Chapter 36

“This... I never saw this coming.”

Woojin murmured in a slightly excited voice, sounding genuinely impressed.

“Who would have thought there’d be a place like this in the beginner village?”

“Heh heh. They do say the hardest things to see are right under your nose.”

He was in none other than Moretti, the starting point for everything in [Evil Tale]—a small village that seemed unremarkable, populated only by beginners.

He had truly never imagined that a secret black market could exist here.

CREEEAK.

Peron had brought him to a shabby shop tucked away inside Moretti’s village square. Even though Woojin had stood in that square for over a month, he had assumed it was just a village NPC’s house and never paid it any particular attention.

‘Well... I was pretty preoccupied with my own problems back then.’

Even otherwise, he would never have noticed.

“What brings you here?”

A middle-aged NPC sat inside the building. Sundries lined the bookshelves, but it did not seem to operate openly like the familiar shops.

“Here.”

Peron took something resembling a small seed from inside his coat and handed it to the man, who accepted it and tipped it into his mouth.

CRUNCH.

Whatever it was, the evidence that could have served as a token vanished in an instant. The man asked Peron something with a glance.

“He’s a new associate. You’ll be seeing him around.”

The man glanced at Woojin and nodded.

RATTLE.

Then he lifted a section of the floor, revealing a door leading underground.

“... Interesting.”

Walking down the stairs, Woojin murmured as though intrigued by what had just happened.

“What is?”

“Nothing much. I thought NPCs were just programs in a game... It’s fascinating to see one involved in something players set up.”

“Isn’t that why Evil Tale is so popular? NPCs that seem genuinely alive.”

His words brought Ruen to Woojin’s mind. In the other world, she was a genuinely living being, but here, she was merely a manufactured NPC.

Yet nothing about her felt unnatural. Just as Peron said, it was as though she really lived within the game.

“So they weren’t created simply to hand out quests... is that it?”

Woojin mulled it over once more as he descended the stairs.

“It’s been a while, Peron.”

A fairly spacious room lay at the bottom of the stairs. An elderly man stood there, his immaculate clothes at odds with his surroundings.

‘An NPC?’

Standing so straight that it was difficult to tell whether he was a player, the old man asked Peron,

“What brings you here?”

“I have something to put up for auction.”

“Is it yours?”

“No. I’m here on commission.”

Watching Peron treat the old man with scrupulous courtesy, Woojin wondered who he was.

“We can only list an item if the seller’s identity is verified.”

“I thought you might say that, but you’ll change your mind when you see it.”

“Hmm?”

At that, Peron took the [Dragon Mana Stone] from inside his coat.

“W-where did you get this...?”

“I don’t know who the client is. It passed through several hands before reaching us.”

“... This isn’t anything dangerous, is it?”

“I wouldn’t know that either. We were simply commissioned to list it on the black market for someone.”

Seeing the old man’s expression change, Peron gave a knowing smile.

“Well, the big players will take care of the rest anyway, won’t they? What would someone like me know?”

“Hmm... And the proceeds?”

“I’m supposed to collect them and leave them at a depository in Parta. I’ve already told the client I’d be informing the black market of that arrangement.”

Peron shrugged and continued,

“So don’t waste your time trying to grab me. If you’re curious, wait for that opportunity.”

“... Very well. How will you sell it?”

“At auction.”

“Wait a little. I’ll send word to the central continent, and we’ll begin as soon as the participants gather.”

The old man hurriedly turned and disappeared somewhere.

“You’re good at making things up.”

“You have to be if you want to survive. Once the auction’s over, everyone will be after us, whether they won the bid or not.”

That was why he had explained beforehand that he would move the money to Parta.

“I only do as I’m told. It’s best to be nothing more than a courier.”

Woojin nodded silently.

“The auction will begin shortly.”

The old man returned to them sooner than expected.

* * *

[The time limit has been exceeded.]

[You have failed to clear the Labyrinth Tower’s 10th floor.]

“This won’t work. I’ve run the simulation over and over, but it’s impossible as things stand.”

Pointing at the red warning window on the monitor, the man leaned back in his chair.

THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.

Lights came on one after another in an enormous room reminiscent of a major corporation’s conference room. The nine people seated around the oval table remained grim-faced at his words.

“Simulations and actual combat are different... Why don’t we give it one more try?”

The youngest-looking man among them asked cautiously.

“We only have one Guardian Orb left to prevent item drops if we rush in like that and die.”

“Exactly, Gyeongsu. Even if we can avoid losing equipment, losing experience is a serious blow. We can’t assume we’ll stay in first place forever.”

“You lost a level when our last attempt failed. Focus on getting that back first.”

“... Understood.”

The man who had spoken scratched his head as he answered, taking in the others’ reactions.

Thirty-fifth in the combined continental rankings.

