Chapter 10
When Jonghyuk opened his eyes in the morning, he was greeted by a system window.
[Emiel Lycan’s favorability has decreased by 2.]
“…Why all of a sudden?”
He sat cross-legged on the bed and thought it over, but nothing in particular came to mind.
“Whatever.”
He didn’t dwell on it for long.
That was just his personality.
He was indifferent to both goodwill and hostility from others.
Because of that, he had always been able to endure anywhere without much trouble.
Even when people openly ignored or mocked him, it didn’t bother him.
Closing the system window, Jonghyuk headed straight for the Tower.
Following the now-familiar path toward Kal’s house, the refreshing sound of hammering greeted him as usual.
“You’re working hard.”
“Oh, you’re here!”
Kal, who welcomed Jonghyuk with a bright expression, set down his hammer.
“I’ve got something to sell again today.”
Jonghyuk took out all the hobgoblin leather from his inventory and handed it over.
“Hmm… as expected, the condition is excellent. There’s usually some damage, but there’s none at all. This should fetch a high price. As it happens, a merchant is stopping by today—how about trading directly?”
“A merchant?”
“A trader who travels between the Empire and the Kingdom. He occasionally brings materials. Today’s the day.”
Empire, trade, merchant…
“What do you think? If you want, I can introduce you. It’ll make things easier if you get acquainted.”
At the mention of a merchant traveling between nations, Jonghyuk’s interest was piqued.
He couldn’t rely on Kal to sell things forever, so he had been planning to find a buyer soon anyway.
And now he was being introduced to a merchant.
He might even get lucky and obtain spoils from the upper floors here on the Tower’s 0th floor.
The higher the floor, the more valuable the loot.
If the merchant had such items…
Then he could buy them cheap and sell them for a high price outside the Tower.
‘I’ll sell the hobgoblin leather here.’
Thinking of it as an investment for the future, Jonghyuk made up his mind.
“Where can I meet this merchant?”
“No need to go anywhere. He’ll come on his own. It should be about time… Ah, there he is.”
Following Kal’s gaze beyond the forge, Jonghyuk turned his head and saw a large wagon pulled by two horses.
“Hyah!”
Someone wrapped in shabby cloth sat in the driver’s seat, skillfully steering the reins as they approached the forge.
Ding!
As Jonghyuk narrowed his eyes at the merchant, a system window suddenly appeared before him.
[Epic Quest: Requirements of a Great Merchant]
[Complete your first trade with a merchant.]
[Reward: Tower Climbing Companion Ticket, 500 Achievement Points]
Looking at the quest window, Jonghyuk smirked and muttered,
“Now I’ve got another reason to trade.”
Clatter, clatter.
Snort!
As the horse exhaled sharply, the trader Jepato puffed his breath along with it.
Jepato swung his short legs excitedly, unable to hide his enthusiasm. Each time the wagon shook, the two rabbit ears atop his head bounced along.
“Uncle Kal is using his hammer again… I wonder what amazing items he’ll show me this time!”
The gray-haired boy, Jepato, was a rabbit beastman.
Unlike ordinary rabbit beastmen with white, black, or brown fur, Jepato had gray fur, which caused him to be ostracized by his own kind.
Wounded by the rejection of his peers, Jepato left his home and came to a human city, where he discovered a talent for trade and became a merchant.
Rabbit beastmen could survive on small amounts of vegetables, had small bodies that allowed them to hide easily, were fast, and had keen senses—making it easy for them to escape dangerous situations.
Because of these traits, Jepato could safely pass through dangerous areas where monsters appeared, making him one of the few general traders traveling between the Kingdom and the Empire.
As he followed the winding road, he spotted smoke rising in the distance.
Kal’s forge.
“Almost there!”
Jepato bounced in his seat and excitedly flicked the reins.
Neigh!
The horse neighed and quickened its pace.
Kal always gave Jepato a carrot when he arrived, saying he had worked hard.
Among people who looked down on beastmen, Kal was the only one who treated Jepato kindly.
Once, Jepato had asked Kal if he disliked him. Kal had laughed and replied,
—Even if I search the entire Empire and Kingdom, you’re the only one who can quickly supply high-quality materials! This is just my way of appreciating your effort.
Kal wasn’t someone who judged others by their birth or race. He always paid a fair price for Jepato’s materials, sometimes even more.
When Kal stopped using his hammer and no longer called for him, Jepato had been depressed for days.
‘He’ll give me sweet carrots again today!’
So when he heard Kal had picked up the hammer again, he was so happy he almost jumped.
“Uncle Kaaal!”
Spotting Kal in the distance, Jepato raised his hand to greet him—
“…Huh?”
Until he saw the human standing beside him.
“What is this?”
Jonghyuk looked at Jepato, who appeared like an elementary schooler. Jepato glanced up and down at him nervously, then slowly edged away.
“Let me introduce you. This is Jepato, a rabbit beastman who has helped me a lot in the past.”
“N-Nice to meet you.”
