I Became a Mythical Hunter After Killing the Golden Goblin - Chapter 61
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 61. The 0-rank Merchant, Goldring
“Harp Golden Goblin?”
The words tumbled from my lips unbidden at the sight of that familiar form, and the 0-rank Merchant’s face crumpled further in displeasure.
“You damn bastard! Who the hell do you think you are?! How dare you casually throw around someone else’s race name?! You want to die that badly?! Yeah, I’m a half-breed! So what?! What are you gonna do about it?! All those damn things are dead anyway, and I’m the only one left! Why am I a half-breed?! I’m a real Golden Goblin now! No, the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off. Even the Divine Seats don’t bring up my race, but here comes some mortal crawling up trying to lecture me. And one who hasn’t even passed Stage-0 at that. I can’t believe this.”
He seemed furious. I wasn’t sure how to respond. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead from the blunder I’d made in this awkward situation.
This being was the greatest merchant in the Abyss, one of the rare few who could traverse every corner of the Abyss as they pleased.
You could say they were like a true NPC. Not like those who had settled in the Abyss over generations and become its current inhabitants—these were entities summoned directly by the Abyss or the System itself.
From what I knew, merchants could not be killed. They could not be attacked and could not be attacked. More precisely, the moment you attack a merchant, you’re permanently banished from the Abyss.
Of course, not all merchants had this protection. It only applied to high-ranking merchants. But that didn’t mean merchants had weak rights.
That’s why some players and residents repeatedly accepted Quests to become merchants themselves.
Once recognized as a merchant by the System and promoted high enough—even becoming a 3-rank Merchant granted semi-immortality and partial protection from the System.
In exchange, there were restrictions on returning home. But who cares? Semi-immortality and becoming a direct System employee was worth it.
And the being before me was one of the oldest merchants, the very first merchant to exist, and one of only five 0-rank Merchants.
Perhaps that’s why his speech was somewhat crude and he often used strange dialects. It was… difficult to know how to comfort him.
‘Wait, but aren’t all the Golden Goblins dead?’
He kept insisting that the Golden Goblin race had gone extinct, that he alone was a true Golden Goblin. Yet I had one living Golden Goblin in my territory.
“Seriously, when you get old you should just die already. But here I am stuck as a merchant, can’t even die, and my entire race just vanished in an instant. It’s so damn sad.”
“The Golden Goblins went extinct all at once?”
“Yeah, you rotten bastard! Nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine of my kin disappeared in an instant! The Golden Goblin population was fixed at exactly 9,999—never increasing, never decreasing! Then one day they all just vanished! Damn this cursed System! It promised that if I became a merchant, it would make me a true Golden Goblin! What good is that now when all my kin are dead?! Hack, spit! Filthy Abyss! Shitty System!”
This was my doing. Undoubtedly. Before my regression, I had wiped out every single Golden Goblin with explosives.
“So what, one damn one survived? Is that supposed to make it okay, you braindead System? I’m Harp! Harp! My only wish was to become a true Golden Goblin. What? One survived? I should be excluded, you damn bastard!”
At the merchant’s words, I raised my hand in refutation.
“I apologize, but there is one Golden Goblin still alive.”
Damn it! My arrogance struck again. I didn’t mean to say that at all. I need to balance my stats quickly—this unexpected courage and arrogance keep bursting out unbidden.
That glare could kill. But it’s not a lie.
“Hey, kid. Can you take responsibility for what you just said?”
At the razor-sharp words of Harp Golden Goblin Goldring, who was glaring at me as if ready to kill, I quickly nodded.
This being was someone even the Divine Seats deferred to. If I’d overstepped, I needed to bow and apologize.
I could use a summoning right to purchase something somehow, but if I made a permanent enemy, my Hunter career could become significantly harder. I might even lose the ability to trade with merchants in the Abyss.
“If you’re lying, you die. I’ll tear your limbs apart by any means necessary.”
At those words, the great black flame dragon sealed within me… no, my arrogance seized control of my mouth once more like a convulsion.
“What if I’m right? What then? Will you give me something for free? Fair trade is supposed to be equal, isn’t it? Don’t you know about equivalent exchange? Equivalent exchange.”
Even I was shocked at my own words. The merchant let out a hollow laugh and pulled a golden pipe from his pocket, placing it between his lips.
Whoooosh!
Wow—even the cigarette smoke is golden! Just how expensive is that tobacco to produce golden smoke like that?
The 0-rank Merchant nodded, as if his expression carried the resolve of “let’s both die here.”
“Fine. If there really is even a single purebred Golden Goblin alive, just as you say, then I’ll give you anything you want from my collection for free.”
“I accept your word without reservation.”
Stop it, mouth! Stop moving!
Sigh… it’s already too late. That expression is far too committed to take back.
Still, there’s no problem. After all, this bet is one I can only win. I opened my inventory as usual. The portal opened wider than before, as if I were entering my Territory, and I pushed my body through.