The druid Choi Gyeongsu was the envy of players wherever he went, but here, at least, he was just the ordinary youngest member.

They were at the [Phoenix Corps] office building in Seocho District.

Much had changed since [Evil Tale] first appeared in the world. No one had anticipated an age when the whole world would go wild over a game.

It was no exaggeration to call the [Phoenix Corps], which held firmly to first place in this enormously influential game, a corporation in its own right. Countless media outlets and companies were watching their progress through the Labyrinth Tower.

“David. Thanks for the briefing.”

As a man rose at the head of the table, David, who had been reporting the simulation results beside the monitor, returned to his seat.

Neatly settled brown hair, silver-rimmed glasses, and a crisply ironed shirt gave the man a thoroughly businesslike appearance.

He was Kerga, [Evil Tale]’s No. 1 player.

Do Gyeonghun.

“You’ve all experienced it, and you’ve seen it again in the simulation. The reason we can’t clear the tenth floor right now is obvious.”

He looked at one of the raid members gathered in the conference room.

“Serin. You know it too.”

His voice was as cold as his appearance was businesslike. Having set countless unattainable records and achievements, and having more passion for the game than anyone, he could also assess it more dispassionately than anyone.

“To defeat Aranmal, the boss of the Blue Temple on the Labyrinth Tower’s tenth floor, we have to break his barrier within the time limit. Your magic is crucial to doing that.”

Serin, an elite member of the [Phoenix Corps] and a fifth-grade mage, nodded stiffly.

“Aranmal’s barrier can only be broken with magic.”

Several months had already passed since they first attempted the tenth floor. In truth, their experience had already taught them all that.

“But we can’t add another mage because of phase two.”

Ranked seventy-seventh across the continents, Serin was certainly an outstanding mage. Compared with the other members of the [Phoenix Corps] raid team, all of whom ranked in the top fifty, however, she clearly fell short in some respects.

‘If only we had the Red Witch instead of her...’

Twenty-fourth in the combined continental rankings, and the top-ranked mage.

Suzuki Hana.

With each successive failure, that thought kept lingering in the minds of the [Phoenix Corps] members.

“I’m sorry...”

As though she knew what they were thinking, Serin could not raise her head.

“Perhaps you should propose an alliance with the Red Tower instead...”

“What are you talking about?”

“... Pardon?”

“The Red Tower is our competition, nothing more. What I meant was that you need to get stronger.”

On the verge of tears, Serin looked at Do Gyeonghun.

“Regardless of nationality, gender, or age, you’re the best, and I handpicked every one of you. I’m going to climb the tower with you.”

Despite his cold appearance, his words moved his teammates before they knew it.

‘Just as I thought...’

‘He’s different from us.’

The people gathered in the conference room nodded to him.

“Still... we’ll have to hurry. Apparently, the Red Tower has started openly recruiting frontliners.”

“The boss is one thing, but a lot of the monsters use magic too. The Red Tower does have an advantage.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?”

It was then that Choi Gyeongsu spoke cautiously, phone in hand.

“Um... Gyeonghun.”

“Jimmy just contacted me. I think you should all log in.”

“What’s going on?”

“Apparently, something strange has been listed at auction.”

Gyeongsu showed them the picture on his phone.

“...!!!”

* * *

“Is this... real?”

“Who’s managing the Moretti black market this month?”

“Mr. K.”

“The Enkila Clan’s vice master? His people wouldn’t list something carelessly...”

At the [Phoenix Corps] guild house, the people who had been in the conference room began returning one by one as soon as they logged in.

-You should all have received the information on the item up for auction.

-Now, let the auction begin.

At that moment, a whisper came through.

Everyone looked up at Kerga, their faces tense.

[Starting bid: 500 gold]

[Current bid: 550 gold.]

[Current bid: 580 gold.]

[Current bid: 600 gold.]

[Current bid: 630 gold.]

The instant the auction began, whispers started reporting the rapidly climbing bids.

“What should we do?”

“Gyeongsu. Keep raising it by a hundred.”

“Right. Got it.”

At Kerga’s instruction, the druid Choi Gyeongsu began entering bids.

[Current bid: 730 gold.]

[Current bid: 750 gold.]

[Current bid: 850 gold.]

[Current bid: 880 gold.]

Their expressions tightened slightly as the bids continued to rise without pause.

[Current bid: 1,000 gold.]

“This...”

Hearing the price before he could even enter his own bid, Gyeongsu looked at Kerga in bewilderment.

“Looks like the Red Tower has joined the bidding.”

And it was obvious who their opponent was.

“David, find out how much money we can access besides the funds stored at the guild house.”

Urgency crept into Kerga’s voice.

“Whatever happens, we can’t let it fall into the Red Witch’s hands!”

[Current bid: 1,200 gold.]

Even as he spoke, the price kept climbing.