Despite his words, Jepato’s ears drooped.
[Strangers are a bit scary… Who is he? People from the Polaris Kingdom don’t like rabbit beastmen.]
Thanks to his leveled-up Affinity skill, Jonghyuk could hear his inner thoughts and sighed.
‘I’ll try using the skill.’
As soon as he focused on using it, Jepato’s information appeared.
Name: Jepato
Level: 9
Class: Merchant
Status: Hostile (-10)
Skills: Berserk (Lv. 3), Speed Enhancement (Lv. 5), Enhanced Senses (Lv. 2)
[Would you like to use Affinity (Lv. 2)?]
As he was about to use it, one skill caught his attention.
‘Berserk?’
Jonghyuk looked at Jepato.
It didn’t match his appearance at all.
Without using Affinity, Jonghyuk pulled up the details of the Berserk skill.
Berserk (Lv. 3): The user temporarily loses consciousness, and physical abilities increase dramatically. While active, the user feels no pain, but upon deactivation, receives 160% of the damage taken during the duration. A remnant of the ancient rabbit beastmen now forgotten. If you see the red eyes of the silver rabbit, run, traveler.
Ancient rabbit beastman?
“Jepato was cast out of his group because of his unusual fur color.”
As Jonghyuk stared blankly into space, Kal spoke quietly.
“Is his fur color strange?”
“Didn’t you stay silent because you thought it was strange too?”
The two blinked at each other.
Jonghyuk spoke first.
“Where I’m from, there are no people with rabbit ears.”
“Hm? No rabbit beastmen?”
“No. I’ve heard of people pretending, but I’ve never seen one.”
“Oh?”
Kal looked at Jonghyuk with interest.
“That’s quite a strange place. No rabbit beastmen, yet people imitate them?”
…
While Kal tilted his head in confusion, Jonghyuk remained silent.
After a moment, Kal spoke again.
“Anyway, you might not know. Rabbit beastmen only have three fur colors: white, brown, and black. Jepato is the only one with gray fur.”
Learning something new, Jonghyuk nodded.
‘Then does that mean Jepato is related to the ancient rabbit beastmen?’
That was the only conclusion he could draw, but he kept it to himself.
“U-Um, hello… I’m Jepato… Please treat me comfortably.”
The tips of his drooping ears trembled.
‘He’s scared of me.’
Before Jepato could get any more nervous, Jonghyuk quickly used the skill—though he didn’t add him to his friends list.
‘His skills don’t seem that great anyway. No need to add him.’
“Huh?”
As soon as the skill activated, Jepato’s drooping ears perked up as if struck by electricity.
“I-I’m suddenly not… scared?”
“Feels different, right?”
Jonghyuk crouched to meet his eye level.
“Yes! I feel totally fine now!”
“I’m Ardin.”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Ardin!”
“I’ve got something to sell. Want to take a look?”
“Something to sell?”
Jepato looked at him with curious eyes.
“This.”
Jonghyuk took out the hobgoblin leather and handed it over.
“Ooh! This is high-quality hobgoblin leather!”
Jepato examined it carefully, even sniffing it.
“The condition is good, and considering the current supply… hmm… hmm…”
After thinking for a while, his ears twitching, Jepato finally said,
“Two copper coins from the Empire per piece! How about it?”
“Empire copper coins?”
Confused, Jonghyuk tilted his head, and Kal explained,
“The Kingdom uses shillings, but the Empire uses copper, silver, and gold coins. Don’t worry—you can still use them here.”
‘Different currencies, huh.’
“Here!”
Jepato pulled out a copper coin and handed it over. A portrait was engraved in the center.
“How much is this worth in the Kingdom?”
“About 10 shillings.”
One piece of hobgoblin leather for 20 shillings.
The price was the same.
“Then what about commission?”
Jonghyuk asked, handing the coin back. Jepato shook his head vigorously and puffed out his chest.
“Jepato’s shop has no commission! You get the full price!”
“That’s a very good shop.”
Satisfied, Jonghyuk handed over all five pieces of leather.
“Received 5 pieces! That’s 10 copper coins, so I’ll give you 1 silver coin!”
Jepato untied his pouch and handed him a silver coin.
“Thanks.”
As Jonghyuk accepted it—
[Epic Quest Completed.]
[Level Up.]
[Jepato’s favorability increased by 10.]
[Obtained 1 Tower Climbing Companion Ticket.]
The bonus rewards were nice too.
Looking at the system window, Jonghyuk nodded in satisfaction.
“This is it.”
After finishing the deal, Jepato unloaded materials from his wagon and received payment from Kal.
“Thank you!”
“I’ll be using your services often. Here’s a bonus.”
Kal handed Jepato a deep orange carrot.
“Wow!”
Jepato’s eyes lit up as he bit into it.
Crunch.
Chew, chew, gulp!
After finishing it on the spot, he patted his full stomach.
“Thank you, Uncle Kal!”
Jepato bowed, and Kal smiled warmly.