-Boom!!!
Startled by my sudden appearance, Golden jumped back with a yelp.
“What is all this?”
My Territory, which I hadn’t visited in ages, had transformed beyond recognition. What on earth had Golden been doing?
Starting with a castle forged entirely of gold, the landscape was filled with buildings. But what truly astounded me wasn’t just the scale—it was the extraordinary craftsmanship.
The castle featured sculptures of dragons and mystical creatures so lifelike they seemed to breathe, while every building boasted ornate exteriors and perfect proportions.
Was that really the Golden Goblin, or had he somehow become a Golden Dwarf?
While lost in these thoughts, I felt something tapping my body from outside, and remembering why I’d entered, I called out to Golden.
“Golden, time to see the outside world. Come on out.”
-Kwuong~~!
I didn’t wait for objections. I simply grabbed Golden’s foot and pulled him back to the hotel room.
The moment I saw Golden dangling from my hand, swinging playfully with delight.
“Oh my goodness! Divine God of the great Golden Goblins! You were alive all this time! Of course, it was impossible for one as great as you to perish. This lowly Harp Golden Goblin Goldring! I never dared imagine Your Majesty still lived, so I never searched for you!”
He suddenly prostrated himself, trembling violently, unable to even look at Golden directly, his entire being overflowing with joy.
-Kwuong? Half-half!
“Yes! Your Majesty, I am Harp Golden Goblin. I apologize profusely. My lowly bloodline never dared seek you out. Sob! When all my kin perished, I believed Your Majesty had also passed. It seems you were preparing for succession!”
What? So Golden was the god and emperor of the Golden Goblins?
That’s why his rank was Mythic-grade. That’s why he was born the moment the previous king died through succession.
‘Did my killing him prevent the succession from happening properly?’
That was the most likely assumption I could make. Either way, it wasn’t a bad situation.
Just looking at the current situation, the 0-rank Merchant Goldring showed such unwavering loyalty that he couldn’t even dare talk back to Golden.
This was the same 0-rank Merchant who, according to his own words, even the Divine Seats didn’t treat carelessly.
Well, regardless. I won the bet, didn’t I?
Only then did my personality, which had become irritable and impulsive under Pride’s influence, return to normal, and a refreshing sensation spread throughout my entire body.
Pride’s influence affected only one domain: whenever I felt disrespected by others or believed my actions were being dismissed, it would trigger like a seizure, warping my personality.
True to its nature as a primordial stat, it performed its role far too well—a primordial force capable of corrupting even archangels, so perhaps I should consider these side effects a blessing?
‘If Misfortune awakens here.’
Just imagining it made me dizzy. What chaos would those two conspire to create together?
Though Misfortune hadn’t stirred during the dungeon rampage, so it wasn’t too dangerous then, it was about time that entity recovered its strength. I needed to be careful—who knew when it might suddenly appear and strike from behind?
Soon, abandoning these thoughts, I watched Goldring. Following Golden’s commands, he rolled across the floor, playing around.
Seeing a being who had lived far longer than the gods themselves act like this… I felt genuinely sorry.
“Golden, stop that and come here. Want to head back? Or should we stay a bit longer?”
-Stay bit longer!
“Fine then, just wait a moment. Let me have a conversation first, and then I’ll let you two play together.”
Golden obediently retreated. For him now, while Goldring mattered, the Abyss world he was encountering for the first time since his birth was far more fascinating.
Leaving Golden to explore every corner of the hotel room, I turned my gaze to Goldring, who had dusted himself off and risen.
Steadily. Calmly. For a long time. Piercingly. With intent.
“Damn it! Fine, I get it! You won, mortal. You called me to buy things anyway, right? Pick whatever you want. I’ll give you one item free. A mere Stage-0 creature like you won’t have coins that satisfy me anyway, so don’t be cheeky and ask to buy more.”
The moment he spoke, a system window appeared before me—a sales window displaying everything Goldring possessed.
“Wow… you’re selling all of this? That’s insane.”
“Hmph, as a 0-rank Merchant, I’d naturally have stock like this. The system provides support, and we haven’t exactly been idle all these years.”
“If we’re just counting items, this should be about 0.0000000001% of the Golden Tower’s inventory.”
The moment those words tumbled from my lips unbidden, Goldring appeared before me with eyes even wider than when he’d first met Golden.
“Just now… what did you just say?”
“What… what do you mean?”
“What tower? Didn’t you just say something about a tower?”
“The Golden Tower? That’s my domain.”
Thump!
Goldring collapsed to the floor as if he’d heard something utterly absurd, his gaze fixed on empty space with a vacant expression. He looked like a fanatic who’d just learned that the god he’d worshipped was a fraud.
“What’s going on?”
I had no idea. Was this old man bipolar or something? Well, it didn’t matter anyway. What was important now wasn’t this old man—it was selecting something I liked from this collection.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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