On a lightly breezy day.
In the middle of an abandoned lot, a small, shabby building sat forlornly. It was said to have once been a bustling business, but now it was merely a desolate place turned ruin.
The small building had broken windows, and its walls were stained with the disgrace of time. Being in such a secluded place, people’s footsteps naturally ceased. Only the scattered office supplies and furniture on the floor testified to its once-busy history. In a word, it was a place where time had stopped.
Naturally, no maintenance was being done. Only a few people occasionally used this place for their escapes, but no one paid it any attention. As a result, the more time passed, the more desolate the atmosphere became.
Walking past the scattered garbage on the ground, one could see an old tree standing at the end. However, upon closer inspection, the tree appeared to be dead. Its trunk had turned black, and its branches were withered. Only tattered dry leaves hung precariously from them. There was no trace of life felt from the tree.
However, if one looked closely under the shade cast by the tree, a foreign landscape unfolded, as if connected to another dimension. Giant tree roots. Lifting them revealed a spacious area beneath, large enough for an adult male to enter with ease. Following the path where the roots spread led to an underground space, where small sparkling stones and crystals on the floor drove back the darkness of the interior, even if only a little. Even the smallest stone fragments were meticulously crafted, giving the impression that someone was meticulously managing them.
And at that moment, someone emerged from within.
“First, our first client is the Kobold Dungeon. It’s not far from here, so let’s head there. Maru.”
Maru, cloaked in a robe, nodded and agreed with Betta’s words. Betta, a master of disguise, had perfectly replicated the hunter Seongmin Ji. At the same time, as Azmo had advised, he wore a pure gold necklace and rings adorned with various diamonds and jewels on his fingers.
‘The more I see, the more amazing he is.’
Betta couldn’t help but admire him as he moved forward. The more he looked, the more he felt the greatness of his abilities. Even Maru, standing beside him, was a being with immense power. And yet, the great Master commanded such beings without a second thought. Was that all? The current location of the dungeon was also originally elsewhere. The Master had moved the dungeon from its original location.
‘The ability to move dungeons at will…’
It was an incredible ability. But what was truly frightening wasn’t the ability itself. The true fear lay elsewhere.
‘Master possesses incredible insight.’
When Master moved the dungeon after the Monster Wave, they had initially thought it was solely a disciplinary measure. But that wasn’t the real intention. Looking around, one could tell at a glance that this was a forsaken place. Whatever it had been in the past, it was now just a worthless open field filled with garbage.
‘Thanks to that, there are hardly any humans around.’
Perhaps moving the location here was a consideration for them to operate freely.
‘Perhaps Master had the Merchant Guild in mind from that moment on.’
If one thought about it that way, everything made sense now.
“Hmm.”
Starting the Merchant Guild from this place… As Betta quietly surveyed his surroundings, he realized this was truly an excellent location. The already dilapidated small building seemed usable again with just repairs. Perhaps that building would also be utilized as part of the Merchant Guild. All of this was likely Master’s stratagem for camouflage. Betta’s face was filled with a smile of respect and reverence. But the more that happened, the more his worries grew.
‘Will I be able to follow Master’s thoughts properly?’
Betta shook his head. He must try to understand Master’s thoughts. No, he must understand and follow them without fail. Disappointing Master was an absolute no-go. Betta clenched his fists and resolved to complete Master’s orders.
While contemplating, Betta continued to move with Maru. As they walked, people began to appear. However, the people didn’t even glance at Betta and Maru. To anyone looking, Betta appeared as a hunter, and Maru seemed like a subordinate beast controlled by the hunter.
As they moved further, the number of people rapidly decreased. Then, suddenly, there was no one on the street but Betta and Maru. This meant the dungeon was getting close. Precisely, a moment later, the dungeon came into Betta and Maru’s sight. The ground was filled with stones and pebbles, and a small mountain stood tall right behind it. And the dungeon Betta was looking for was right in front of it.
“This is the Kobold Dungeon, our first client. Maru.”
The dungeon’s exterior was humble. The entrance to the tunnel emerged from between rocks and small stones. Moss grew around the entrance, creating a dark and gloomy atmosphere. Looking closely into the tunnel, rough stairs made of stone were visible.
“Tsk, it seems it’s not well-maintained,” Betta muttered, clicking his tongue. The stairs, too, were unmaintained, covered in thick dust. The faded exterior of the dungeon made Betta suspicious.
‘Can I really have a normal transaction at a place that can’t even manage basic maintenance?’
He was unsure if it would even be profitable to transact there. However, Betta had no other choice. This was because it was the first client that marked the beginning of the Merchant Guild. Furthermore, it was the only place he could transact with right now.
“…”
Actually, Betta had been busy yesterday. He had visited the Awakened Center as per Master’s orders, and then he had started soliciting business at various dungeons. However, all his requests were denied. It was understandable, wasn’t it? There was no concept of a Merchant Guild here, unlike on the El Dorado Continent. Moreover, even with the same monster, who would trust and transact with Betta from the first meeting? In the end, Betta’s business attempts failed. Or rather, they were about to fail, but the dungeon he visited last agreed to listen to Betta. It was the Kobold Dungeon.
“Shall we head inside, Maru?”
Just as Betta and Maru were about to enter the dungeon.
“Whoa, wait a minute!”
Suddenly, someone appeared and blocked their path. How dare they block him from carrying out Master’s orders? Angered by the audacious act of the other party, Maru laid his hand on the Demonic Sword. However, the other party’s words were faster.
“This is a dungeon! It’s dangerous for non-awakened individuals to enter. Are you a hunter?”
The one who spoke was a human male, but he didn’t seem hostile.
“As you can see.”
