I Just Traded in the Forest of Monsters, but the World Changed - Chapter 4

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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 4
Se Hui’s body went rigid.
“Just now…… did you hear that?”
Alone with no one to turn to, Se Hui instinctively looked back at the wolf.
The wolf was already growling low toward the grass, its hackles raised.
Se Hui took a breath to steady herself and moved forward carefully.
As she parted the grass, a figure lay crumpled within.
“Oh?”
Deep wounds hastily dressed at the shoulder and flank.
Covered in blood.
But admiration came first.
“This is insane.”
Black hair hung wet across his brow, and long lashes cast shadows over his pallid face.
Even marred by bloodstains, his features were unnaturally sharp.
Se Hui lost her words for a moment.
“Wow…….”
She’d never seen a face like this outside a fantasy.
Handsome didn’t begin to cover it.
‘It’s like the male lead jumped right out of a novel cover.’
Her gaze naturally drifted lower.
A black coat-like garment cut with expensive precision, metal ornaments embedded in the shoulders.
The blood obscured the details, but the fabric itself was anything but ordinary.
‘This doesn’t look like any ordinary person.’
Se Hui stood motionless for a moment, staring down at the face.
She found herself at a loss.
‘How is it even possible for someone to look like this?’
Even catching a glimpse of a celebrity back home wouldn’t have hit her quite this hard.
Se Hui gave her head a sharp shake.
‘Here I am, gawking at his face in a situation like this.’
She examined the man again more carefully.
His breathing was shallow and trembled slightly with each inhalation.
When she pressed her palm to his forehead, heat radiated from it intensely.
“He’s burning up.”
She had nothing to dress the wounds with.
“Of course there’s nothing useful at a time like this.”
Scrolling through her inventory, one familiar name caught her eye.
[Bakgasu]
Effects: Fatigue Recovery / Temporary Awakening / Minor Stamina and Concentration Recovery (random)
Effect overlap not possible.
“It’s recovery, at least.”
Not a potion, but better than doing nothing at all.
Leaving him like this seemed like it would only make things worse.
“I’ll have to get him to take this right now, won’t I.”
Without hesitation, Se Hui retrieved the Bakgasu.
She uncapped it and tilted his chin up.
“Just a moment. Try taking this. It should help.”
The man’s head twitched faintly in refusal.
Se Hui didn’t waver.
“Right, you don’t get a say in this.”
She poured the contents straight into his mouth.
* * *
‘…… What does this taste like?’
Fragmented memories surfaced, drifting just before consciousness slipped away.
Combat with Liches and a throng of Skeletons.
At the moment he swung his blade, something twisted within him.
His Mana had stopped obeying him.
An attack he could normally have blocked slipped through his defense entirely.
And then, his vision went dark.
‘But then——’
At first, he’d thought it was nothing but a jolt.
A taste unfamiliar—bitter and sweet mingled together.
The moment it entered her mouth, the scattered flow of Mana began to settle, as if drawn back to its proper place.
The wild, jagged energy stilled all at once.
The noise that had filled her mind vanished, and the sounds around her grew clear.
‘……Purification?’
When she lifted her head, firelight came into view.
A small fire kindled before the tent.
A woman standing before it.
Skin luminous as if light had seeped through it, and chestnut-brown hair bound as though carelessly arranged.
Her gaze lingered longer than intended, wondering what she would look like with it loosened.
It was a face strangely difficult to look away from.
‘But Drain Wolves?’
They were wolves classified as high-ranking Magical Beasts.
Wolves that fed on Mana had strong territorial instincts and did not linger near humans without reason.
‘Pack members of that caliber, no less.’
The wolves clearly appeared to be following the woman.
‘Could she have tamed them?’
Kasian recalled, moments before, how unnaturally stable his condition had become.
‘Holy power?’
The way she had seized the vial and brought it to her lips without hesitation just now.
If she were a Saint,
‘she would never act that way.’
Yet the sense of stability he felt coursing through his body now defied explanation.
‘Coincidence, or…….’
Having gathered his thoughts, Kasian tensed his body.
The moment Kasian rose, his blade flashed.
The cold-gleaming edge came to rest directly before Se Hui’s throat.
They stood close enough to feel each other’s breath.
The wolves growled, but Kasian’s gaze did not waver.
His cool blue eyes looked down at her unflinching.
“Don’t move.”
Even bearing wounds, his sword hand held steady without the slightest tremor.
“Who are you?”
Yet the woman before him showed no alarm.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
Her tone suggested nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
* * *
‘What is this. Why the sudden sword……!’
Se Hui forced herself to speak calmly, shifting the subject.
“Do you have money, by any chance?”
She sensed the bewilderment in Kasian’s gaze.
