Level 4 Human in a Ruined World - Chapter 45

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 45 13. Opening the Gates (2)

“Al… Aliens? You mean the merchants are actually aliens?”

Inside the moving car, Myeong-ho asked this question.

Soon after, he realized he had asked a foolish question.

If they were beings that descended from beyond the sky riding black light pillars, of course they would be aliens.

“Yes. Strictly speaking, they would be aliens, but…”

Young-woo, who received Myeong-ho’s question, trailed off.

While the merchants were indeed aliens, he felt they were quite different from the ‘aliens’ people commonly spoke of.

If he had to find a different term, in terms of nuance, ‘beings from another realm’ would suit them better than aliens.

Moreover, through conversations with the orcs, whom he had thought were simply monsters until now, hadn’t he learned that they too were beings from another world with their own homeland and sense of purpose?

Then wouldn’t all monsters, including orcs, also be aliens?

‘Then what’s the difference between those who come here as merchants and monsters? Why are some merchants and others monsters?’

At least until now, it was also puzzling that only the aliens playing monster roles had appearances familiar to humans.

Why were only monsters beings like goblins and orcs?

“…”

His head felt dizzy.

However, he also knew well that no amount of pondering would help for now.

‘If I keep living, I’ll probably learn something.’

Soon the merchant arrival timer that had been hanging in his vision disappeared, and the black light pillar in the distance flashed and made a thunderous sound.

Rumble!

Finally, a merchant had arrived in Mungyeong City.

And at this sound, Myeong-ae, who had been unconscious until now, suddenly opened her eyes wide.

“…Yoon, Yoon-ho!”

Seeing her wake up crying out the name of her second son who had become deceased, it seemed she had been having terrible nightmares even in her dreams.

But reality was no better.

“Ahhh…!”

Realizing she was still in a nightmare, Myeong-ae burst into miserable tears.

Rumble!

Right on cue, the black light pillar writhed once more.

Seeing this, Young-woo grabbed the passenger door handle.

“Stop the car.”

“What?”

“I’ll go ahead first, so bring Mother and follow me.”

“Will… will it be okay?”

The subject of ‘okay’ that Myeong-ho mentioned was naturally himself and his mother.

“Yes. The distance isn’t far and there are no monsters around. If anything happens, honk the horn.”

With these words, Young-woo flung open the passenger door and rushed out.

He made this decision because trading with merchants was first-come, first-served.

Since this was a city where the First Sword and a mutant had joined forces to clear out monsters, wouldn’t there be many survivors?

Of course, how many among them would dare to seek out that black light pillar with their own feet…

‘Still, you never know. There could be any number of variables.’

Young-woo crossed the urban area at high speed, heading straight toward the light pillar.

Soon after, he saw people running frantically from the opposite direction.

The survivors of the area were moving to avoid the merchant’s marker.

‘Ah, there are quite a few people…’

Perhaps because he had just had an unrealistic conversation with orcs not long ago, Young-woo felt pleased to see people first.

But the people on the opposite side…

“Huh?”

“Th-there’s something else here…”

Just like when the Jung Family first saw Young-woo, they felt a sense of unease from him first.

This time he wasn’t carrying bags all over his back, but anyway, the fact that he was stepping on the ground barefoot and wearing strange equipment looked very odd.

The fact that his movements were unbelievable for a human also played a part.

Even people who had built up enough ability stats to compete with monsters couldn’t even imitate such movements.

Then everyone realized it only after several more seconds had passed since he went by.

“Uh…? Wait.”

The fact that the man who had just passed by like lightning looked exactly like the face engraved on the coins that had fallen from the sky earlier.

Whoosh!

Young-woo pushed through those gazes that looked at him like a monster and entered the point where the merchant had descended.

Indeed, unlike the main street where people had been running in lines, there were few people near the light pillar.

But there were definitely people there.

“Whoa, what’s that?”

“Huh? Someone’s coming?”

“Geez… that startled me.”

Three people with quite hostile reactions.

These were the few humans lingering around the merchant and the only group.

From the looks of it, they seemed to be pondering whether to approach the merchant more closely or not.

Young-woo positioned himself neatly between the black light pillar and the trio and casually asked.

“You haven’t started trading yet, right?”

“…Trading?”

The one who reflexively gave a blunt answer was the tall man who was at the front of the trio.

