused for a moment at the overly realistic number.

However, apart from Kenji’s bewilderment, the Secret Merchant began to show excessive generosity.

“You look qualified to survive in this hell where the fog has settled. A pity. A pity. If I had known this, I would have brought more. I will accept only 20 gold per pill. And to test your qualifications, I will visit every day.”

He was stunned.

Excessive generosity he absolutely did not want to welcome!

’No, why is it 20 gold only for me?’

Kenji’s words of protest were swallowed back down his throat at the Secret Merchant’s proposal that continued to the end.

A rip-off amounting to a whopping 400 gold. Furthermore, twenty Awakening Potions was a number he could sufficiently gather if he hunted all day.

’Quest!’

But if it was the appearance condition for a quest others hadn’t obtained, that was a different story.

Kenji readily took gold out of his gold pouch and handed it over.

At the same time, a combination was made in his head between the information of the Secret Merchant he saw for a short time and the information he saw in the community.

’Qualifications. Difference in the number purchasable. Price per unit. Test. Visits every day.’

It was his own calculation, but a quite plausible conclusion came out.

“It wasn’t a market price. It was a condition based on level and Main Quest progress. The limit on the number of Awakening Potions increases for those who meet the conditions, and purchasing them fulfills the quest performance condition.”

He gasped in realization.

Wasn’t it an excellent deduction?

The conditions fit perfectly too.

The guild members nodded.

What that meant pointed to endless consumption of gold, but it wasn’t their gold being consumed anyway. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“Then I will come again tomorrow.”

Therefore, no one said a single word in front of this absurd overspending.

Because they were already full of anticipation.

In the dream that they had discovered the clue to finish Act 2 of the Main Quest in a situation where even adapting was difficult.

* * *

The Secret Merchant visited the Specialists as well.

Strictly speaking, they met him because they were lucky.

The Secret Merchant, who approached upon seeing three silhouettes, paused at the familiar faces.

He hesitated for a moment, then approached.

“Oh? It’s the Secret Merchant.”

“The NPC selling Awakening Potions?”

“Yeah, Seolah. Let’s buy a few too.”

“We still have enough surplus.”

“Ey. No one knows what will happen in the world. Imagine if they suddenly stop dropping.”

“It’s okay if they don’t drop for a few days, so don’t think about spending money in useless places.”

“Tch.”

But before she could even bring it up, she was shut down at the door.

The Secret Merchant fell silent.

“We’re not buying.”

Silence stretched between them.

“We’re not doing it. We’re not eating it. We’re not looking.”

An ironclad defense that would make anyone turn back in embarrassment!

“Seolah, there’s talk that this NPC gives a hint to clear the last Chapter of the Main Quest quickly. Is it okay to stonewall him like that?”

“It’s fine. We found the clue anyway.”

At the defense with no gaps to enter, the Secret Merchant was silent for a moment before reaching out his hand to Jeong Seolah.

Five pills were visible as he opened his hand.

“20 silver each.”

“We’re not buy...?”

Jeong Seolah, who was about to refuse, paused.

The reason she refused without even looking back was because of the price floating around the community, but if the amount of Awakening Potions one could only get with luck after hunting for two hours cost only 1 gold, the story was different.

“Here.”

She slyly placed 1 gold on his palm and took the Awakening Potions.

The speed of her attitude change was invisible to the eye, but her expression didn’t change at all.

Smirk.

It seemed like she let out a laugh, but was it a hallucination?

The Secret Merchant approached Kang Yeseul this time.

“Oh. It’s me. Me. Give me ten!”

The Secret Merchant held out ten pills as she wanted.

Kang Yeseul took out 2 gold.

The palm closed firmly.

“Why?”

“10 gold each.”

“Eh? Why!”

“10 gold each.”

“No! I mean, why!”

“If you don’t want to buy, don’t.”

“I’m buying! I’ll buy it!”

Kang Yeseul, whose pride was scratched out of nowhere, took out 20 gold without realizing it.

She didn’t know why.

The moment she heard the voice, she felt bad.

She didn’t want to lose to that arrogant voice.

The Secret Merchant, having pocketed 100 gold, approached Jeong Hyeonsu this time.

There were three pills.

“...Why do I get three?”

“100 gold each.”

Jeong Hyeonsu was too stunned to speak.

A nonsensical price.

On top of the speechless Jeong Hyeonsu’s hand, the Secret Merchant placed the pills.

“Just kidding, these are leftovers so I’ll give them as a service.”

And he took off his robe.

“Whoa.”

They looked on in confusion.

“Huh?”

Inside the robe was Han Simin.

With a very satisfied smile.