“Money?”
“What I gave you to eat. It wasn’t free.”
Kasian fell silent for a moment.
He had not anticipated money being brought up in this situation, much less in such a manner.
“……This is Greenhal Forest.”
At his abrupt words, Se Hui tilted her head.
“Pardon?”
“A forest of Magical Beasts.”
Kasian’s eyes grew cold and distant.
“Ordinary humans do not enter here.”
He paused briefly before adding,
“Especially not without arms.”
Se Hui found herself at a loss for words.
Everything he said was true.
“Who are you?”
It was in that moment.
A low rumble—
The wolf beside Se Hui growled.
As the blade drew closer to Se Hui’s neck, three wolves simultaneously lowered their stance.
Kasian’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Hey.”
Just then, Se Hui tapped the wolf lightly.
“Don’t.”
The wolf’s mouth shut immediately.
A brief silence settled between them.
Kasian’s gaze shifted back to Se Hui.
‘How strange.’
To stand beside a Drain Wolf with such composure.
If she’d approached with intent, she’d have no reason to be so calm.
Kasian’s eyes fell to the empty bottle in his hand.
‘Without this, I’d still be unconscious.’
The sword Kasian held lowered just slightly.
“…Why did you save me.”
Kasian’s gaze pierced through her.
Se Hui replied bluntly, as if asking what the problem was.
“Just because.”
“…What?”
“You’re a person. You were bleeding badly and seemed to have a high fever.”
Kasian’s eyes wavered ever so slightly.
The answer was nothing like what he’d expected.
“A strange woman, indeed.”
After a moment’s silence, he lowered his sword completely.
“Late as it is, I’d like to introduce myself formally. My name is Kasian del Valere. I am the head of House Valere.”
‘A Duke?’
Having read novels often came in handy at times like this.
‘Isn’t a duke ranked right below the king?’
Se Hui’s eyes widened to about one and a half times their normal size.
The hierarchy of nobility quickly organized itself in her mind.
“Ah, I’m Han Se Hui. I’m the owner of this shop.”
“Han… Say?”
Unfamiliar with the pronunciation of “Hui,” Kasian rolled his tongue before finally saying it his own way.
“No, it’s Se Hui.”
Se Hui grew slightly exasperated with the way his pronunciation kept slipping.
“Fine, Say.”
Unaware of Se Hui’s feelings, Kasian continued to mangle her name.
“The ‘hui’ sound—you can’t pronounce it? Never mind, forget it. Call me whatever you like.”
Se Hui gave up, sensing further explanation would be futile.
There was no point in wearing herself out correcting a simple mispronunciation.
Then Kasian tossed something to Se Hui.
Clink.
Three Imperial Gold Coins landed in Se Hui’s palm with the soft chime of metal striking metal.
“That should be more than enough.”
A single coin would leave her with change even after a premium healing potion.
“What is this?”
She’d felt the coins touch her hand just a moment ago, but now they were gone.
In their place, a familiar window filled her vision.
[Exchange Notification]
• Detected Item: Imperial Gold Coin x3
• Converted Value: 3,000P
• Fee (20%): -600P
• Final Gain: 2,400P
“…Huh?”
Se Hui went blank for a moment.
“But why is the point total so low?”
Looking at the system window again, the fee line caught her eye.
“Minus 20%?”
Se Hui furrowed her brow.
“Wait, so those jewels from before—was that taken out the same way, and that’s why the points were so low?”
A brief silence fell, and then, as if offering an explanation, another window appeared.
[Gem Exchange Fee Preferential Terms]
Gems and Mana Stones can be recycled as system power sources.
• Imperial Gold Coin exchange fee: 20%
(varies by shop tier)
• Gem / Mana Stone exchange fee: 10% (fixed)
* Gems and Mana Stones have point conversion values that fluctuate in real time
based on market value and Mana content.
Se Hui exhaled sharply.
“That’s remarkably blatant discrimination.”
In that moment, she felt eyes on her back.
‘To anyone watching, I must look completely deranged.’
From his perspective, she’d handed over an Imperial Gold Coin, vanished from sight, and now stood muttering at empty air.
“I’m not acting crazy!”
The moment the words left her mouth, Se Hui understood.
She was the one who’d been conversing with thin air while a pack of wolves prowled at her back.
Se Hui looked away and bit her lip.
But contrary to her worry, Kasian’s thoughts were traveling in an entirely different direction.
‘Could it be. That wasn’t enough to cover the potion’s price.’
As he recalled the potion’s effects, that possibility seemed entirely plausible.
“Tell me if you need more.”
Kasian still had more Imperial Gold Coins.
“No, thank you. This should be enough for now.”
Yet Se Hui’s attention had already drifted elsewhere.

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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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