Whether by position or by the Early Bird in his left hand, this man was the leader of the trio.

“…”

When Young-woo stared at him intently, the tip of the Early Bird that had been pointing at him at a rather threatening angle slowly lowered.

While the sudden interloper’s cutting in line was indeed unpleasant, the movements Young-woo had shown earlier were so extraordinary that he unconsciously held back.

“If you haven’t started yet, I’ll use it first.”

Young-woo took a bold step toward the black light pillar, leaving behind the three people who could neither back down nor pick a fight.

“Hey! Wait!”

The man belatedly scowled and tried to chase after Young-woo, but the other two people hastily stopped him.

“Are you crazy?”

“Look at this quickly.”

Swish.

What the two companions quickly thrust before the man’s eyes was…

“…Ah.”

A golden coin.

* * *

Meanwhile, Young-woo had experience trading with alien trading companies before, so light pillars or merchants from outer space weren’t particularly frightening.

No, rather, he felt urgent.

‘Where did Kubu go? Didn’t he say I could see him again in the next trade?’

Kubu, the main intermediary for Gyeongbuk First Sword Jung Young-woo07.

According to his promise, from the second trade onward, Young-woo could not only pay half the commission fee but also see all the trading companies that bid on the deal.

That’s why he had risked danger to deal with the Mungyeong City Mutant…

‘It seems like a merchant has already arrived, so what happens in this case?’

Meanwhile, the distance between Young-woo and the black light pillar had narrowed to about 10 meters, and around this time, the silhouette of the merchant inside the light pillar began to become slightly visible.

‘I don’t know what it is, but it’s huge.’

Just as Young-woo tilted his head and tried to close the distance with the merchant further.

Swoosh.

Finally, the space between Young-woo and the black light pillar tore open lengthily, and the problematic mediator, Kubu, appeared.

―It is an honor to meet again with Jung Young-woo07, the strongest of Gyeongbuk, human of Earth!

Pitch-black eye sockets, white pupils.

Blinking that used the void as eyelids.

It was definitely him.

―I am Kubu, master of the Tenta Tribe and guardian of Daro, who will be mediating this transaction.

Kubu introduced himself very proudly, just like when they first made a deal.

Then next.

―The mediation fee for this transaction is 10% and is included in the product price. A total of 4 trading groups have bid on this transaction.

―Would you like to see the list of bidding trading groups and their proposal details?

He offered the main mediator privilege he had promised last time.

“Yes. Please show me.”

When Young-woo nodded and answered, Kubu blinked his eyes widely and added some kind of warning.

―You will be in Direct Communication with the remaining 3 trading groups excluding the Mir Alliance that has already arrived here, so it may be a bit uncomfortable.

“Uncomfortable…?”

The moment Young-woo asked back like this, suddenly the color of the black light pillar changed to red and spewed out tremendous noise.

-Kiiiiiiiii!

“This crazy…!”

At the sound like frantically scratching a blackboard, not only Young-woo but even the trio standing far away covered their ears and screamed.

“Aaaaah!”

“Wh-what are you doing right now!”

“Turn that off quickly!”

But how could a mere human’s request work?

The strange sound continued, and Young-woo could only realize when his ears were stinging.

The fact that some meaning was contained within this maddening sound.

It felt like reading advertisement boards inside a subway speeding by at high speed, but certainly several meanings were being conveyed at regular intervals.

「Life… concealment… peace.」

Unlike the threatening sound, the actual meaning contained within was extremely friendly.

‘Life, concealment, peace…? What exactly is this trying to say?’

Young-woo thought this and looked at Kubu, but this time there was no particular hint.

Did it mean this was as far as he could help?

Well, if he had intended to help, he wouldn’t have let him have ‘Direct Communication’ with the alien trading company in the first place.

Life, concealment, peace.

Young-woo confirmed there were no other hidden meanings and said to Kubu.

“That’s enough for now. Please connect me with the next trading group.”

Then Kubu silently blinked his eyes again, and this time the light pillar took on a purple hue and pushed away the surrounding air.

Whoooosh!

“Ugh…!”

Young-woo flinched at the different sense of unease from before, but it only gave him some goosebumps all over his body and wasn’t painful.

‘What? This time there doesn’t seem to be any meaning.’

Whoooosh!

The air was pushed out once more.

