I Just Traded in the Forest of Monsters, but the World Changed - Chapter 3

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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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Episode 3
Instead of answering, Wolf swept his tail once more.
“……Wow.”
Se Hui looked back and forth between the Tent and Wolf.
The forest’s apex predator was settled right in front of her.
There was no way monsters could approach carelessly.
“Security’s pretty solid, then.”
And she laughed, glancing between the chopsticks still in her hand.
Wolf slowly lifted his head and gazed up at Se Hui.
“What.”
Se Hui spoke to Wolf.
“What else is there?”
Wolf paced in front of the Tent for a while, then slowly turned his body.
He seemed to disappear a few steps into the forest.
“Hey, wait a minute.”
Before she could call out, he had already gone into the woods.
And then he returned a short while later.
This time he had something in his mouth.
“Huh?”
Wolf approached Se Hui and dropped his head sharply.
With a dull sound, glittering things rolled out onto the ground.
One gem—the size of a fingernail.
Though it looked as if it had been dug from the earth, the gem’s characteristic luster caught her eye even in the forest’s darkness.
“What is this.”
When Se Hui crouched down carefully and picked one up, Wolf did not retreat.
Instead, he sat quietly with his front paws together, watching only her hands.
“Don’t tell me this is payment for the Ramen?”
The moment she murmured it as a joke.
[Exchange Notification – Auto Summary]
• Detection: Gem Fragment
• Assessment/Refinement Complete
• Final Acquisition: 150 Points
Se Hui’s gaze froze in empty air.
The number was changing.
Points that had definitely been 0 just moments ago.
“Ah.”
Words slipped out on their own.
“Wait, what are you doing? I didn’t even get to check what kind of gem this is before it just vanishes like that?”
The settlement had already completed the moment she received it.
The gem itself had disappeared, and the Points remained, but from Se Hui’s perspective it felt like being given something only to have it snatched away.
“First of all…… thanks for the gem. Though I’m not sure you understand what I’m saying.”
As if he understood her words, Wolf flicked his tail once and turned his gaze away.
Only then did laughter come.
“Am I really……”
Se Hui looked down at Wolf and spoke.
“Making my first sale with a Wolf?”
She hadn’t run from Wolf or received help from him.
She had simply sold something and received payment in return.
Once could be coincidence; twice made it business.
“Well, when you think about it, it’s not that different from my old company.”
Except that the workplace was a forest and the customer was a Wolf.
Se Hui checked the Points number floating before her eyes once more.
In that moment, Se Hui understood something.
Perhaps this place wasn’t a place to survive, but a place where she could earn a living.
She didn’t yet know what the condition to return was, but it was clear that as Points accumulated, possibilities would open up.
“But what am I supposed to buy with this?”
The moment she finished speaking, a window appeared before her eyes as if telling her to check now.
[System Shop]
Location: Monster Forest Branch (Neighborhood Convenience Store)
“No Credit! No Broth Without Points!”
[Items for Sale]
• [Chronic Ramen (5-pack)] … 500P [Purchase]
• [Maximum Gold (10 pieces)] … 120P [Purchase]
• [Spam Can (200g)] … 600P [Purchase]
.
.
.
* Expired merchandise — pick your own at your own risk. No returns.
“This is seriously too much, isn’t it?”
A hollow laugh escaped her lips before she could stop it.
Se Hui closed the screen and stared at the tent.
“So I’m supposed to live here from now on?”
Se Hui glanced around the interior of the tent.
A bed came to mind unbidden.
A plush mattress and warm blankets.
Her phone charged every night, the television playing mindlessly in the background.
“……sigh.”
No convenience store midnight snacks, no delivery food — just a forest clearing.
Things she’d never see again.
Wolf still sat upright, ears pricked toward the forest.
Se Hui checked him once more, then stepped carefully into the tent.
The interior was narrower than she’d expected.
The floor was thin, and she could feel dampness seeping up through it.
“God, this is worse than a cheap rooming house.”
Outside, wind scraped through the branches.
“One rain and this whole thing’s done for.”
There didn’t seem to be any water or fire inside.
When Se Hui pulled at the canvas wall, it swayed far too easily.
“It’s just plastic.”
The moment that thought settled in.
The tent blazed with light, and a small metal device jutted out from above.
“What?”
A soft whirring sound accompanied a faint glow.
[Utility Supply Activated]
A galactic standard receiving antenna will be installed on the tent.
*Monthly fee: 500P (auto-deducted)
*Automatic inspection and repair of damaged equipment
Next, a water tap appeared beside the tent, and water began to drip from it.
The water was remarkably clean.
Se Hui glared at the empty air and spoke.
“What happens if I don’t pay the monthly fee?”