Betta replied simply to the man’s words. Instead of asking why he was blocking his path, he stared intently at the man’s face.
“Uh… please present your hunter identification.”
The man hesitated for a moment and then extended his hand to Betta. Since Betta and Maru were not official hunters, there was no reason to comply with the man’s request. However, they were currently disguised as hunters. Therefore, Betta took out his hunter identification from his pocket. This hunter identification belonged to Seongmin Ji, the hunter Betta had transformed into. The words of the researchers at the time suddenly came to his mind. Betta had overheard many things from the researchers when he lived as an experimental subject in a research institute in the past. And one of those things was the identity check for hunters entering a dungeon. He had heard it was a measure to prevent a great disaster. Betta took out the hunter identification and showed it to the man before him.
“Ah, you’re an F-Rank Hunter? You can enter the Kobold Dungeon.”
The man quickly checked the hunter identification handed over by Betta and returned it.
“Thank you for your cooperation.”
As the man bowed, Betta and Maru entered the Kobold Dungeon. As they disappeared down the stone stairs, the man let out a sinister laugh. Then, he took out his phone and made a call. The call was quickly connected.
“Yes, boss. Just now, two suckers entered the dungeon. Haha.”
The man continued to speak with a laugh.
“Yes, yes. I checked, and they were F-Rank Hunters. One only had a sword, and the other was adorned with gold and jewels all over his body. They just went in, so it should be easy to ambush them. Yes.”
The man’s call continued.
* * *
The Kobold Dungeon was located quite deep within. After descending the stone stairs for a long time, a corridor appeared. The walls of the corridor, stretching through the darkness, were irregularly illuminated by small torches. Strange symbols and unknown inscriptions were carved into the walls. In the spaces on the walls, illuminated by the faint light of the torches, small kobolds were resting. Kobolds typically had dark ash-colored skin and long, large ears. Above all, their small stature allowed them to move in confined spaces. Of course, Betta found it absurd.
‘How can they be so complacent when intruders could appear at any moment…’
What would have happened if they were the intruders right now? Betta frowned and continued down the corridor. After a short while, they reached a large room, and at its end stood a kobold holding a weapon. It was slightly larger than the other kobolds. It was the owner of the dungeon that Betta had solicited business from yesterday.
“Welcome?”
The owner kobold of the dungeon greeted them crudely. Its pronunciation was slightly slurred, but Betta didn’t think much of it. He remembered the researchers saying that kobolds were not very intelligent. As Betta remained silent, the dungeon owner kobold continued to speak.
“We are in danger. Many hunters have come!”
It was a story about the dungeon being in peril. Indeed, the request for this transaction included supporting forces or protecting the kobold’s dungeon. Betta nodded, encouraging it to continue.
“We request troop support. We will give anything.”
The kobold earnestly requested help. However, the dungeon’s situation was not good. The interior of the dungeon looked dilapidated. Most of the items were broken or missing. It looked like a scene from a fierce brawl had occurred. Considering all these sights, it seemed unlikely that they would receive any reward.
“Hmm…”
Betta was again deep in thought. If this wasn’t their first transaction, he might have run out of the dungeon immediately. However, Betta calmly remained in his seat. He would visit many dungeons while operating the Merchant Guild. He should not judge a dungeon solely by its exterior. After a moment’s pause, Betta spoke again.
“Dungeon Master.”
Betta’s words were blunt and stiff.
“I have understood your request, Dungeon Master. That is something we can resolve immediately.”
Betta spoke as if he could easily handle what the kobold had requested.
“However, what can you offer us in return?”
The administrator Azmo had initially emphasized the importance of mutual benefit with dungeons. Of course, it was important. But that was only established when there was some give and take. What Betta envisioned for the Merchant Guild was a group that pursued profit fundamentally. Otherwise, it would simply be volunteer work without compensation. There needed to be some exchange.
However, this was a crumbling dungeon. It lacked any management whatsoever, and it wouldn’t be strange if it collapsed at any moment. Even if it was the first client, should they really be concerned about a place like this?
‘Is it really necessary?’
Moreover, the kobold’s closed mouth showed no intention of opening. They probably had nothing to give. As his thoughts reached this point, Betta slowly rose from his seat.
“It was a good talk. Then, we will take our leave now.”
Betta glanced at Maru and nodded. There was nothing more for them to do here. As Betta and Maru rose from their seats, the kobold was flustered.
“No. I can give. I have something to give you.”
And it rummaged through the pockets of its worn clothing. Then, the kobold pulled out something from its pocket and offered it.
“We. Only have this to give. A yellow stone. I will give you this even if it’s all we have…!”
It was gold. And it was gold of considerable size. Betta maintained his expression and sat back down.
“Now, this is a conversation. Did you mean this yellow stone is all you have?”
“No. There’s more! Our dungeon. We have a lot of these yellow stones underground. We can dig more!”
At the kobold’s words, Betta re-evaluated this place. It turned out to be a decent first client for the Merchant Guild. Betta began calculating again in his mind.
“…”
Seeing Betta lost in thought, the kobold misinterpreted. It mistakenly thought Betta was speechless because he didn’t like the yellow stone. So, the kobold took out something else from its sack. It was a purple stone.
“We have a lot of purple stones too! There are many of them underground! We can dig them!”
The purple stone the kobold mentioned was a Magic Stone. As soon as the kobold finished speaking, Betta firmly grasped its two hands.
“…”
The kobold was momentarily flustered, but it couldn’t break free from Betta’s grip. And Betta’s words followed.
“Our Merchant Guild will protect this place as if it were our own lives. That is the duty of the Merchant Guild to protect its clients. For now, please sign this exclusive contract…”
Betta immediately took out a sheet of paper.
