Chapter 277

Have you ever tasted magical beast meat?

It's terribly unappetizing. And not only that, it's also toxic. If you recklessly eat it, you'll get indigestion, and your stomach itself might melt, or all your organs might rot. But there's always an exception.

There are definitely edible magical beasts.

So the survivors used various methods to neutralize the toxins of less poisonous magical beasts and eat them. Of course, even then, it didn't taste good. But in any case, this was the apocalyptic North Korea. 

After the Cataclysm, this land became a paradise for magical beasts. Cities were in ruins, and people were struggling to survive. In this wretched place, complaining about food was a luxury. When you were about to starve to death, what did taste matter? If a person starves for a few days, taste becomes irrelevant. For survival, you had to shove anything into your mouth and chew and swallow it, whether it was magical beast meat or food waste. And that was the reason why a 'market' existed in this city.

"Selling! Magical beast meat with low toxicity! Special price!"

"Over here! Detoxified magical beast! Prepared as minced meat!"

"Freshly picked fruits, this morning's harvest! Come and get them!"

"Barter possible! Negotiation welcome!"

The free market was bustling as always. Anyone could freely buy and sell goods here, even without joining the alliance. The atmosphere was similar to a flea market. 

Hunter 'Kim Chul' (pseudonym), who was slicing and selling freshly hunted meat on the street, clicked his tongue with a worried face. "Tsk, business isn't going well."

Another merchant, Kang Giho (pseudonym), replied, "I agree. But what can you do? We have to sell it somehow."

Hunters usually carried out requests from the bank to procure food ingredients and received rewards, and then sold the leftover meat. Kang Giho, squatting on the ground and diligently mincing meat, said,

"That's why I'm telling you to mince it like this and sell it. It's a bit more work, but it's effective." Kim Chul sighed and replied,

"It will not last for more than a day or two. If it doesn't sell in the end, it's all wasted effort."

"Then it all goes into your mouth."

"No way. This one's actually quite toxic."

"What? Seriously. You're a real scammer. Heh… Of course, my meat is too."

Grin. The two merchants exchanged sly glances. In the free market, where trickery and deception were rampant, naive villains couldn't survive. And despite all that, the most popular food ingredient in the market wasn't meat, but something else. Fruit. Or spices that helped mask the unique smell of magical beast meat. The merchants who specialized in selling fruits or vegetables with strong aromas, commonly called 'fruit merchants,' were the real executives and power brokers of the Free Market Alliance.

"Business is good today like always. As expected of fruits." Fruit merchant, Mr. Park (pseudonym), stood in front of his store and smiled with satisfaction.

Mr. Choi (pseudonym), from the store next door, nodded with an envious expression. "I agree. You're truly amazing, Mr. Park. Where do you get all those fruits every time…"

Mr. Park grinned and looked at Mr. Choi with an arrogant expression. "What's the point of asking about trade secrets? And even if I told you, you couldn't do it because it's too dangerous."

"Of course." Despite Mr. Park's blunt words, Mr. Choi just smacked his lips without any discomfort.

First of all, only strong people could sell fruits. Hunting magical beasts, which you could easily encounter outside the city, was much easier and less dangerous than blindly searching outside for fruits whose locations were unknown. That's why only able-bodied individuals ever bothered with that profession. There was a reason why fruit merchants became executives of the alliance. If you were weak but earned a lot of money, it would be dangerous at night. You could be attacked by other villains while sleeping and have everything, including your life, taken away.

But then…

"Hmm?" Mr. Park suddenly narrowed his eyes and looked somewhere.

"…An unfamiliar face."

A newcomer he had never seen before appeared in the usually leisurely and bustling morning market. Quite a few merchants bothered to remember the faces of the customers who passed by. Mr. Park was one of them, and Mr. Choi also followed his gaze, stroking his chin meaningfully.

"Hmm. I heard a newbie came in last night. I think his name was 'Beru'."

"Ah, is that him? I was a bit excited because it's been a while since we had a newcomer, but he's empty-handed."

"I agree."

Even though the city was large, rumors spread quickly. The news about the newbie who entered the city last night had already spread to the Free Market Alliance through the guards. Even the fake name he used at the bank. It was one of the advantages of the alliance.

"…But the rumors are true. Look. He's not completely empty-handed. He's blatantly dragging around a really expensive product."

"You're right." Mr. Park's eyes also sparkled and he smirked at Mr. Choi's meaningful words.

"That's a real elf, right? And a fresh, live one at that." Mr. Park licked his lips as he confirmed the pointy-eared alien obediently walking beside 'Beru'.

"At first, I heard he said he was a summoner, but judging from last night's incident, it must be a lie. Of course, that elf wouldn't be a summon either."

"He's really lucky. Where did he find such a fresh elf? Since it's not even an adult, it would have been whoever's picked it up first." The jealousy and greed that were on Mr. Choi's face just moments ago had now moved to Mr. Park.

No matter how expensive fruits were, they couldn't compare to an 'elf.' Elves were the fertilizer that Alfheim loved the most. No matter how many fruits you had, it was more profitable to catch an elf and sell it to the bank. But was there anyone in this market who didn't know that? Mr. Park's gaze subtly swept around. The eyes of all the merchants in the market were focused on 'Beru' and Sirka. With the same look as his.

