### Chapter 147 – Rest and Reinforcement (3)
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User: Han Kain
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Right after the Hand of Greed was used, the space around us began to tremble, and then—lo and behold—a friendly merchant popped up!
The last time we used it, we got hit with a monster-slaying event, so I figured we’d have to fight again—but this time it was totally different. A transaction event, perhaps?
Everyone looked a bit thrown off as they focused on the merchant.
Flapping a bandage, the merchant kicked off with a speech.
“Greetings, esteemed customers! I’ve come here personally at the request of Lee Eunsol! This hotel is a treacherous and exhausting place! Without powerful treasures or supernatural abilities, how can one possibly endure? The desire to become stronger? I completely understand! I empathize greatly. But, as you know, there’s no such thing as a free lunch!”
Hag Eunsol seemed a bit worn out as she replied, “Just get to the point. What else are you selling, and what will we owe this time?”
“What am I selling, you ask? Oh, what a misunderstanding! This time, I’m not here to sell anything.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sorry, but the items I’ve brought this time are too precious to sell! Sadly, they can’t be taken outside the hotel.”
“Can’t take them outside? Are you saying it’s a rental?”
“Sharp as a tack! That’s quite right. The items I’ll show you today cannot be brought outside. As soon as you step out, they’ll be taken back. However, the rental fee will not be returned.”
The items were related to “the body,” and the rental fee…
A chill ran down my spine. I dared to ask, “The rental fee…does it involve…our original body parts?”
Instead of answering, the merchant grinned widely—an answer well understood.
The merchant, gleefully enjoying himself, started explaining in detail, “The products are specific types of body tissues! Anyone interested can swap their genuine body parts to rent these out. When you leave the hotel, everything will be taken back. So, your original body is the fee, and when you leave, the borrowed body parts will be recollected. Need more clarification?”
I understood perfectly. In other words, you’d end up with a disability once you step outside.
Everyone began holding their breath in shock.
Old Man Mooksung asked, “Is healing possible?”
“Not while inside the hotel! The genuine body swapped as a rental cannot be recovered on Room 105 either. If recovery were possible, that would be a strange scenario. If you were to recover your original body while the borrowed parts remain, wouldn’t you end up with three arms? But outside the hotel, you’re on your own. You might be able to heal with your assets and medical might.”
Essentially, it’s a loan exchange where you give your real body in exchange for special body parts, only to have them reclaimed when you leave.
As I listened, I thought the cost was manageable enough.
For example, if you gave up an arm and received a much stronger one, it might be worth it.
While inside the hotel, having a powerful arm wouldn’t be a loss!
Once outside though, there might be a way to heal it, right?
Perhaps if I called on the Management Bureau’s might, I could manage to recover a lost arm.
Ahri, having had a similar thought, chimed in, “Why do you seem way too chill about the conditions? Isn’t there some hidden cost?”
The merchant laughed. “Ha! The only price I take is this! If I were to scam you—”
…?
The merchant suddenly stopped mid-sentence.
.
.
.
A chilling grin stretched across the merchant’s face, revealing a mouth full of countless sharp teeth hidden deep within!
It was a grotesque expression that could rival some devilish entity, leaving us all on edge.
Locking eyes with Eunsol, the merchant spoke, “Ah! It seems our sponsor wishes for a ‘more detailed explanation.’”
Did Eunsol’s sponsor pull some strings?
Sister just replied coolly, “Just thank them for me.”
A forced smile returned to the merchant’s face. Perhaps under some pressure from the sponsor, he began with a more detailed explanation.
“Such explanations are usually dull, but here we are. Strictly speaking, I don’t actually take anything as payment. However, from your perspective, there are heavier burdens to bear. It’s the strain that comes with the new body parts themselves.
The human body is a finely-tuned machine. If one part gains some mutated strength, it doesn’t just affect that area. A mutated arm can impact the entire upper body, and a mutated eye affects the brain as well. Moreover, you can’t cure that strain within the hotel.”
