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n#73. The Black Merchants’ Invitation

nWinter had fallen on the Grand Labyrinth. Icicles had formed everywhere, and pure white, powdery snow was scattered across the labyrinth. As a result, the labyrinth’s facilities that had previously been working in perfect order had frozen to a complete halt.

nThe fire in the furnace of Malaxus and the dwarves had been extinguished, and the shelters of the migrant refugees had been combined into one, just to preserve whatever warmth was left. Even the steadfast Under-Elves were crouching in corners trying to thaw their frozen hands.

nThey all waited for the sudden winter to pass, but the wave of cold never subsided.

n“Sigh.” Kim Jin-Woo wiped away the icicles that had formed on the throne.

nThe catastrophe that had blown into the Grand Labyrinth was due to the attributes contained in the Count’s Seal he had absorbed. He couldn’t have imagined that a Count’s Seal, not even a Duke’s or a Marquis’ Seal, could have held this much power; as such, the situation had set him back quite heavily.

nThe Nagas, who were born resilient against strong cold, were like fish in water; but more than half of the residents in the Grand Labyrinth were unable to carry out their daily tasks thanks to the freezing cold.

nThe Dwarves, who had to forge weapons for the Nagas, were busy keeping themselves warm by the furnace; the Under-Elves weren’t able to perform their guard duties in the freezing cold. It was almost as if the giant creature that was the Grand Labyrinth had entered a deep winter hibernation.

n“This is driving me crazy.” No matter how much Kim Jin-Woo thought about it, it seemed the unwelcome winter wasn’t leaving any time soon, and his troubles were only deepening. “This… This situation doesn’t look so good.”

nIn the meantime, the Black Merchant revisited the Grand Labyrinth while wrapped in thick clothes, as if he had expected this turn of events. Kim Jin-Woo could only hate the sight of the Black Merchant, with his laid-back expression and a fine fur of unknown origins covering him warmly.

n“I’m letting you know this just in case, but the Seal that we delivered to you was without any flaws. If you think I may have a hand in your current situation, things might get a little rough between us.” The Black Merchant noticed Kim Jin-Woo’s upset look and belatedly made excuses, but Kim Jin-Woo’s expression didn’t ease up at all.

nPerhaps in order to appease his mood, the Black Merchant skipped the pleasantries and brought up the main purpose of his visit. “This may not be a fundamental solution, but I brought this here in case it may be of use.”

nCome to think of it, the Black Merchant’s procession was particularly long and bustling today. Giants and monsters several times larger than the escorting mercenaries that Kim Jin-Woo had seen previously were lined up, all carrying goods on their backs. The Black Merchant summoned them over and offloaded the goods.

n“Those are…” Kim Jin-Woo began.

n“They’re coats made from the outer skin of a creature that lives only in parts of the Underworld where it’s cold year-round. You’ll find them to be of great use in living with this cold weather.”

nIt was nice to have overcoats, and they would come in handy, but Kim Jin-Woo was more angry than grateful. Judging from the amount of overcoats that the Black Merchant had brought along, it was as though he had anticipated this scenario from the start.

nHowever, Kim Jin-Woo’s anger aside, it was more important to take care of his summons who had been suffering in the freezing cold. He beckoned to the Nagas, who rushed out and disappeared back into the labyrinth with all the goods that the mercenaries had left on display.

n“Anyway, I’ll thank you for these.” Although Kim Jin-Woo conveyed his thanks, his expression said otherwise.

nIn response, the Black Merchant pouted sadly. He paused for a moment before continuing, “I was just about to discuss business with you anyway.”

nKim Jin-Woo, who had just been about to put the Black Merchant in a rough spot, felt slightly embarrassed and restrained himself.

nThe Black Merchant looked at Kim Jin-Woo as he searched through his belongings, before passing him an envelope. However, it was the exact same envelope that Kim Jin-Woo had seen countless times, an invitation for an ordinary black market auction.

n“Calling it an auction might be a bit insensitive, considering what’s been going on in the Underworld, but when could we ever rest?” the Black Merchant remarked.

nHe wasn’t behaving out of the ordinary. He had simply returned to his usual submissive attitude as he rubbed his hands and asked Kim Jin-Woo to attend the auction.

n“We, the Black Merchants, have put special effort into this for everyone who was disappointed with the lack of an auction last year. From rare items to creatures you’ve never seen before, I guarantee you’ll find something that you desire!”

nHe spoke like a door-to-door salesman reciting his speech, before looking at Kim Jin-Woo warily and adding, “This auction might be an extra special event for my Lord.”

nEven before the Black Merchant’s cheap remarks, Kim Jin-Woo had already made up his mind. He had gained a significant advantage from obtaining Angela and Yoon-Hee from the previous auction that he had blindly attended, so he was already looking forward to what he might find in this coming auction.

nUnlike back then, when his financial situation had been rather poor, he now had an endless supply of down gems obtained from plundering the Association’s warehouse. As long as the Black Merchants had the right items ohn offer, there was no reason to decline their invitation.

nThe Black Merchant seemed to have read his mind, as he provided more information in order to secure a definite answer out of Kim Jin-Woo. “Many of our offerings that we’ve prepared this time are items related to the Ancient Underworld. We had a hard time preparing this auction because the Deep Floor Nobles were rather difficult to deal with in the process of obtaining those items.”

n“Oho.” Even the usually stoic Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but show interest this time. He thought that if he could obtain at least one item related to the Ancient Underworld, about which everything was still pretty much a mystery, he should be able to extract a lot of information.