And this time too, he couldn’t detect any meaning.

‘What are they trying to do…’

Just as Young-woo was about to move on to the next trading group with a furrowed brow.

Whoooosh!

At the same timing as before, with the same intensity as before, air was pushed out.

“…”

Thanks to this, Young-woo felt something familiar from an alien trading group for the first time.

The reason was none other than.

‘This is breathing.’

Whoooosh!

Young-woo finally realized.

That the other party was appealing that they too were beings who breathed like humans.

Whoooosh!

The anonymous counterpart continued to just push out air, like making a phone call and only letting breathing sounds be heard.

In a way, couldn’t this be called a very delicate marketing strategy?

“Can I check all the remaining merchants and then decide?”

When Young-woo asked this, Kubu moved his white pupils to look at him.

―If you wish, it is possible.

“Yes. Then please move to the next one for now.”

―Understood.

Kubu, having received Young-woo’s command, blinked his eyes widely again.

Whoosh!

The third merchant was ominous from the start.

Because the light pillar burst into flames in an instant and spewed out tremendous heat.

“These crazy bastards… are they really here to trade?”

Young-woo panted and squeezed his eyes shut. It felt like his eyeballs would melt from the heat.

Whoooosh!

However, as fierce as the heat was, he could clearly understand the meaning contained within it.

What the unknown counterpart sent was pride rather than any message.

Fierce temperament, desire for power.

Whatever race they were, they were certainly very combative, and therefore what they put up for sale would mostly be related to fighting.

“Ugh! N-next!”

Young-woo hastily called for the next merchant after only minimal understanding.

Whoosh!

Then as if nothing had happened, the heat that had swept the area disappeared and the light pillar turned black again.

“…Ah.”

Because the one who had come here early was the last merchant.

-Grgrk.

Soon, a sound like rolling stones quietly flowed out from within the black light pillar.

And this.

―The last trader is from the Mir Alliance. They say they’ve been waiting for quite a long time but aren’t displeased.

Kubu personally interpreted for him.

This was probably a privilege for the first successful bidder.

In fact, if it hadn’t been Young-woo who came to this place, the Mir Alliance would have been the only trading group in this transaction.

“Ah… I’m sorry about that.”

Young-woo genuinely felt embarrassed and sent a friendly gaze toward the inside of the light pillar.

Then the Mir Alliance merchant, visible only as a massive silhouette, stirred its body.

-Geuk-geuk, geuk-geuk.

Just as he was thinking that maybe it wasn’t just visible as a silhouette, but its actual appearance itself was a shadow.

―The Mir Alliance is a traditional trading group that has been conducting interdimensional trade for a whopping 800 million years in Earth time, and is of a different class from petty merchants who sell war spoils they happened to obtain.

Kubu began a lengthy interpretation.

‘No way, what I actually heard was just two sounds like stones rolling, and that gets interpreted like that…?’

However, the Mir Alliance’s message wasn’t finished there.

―The Mir Alliance mainly deals in consumables and items useful for overcoming special situations. The prices are cheap, and the quality is good.

“…Can’t you just show me the item list directly? Since you’ve come all this way.”

Young-woo asked this, but Kubu flatly refused.

―This is a transaction where rebidding has already begun. Therefore, directly revealing the transaction contents is prohibited by law.

Whatever it was, it meant it wasn’t allowed anyway.

At this, Young-woo gazed at the silhouette inside the black light pillar with a troubled expression, then soon withdrew his gaze.

“Then it can’t be helped, but that person will have to return empty-handed. Please call the merchant who was only letting me hear breathing sounds earlier.”

―Are you certain?

“Yes.”

When Young-woo nodded again, Kubu blinked.

―Following Jung Young-woo07’s request, we will return the Mir Alliance and summon Boltak’s Wandering Merchant.

As soon as Kubu finished speaking, a loud commotion suddenly began from inside the black light pillar.

-Geuk-geuk! Geuk-geuk…!

A tone where you could guess what it meant without needing to hear the interpretation.

Perhaps that’s why Kubu didn’t bother to relay this and proceeded with the merchant exchange.

Paeeeeeng!

With a refreshing departure sound, the Mir Alliance merchant was sucked upward through the light pillar, and then.

Gaaaaaah…!

With an extremely intimidating sound, the light pillar was dyed purple.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————