The second cost was the strain placed on the entire body.
One could argue this is the true cost.
The first cost is the disappearance of your original body, something that doesn’t matter within the hotel, and outside, well, you could find a way.
But the second cost—strain on the entire body that can’t be healed inside the hotel—was something each person would have to endure.
As everyone pondered in their own heads, the merchant began showcasing the products.
The first item was an arm, covered in dark, rough scales.
“This is the arm of a powerful warrior from the Abras clan. It can produce three times the strength of an adult man and is durable enough to deflect blades. Its regenerative capabilities would make even a lizard cry! In fact, having just this arm makes you an experienced warrior!”
The second item was a reverse-jointed leg covered in pure white fur.
“This is the right leg of the lord of Mount Essede. Its strength and durability far exceed any human leg. Using its spring-like muscles allows you to leap 20 to 30 meters in a single bound! Best of all, the leg can stretch and shrink according to the situation!”
The third item was a gigantic eye, roughly the size of a fist.
“This is the eye of a unisight bird from Phylot Island. It can see insects 100 meters away and even read the inscriptions on flying arrows. This is just the beginning! This eye can capture the entire landscape coming into full view like a camera! Even more amazing is that it can faintly detect entities invisible to the human eye!”
The last item was a spine.
“This is the spine of a Floksian.”
Ahri interrupted immediately, “Hold on a second. The price for this bone is that we’d be losing our spines, right?”
“Correct.”
Ahri turned to us and said, “This won’t do. The Management Bureau doesn’t have a method to fully regenerate spines yet. Once the spine’s gone, it’s like instant death upon returning to Earth! Nobody wants to die as soon as we step outside, right?”
I asked Ahri, “Is it just the spine that’s a problem? What about the arms, legs, and eyes?”
Ahri nodded. “The eyes won’t regenerate; they’re prosthetics. But we can mostly recover everything else.”
We needed to consider the other items aside from the spine.
The one who used the Hand of Greed—Songee—looked at those items with greed, eagerly asking the merchant more questions.
Taking stock of our surroundings, it was clear who was interested and who wasn’t.
Generally, the ones with reliable strength—owners of legacies—like Jinchul, Songee, and Ahri—seemed indifferent.
To be honest, compared to the legacy, none of these items seemed overly impressive. And I worried that the strain they might impose could interfere with using legacies freely.
Seungyub showed considerable interest, so I drew him in. We had already discussed among ourselves, and considering the blessing of Fortune, he seemed the most suited to wear the protective suit or handle the curse in the curse room.
Since they would use the protective suit anyway, the unusual body wouldn’t matter.
Eventually, it was decided that Eunsol would take the eye and Old Man Mooksung would take the arm. They walked up to the merchant.
Facing the merchant, Eunsol asked, sounding a bit nervous, “I’m taking the eye, and the old gentleman here is taking the arm. So…how do you plan to do this? You’re not going to rip out my eye and his arm, are you?”
“My word! Who would resort to such barbaric actions? Do you think I’m some sort of savage? Doing things like tearing out eyes and ripping off arms without anesthesia? If I did that, the person would die—shock would do them in. Do you understand?”
…
Oh boy, didn’t that merchant just last time tell us to cut off our fingers and limbs for payment!?
“Rest assured! While you all sleep, we’ll ensure everything’s attached back without pain. Just don’t try to hold your breath and endure through the night to avoid discomfort for yourselves.”
And just like that, the loan transaction was sealed.
The merchant put away the rejected body parts and showed us only the eye and arm once again before vanishing.
…
Though it’s seen as the price to gain great power, both parts looked utterly different from any typical human arm or eye.
The eye, especially, looked so off; one could hardly believe it could fit in a human skull.
I suspected the grotesque appearance might have influenced Elena’s quick decision to forgo the leg.
If people were ready to bear such hideousness for the eye and arm, their determination must indeed be extraordinary.
Feeling a bit reflective, I glanced back at Eunsol and Old Man Mooksung.
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