[Service will be immediately disconnected upon non-payment.]
“Figured as much.”
Life was certainly more convenient, yet her heart remained uneasy.
There was a price tag attached to even this comfort.
“Hah……”
Se Hui sighed and poked her head back outside.
Wolf still stood guard in front of the tent.
Broth stains still clung to the corners of his mouth.
“You’re really planning to settle here?”
Wolf didn’t answer, but his ears perked forward.
She wasn’t opposed to it, but if customers saw a wolf and ran, that would be a problem.
“Woof!”
As if reading her thoughts, Wolf tilted his head and barked once.
The gesture was unexpectedly endearing, and Se Hui decided she could let it slide.
“Maybe I should give you a name.”
The moment the words left her mouth, her stomach gurgled.
Se Hui paused, then casually pressed a hand to her belly as if nothing had happened.
“Haven’t eaten anything since I got here, and the tension’s finally wearing off, I guess.”
She’d used up all the Ramen feeding Wolf one pack each, so there was nothing left.
“I wonder if there’s anything inside.”
Se Hui scanned the tent quickly, then opened her Inventory.
Edible items amounted to little more than a few Chocolate Bars.
But it looked woefully insufficient to fill her stomach.
“If I’d known this would happen, I should’ve saved at least one.”
Se Hui walked slowly around the tent, surveying her surroundings.
Twigs, pebbles, grass.
There wasn’t a single thing worth eating.
The forest appeared abundant, yet she felt acutely aware that none of it was hers.
“They dump me here to run a store, and I don’t even have food to eat?”
Just then, she heard footsteps crunching behind her.
Wolf suddenly sprang up and bolted toward the forest.
Moments later, he returned with something dragging in his mouth.
“Huh?”
What lay on the ground was quite a large hunk of meat.
Blood still fresh, looking freshly killed.
“Oh.”
Se Hui paused at the sight of it.
“Meat? You caught this?”
Wolf sat beside the meat with what looked like a satisfied expression, glancing briefly toward the forest.
After perking up his ears as if to check his surroundings, he looked back at her.
His face said this was payback for the Ramen.
“Well, I’m grateful, but…”
Se Hui picked up the meat.
The blood on it felt vivid against her skin.
“This needs to be cooked.”
She gathered several branches in front of the tent and began building a fire, then suddenly froze mid-motion.
A thought had crossed her mind.
Destruction Hand.
Cooking Ability F-.
The Ramen earlier was an exception, but this wasn’t something from her Inventory or the System Shop.
So doubt crept in.
All I have to do is cook it.
She tried to convince herself that grilling didn’t count as cooking.
“Surely they won’t stop me from this? Grilling should be fine.”
Muttering to herself, she examined the meat once more.
Her fingertips trembled slightly, even though all she had to do was place it over the flames.
Just as she was about to set the meat over the fire—
[
Warning
]
This ingredient may cause fatal toxic reactions in the human body.
“Wait, what?”
Se Hui looked back and forth between the meat and the Spear.
“What? Toxic? Is it poisonous even if I cook it?”
She recalled the moment when she’d made Ramen.
“But you didn’t say anything about it then.”
Faced with a System that now strongly discouraged her from cooking, Se Hui was exasperated.
[
Warning
]
Cooking is not recommended if you wish to survive.
“Then what am I supposed to eat? This is the first time I’ve seen a store owner on the rations list.”
The System wasn’t going to answer her.
Se Hui looked down at the meat, muttering.
“Sigh… Did they just bring me here to run a shop and not think about food or anything like that at all?”
Unable to do anything else, Se Hui set the meat down.
Wolf tilted his head, as if asking why she wasn’t eating it.
“Sorry. They say I can’t eat this.”
Se Hui sighed and checked her Points.
150 Points.
“So is there anything edible in the shop?”
She swept her gaze across the familiar interface with practiced ease. Ramen, instant rice, canned goods.
Her eyes stopped at one particular item.
• [Frozen Pork Belly, Single Serving] … 1,200 Points
“……”
Se Hui stared at the number again.
And then once more.
“Frozen pork belly…….”
[System Shop]
Purchase unavailable. (Insufficient Points)
“Right. I know, I know — I don’t have enough points.”
Se Hui scrolled through the list from top to bottom.
Ramen was 500.
Coffee was 120.
Below that, what she could actually afford.
• [Bottled Water (2L)] … 30 Points
• [Park Gas] … 50 Points
“……There’s nothing else.”
Se Hui hesitated for a moment, then pressed the purchase button for both items.
She had exactly 70 Points left.
That’s when it happened.
Crackle—
A faint sound drifted from the grass.
A sound like someone swallowing hard, barely audible.
“……Ugh.”

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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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