n“How about it; does this tempt you enough?” the Black Merchant asked with a very encouraging look on his face.

n“Not bad. But is the Underworld situation stable enough to start another auction?” Kim Jin-Woo took the opportunity to ask about the situation of the Underworld.

nThe Black Merchant gave him a good answer. “Well, those on the Lower Floors may not be able to afford the items, but this auction isn’t for them in the first place. Given the current circumstances, only those who are at least of the Viscount title and above should be participating in the auction.”

nKim Jin-Woo, who hadn’t been able to obtain information on the Lower Floors, listened to the Black Merchant with a serious expression.

n“Those who bid on the auction will probably be the Counts. They’ve been rather stressed out in the past year, so we foresee this auction to be quite competitive,” the Black Merchant added. In addition, he talked about other current news in the Underworld, even though Kim Jin-Woo hadn’t asked for it.

n“Mm.” Kim Jin-Woo had already obtained all the useful information he could out of the Black Merchant, and a look of boredom quickly returned to his face.

nThe Black Merchant quickly shut his mouth in surprise. He exclaimed, “Ah, look at me! I’m holding up a busy person just to talk nonsense. Well, you know what they say, the older one gets, the less socially aware one becomes. I’m just that kind of guy right now.”

nWith his round face and short, exaggeratedly waving limbs, the rather young-looking Black Merchant could almost be Kim Jin-Woo’s nephew, based on his appearance.

nIt was hilarious for him to make such a statement while having such a face, but Kim Jin-Woo didn’t point it out. Doing so would only lengthen the useless chatter.

nBut once again, the Black Merchant curled his lips as if he had something else to say. And as expected, he asked one more question. “Aren’t you curious how old I am?”

n“Not really,” Kim Jin-Woo replied flatly.

n“Is that so? I was hoping you’d be at least a tiny bit curious…” The Black Merchant seemed rather embarrassed, as he quickly changed the topic. “Oh, by the way. Once this auction begins, you’ll be unable to leave the auction house midway.”

n“You’re mad,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

nIt was said that the flag of the Black Merchants would even put a war on hold in the past, but now, when the Moai were invading, the peace of a labyrinth couldn’t be guaranteed with merely their flag alone. On top of that, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t figure out why he had to put up with such a condition.

n“This is a decision we’ve made because of our own difficult circumstances, so we ask for your understanding,” the Black Merchant replied.

nThis matter was too important for a mere few words to be convincing, however. If anything happened while Kim Jin-Woo was participating in the auction, he would be left helpless in case of any emergency. It was an unacceptable condition.

n“Urgh, I was actually only going to tell you this on the day of the auction.” The Black Merchant looked at Kim Jin-Woo, who was struggling over whether or not to participate in the auction, and added that there was no other choice. “There’s someone participating in this auction who isn’t from this Underworld.”

nKim Jin-Woo’s attitude changed upon hearing the unexpected information.

n“But what I’ve heard is that he’s in the same situation as you, Milord,” the Black Merchant added.

n“What?” Kim Jin-Woo suddenly felt his heart palpitate, blurting out the question without even thinking.

nThe Black Merchant explained, “What I mean is that he, too, may be a Highlord.”

nKim Jin-Woo had heard that there had been another Highlord born in the Underworld, but after hearing it from someone else, he couldn’t help but be surprised again. He asked, “Is this certain information?”

n“Have I ever lied to you, Milord?” the Black Merchant replied.

nAfter hearing that much information, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but attend the auction. Thus, despite his displeased expression, he made up his mind.

n“Thus, no matter what, please grace us with your attendance for this auction. We promise that it will be a very beneficial time for both us, the Black Merchants, and you, Milord.” The Black Merchant left a rather gracious message before he gathered his escorting mercenaries and returned to the darkness of the Underworld.

n***

nThe summons, who had almost frozen to death in the cold, were able to escape the chill by wearing the coats delivered by the Black Merchant.

n“How are they going to survive this rough Underworld if they’re like this?” Dominique, who was totally immune to the cold, lamented as she watched the Under-Elves and the dwarves wrap themselves in thick coats.

n“There is such a thing as coincidence,” Kim Jin-Woo replied.

nIf the Count’s Seal’s attribute had been fire, it would have been the Nagas suffering. Now that he thought of that, Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. But deep down, he knew all too well that it wasn’t just a mere coincidence.

nConsidering the history of the Black Merchant, who always suddenly appeared at the perfect time to deliver the precise item he needed, he knew that this was also yet another arrangement crafted by the Black Merchants.

nThanks to that, he had been able to absorb a Count’s Seal even before he had taken away Parthenon and Denarion’s Seals, gaining a massive advantage in the process. Still, he was unable to figure out what the Black Merchant’s plan was.

nBut, as always, problems in the Underworld couldn’t be solved just by worrying about them.

n“I should be able to obtain some information when I attend the auction,” Kim Jin-Woo said.

n“Please be careful, Master. No matter how much I think about this auction, I can’t help but feel that there’s some kind of malicious purpose behind it,” Dominique replied.

n“So do I. But there’s no way for me to figure it out if I just sit around and watch,” Kim Jin-Woo said. Looking at the invitation to the auction that was just around the corner, he tore the envelope open and took out a portal scroll.

n“That’s why I’m going to go figure it out myself,” he said while tearing the parchment.

nA portal to the Black Merchants’ stronghold opened in front of them.

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