"…Is this the market? It feels quite lively." Suho and Sirka were leisurely looking around.

On the surface, it was the same bustling market as before, but an unspoken tension was already flowing among the merchants. The reason was none other than this:

'Those who don't know the market price are suckers.' 

Newbies who just arrived in the city didn't know the market price. Customers who didn't know the value of goods were nothing more than delicious prey to merchants. Especially when that newbie was still fresh, with little debt. If they played their cards right, they could clean him out, a sucker among suckers. And an elf on top of that?

'It's a first-come, first-served battle.'

'Before anyone else scams that sucker, I have to…'

'If I can just buy that elf at a bargain price, it's a jackpot.'

As countless greedy gazes watched Suho and Sirka's every move,

Whoosh—

A roughly made wooden sign suddenly appeared from Suho's arms. And he chose a suitably spacious and quiet spot and stuck the sign in the ground like other stall owners.

[Beru Baguette]

A puzzled expression appeared on the faces of the market people as they saw the roughly scribbled text.

"Baguette? A bakery?" Mr. Park muttered with narrowed eyes.

Mr. Choi also tilted his head. "Is he really going to sell bread? Then what about the elf?"

Something was strange. He had put up a sign that said 'Baguette,' but he wasn't holding any bread, or anything else for that matter. One of the merchants whispered,

"What is he thinking? He looks empty-handed no matter how I look at it."

"I agree. Is he using the elf as bait and planning to sell something else first?"

A strange light flickered in people's eyes. He was quite the businessman for a sucker. Newbies who just arrived in the city hadn't been away from South Korea for long, so they were likely to have belongings that were hard to find in the North. It wouldn't be too late to sell the elf even after getting rid of those first.

"Ah, is it a small item?"

"Could it be cigarettes?"

"Ah, it's cigarettes!"

They were certain. In cases like this, it was almost always cigarettes or lighters that came out of newcomers' pockets. And it goes without saying that cigarettes were a rare commodity in apocalyptic North Korea. It meant they were incredibly expensive. Of course, this was only true if the seller knew the market price.

'So what is it?'

'What's he going to sell?'

Based on their experience, the market people focused their attention on what 'Beru Baguette' would sell. The trick here was to glance at it inconspicuously. If he knew he was being watched, he would raise the price recklessly.

"Hmm. Is this space enough?" Suho muttered as he looked around.

The people's interest peaked at those words. 

'So what is it!' But then…

Whoosh—

"…Huh?"

The market community's expressions suddenly froze.

'Container' The moment Suho inserted the black key into his shadow, a large container suddenly appeared majestically.

"Wh-what is that?" One of the merchants rubbed his eyes and muttered.

"A container?"

"What kind of skill is that?"

Others also began to murmur in surprise. It was a world where they naturally thought of skills when a strange phenomenon occurred. But they had never heard of a skill that could summon a container like that. That aside, he obviously wasn't selling the container… People's minds went blank at the unrealistic sight that suddenly unfolded before their eyes, filled with anticipation. It was hard to maintain their composure any longer.

[My liege, the reactions are already heated.] Beru chuckled beside Suho, watching the people murmuring around them.

"I agree. And we haven't even opened the lid yet." Suho replied with a grin.

The first step to disrupting the order of this city… To do this, Suho had to move a little busily last night First, he finished a round of iron body training for his daily quest in the shadow dungeon. And instead of returning to this city immediately, he briefly stopped by South Korea. Using the Shadow Key and the Shadow Exchange skill he stopped by the nearest 'bakery.'

– I'll take everything from here to there.

– …Excuse me?

– No need for packaging. They'll take care of moving everything.

– …?!

Thud! Thud! Thud—!

The bakery employee, who was about to close the store, couldn't help but be flustered at the sight of the suddenly appearing porters.

It was truly a flex. Suho was quite wealthy. He had been diligently raiding dungeons for level-ups and other reasons. And the payments for the Spring Water of the Echo Forest, which the Scavenger Guild sold on his behalf, were also steadily deposited into the Woojin Guild's account. With this level of capital, he could easily buy an entire bakery. Actually, even a B-rank Hunter could do it. But no one would do something like that if there was no need. But Suho now had a reason to do so.

Clank—

The moment Suho opened the container door with both hands…

"…?!"

"What the f..." A fruit that Mr. Park was holding in his hand dropped to the ground.

But nobody seemed to notice.

His face full of shock

His mouth hanging open.

Because everyone else gathered in the market was in the same state. Their eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out.

"Wh-what is all that?!" Screams of shock shook the entire market.

It was absurd. The neatly arranged shelves. The dazzling array of baked goods filling them. And the crazy, stimulating smell of bread that exploded as the container opened! The sight was truly a mixture of shock, fear, and overwhelming emotion all piled up inside the one container! And at the center of it all, Beru said with the most wicked smile,

[Do you want bread? I'll give it to you if you want. I brought all the remaining stock from the bakery.] As soon as he finished speaking…

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!

The market entered the era of the 'big bakery'. And people rushed towards Beru Baguette, filled with madness. Holding out their money bags. But…

Suho ruthlessly poured cold water on those customers, no, suckers, who came rushing with such terrifying momentum.

"Now, let's start the auction."

"…What?!"

It was the moment when the balance of the Free Market Alliance, firmly maintained by the magical beast meat and fruit merchants, crumbled.