Chapter 53: Hypocrisy
“Move to Pioneers’ City.”
Soon the city of pioneers came into my view. Certainly, the atmosphere was rather drab, compared to Kotum Castle. It looked a bit wild. But I smiled at the scene because it reminded me of the back alley I saw in the movie.
I did not go straight into Pioneers’ City. I still had a lot to do before enjoying a tour of the city.
So I shouted immediately. I needed to move to the hunting ground that I had in mind.
“Move to the muddy swamp area.”
[You are now being moved to the muddy swamp area.]
Soon, the Safety Zone, which was not large in the swamp area, appeared before my eyes.
As expected, it was empty. More empty than anywhere else. Of course, it didn’t mean there were no people at all. I noticed a couple of hunting teams in groups of 10 that seemed to be taking a break. And there were five more as if they were standing on guard at the entrance at the end of the Safety Zone in the swamp.
Tramp, tramp.
However, I moved to the muddy swamp area, ignoring them. When I got closer to them, one of the five walked towards me, gesturing for me to stop. I stopped at his gesture. Then he walked one step closer to me and opened his mouth, “Hello. I guess this is your first time visiting the swamp area here.”
“Yeah. This is my first time,” I replied.
“Oh, that’s why you have shoes like that,” he said, pointing to the shoes I was wearing.
So I also looked down and checked them. They were the wizard set items, 3 enhanced Cydin’s boots. As if he read my mind right away, he continued, “You know this swamp area has the modifier ‘muddy.’ So, it is difficult to even move, let alone hunt. Moreover, there are traps created by swamp monsters everywhere. That’s why you need these boots.”
He then pulled a pair of boots out from the inventory.
Then he said, pointing to the boots, “As you can see, these boots are tough and strong. Moreover, these boots are as high as your knees, so if you are careful, you will have no difficulties moving around in the swamp area. I can tell you confidently that these boots are a must item for hunting in this place.”
Contrary to what he said, the boots were not sturdy at all, nor did they look strong.
Not caring about my disappointed expression, he continued, “Moreover, this swamp is managed by our Kahwa Guild, so if you buy these boots, you can use this place for free. Of course, you can pay for the toll every time you use this place if you don’t buy the boots. In that case, you might lose numerous golden rings when you let your guard down. You’ll have to spend more at the end of the day when you choose to pay little by little.”
He openly asked me to buy the boots with a threatening tone. I barely held back the urge to curl my lips at his provocative remarks. Trying not to smile at him as much as I could, I said, “How much are the boots?”
“Oh, when I saw you at a distance, I thought you were an experienced hunter at a glance, but I think I was right. Actually, those who are not prepared are not qualified to hunt here. In that regard, I can give you the boots for 70,000 golden rings, although the set price by the guild is 100,000 golden rings.”
Rip-off price. I knew that he was asking for rip-off prices, taking me as a pushover.
But I agreed without any complaint, “Here you are.”
“Wow, fantastic! By the way, these boots look unsightly, but they are excellent in performance, so wear them well. As you know, if the durability drops to 0, the repair cost is close to 10 times as much as that. So, pay attention to the durability.”
So, I bought the boots for 70,000 golden rings.
“Check Item.”
[Unsightly Boots (general handmade item)
-Unsightly boots with flame-shaped decorations.
-Physical Defense: 9, Magic Defense: 3
-Durability: 89/89]
100,000? 70,000? In my eyes, the boots weren’t worth even ten golden rings.
In other words, I was completely ripped off. So, I was supposed to fly off the handle at him, but I didn’t. Instead, I smiled at him and said, “Good. By the way, can I go? I’m a little busy.”
“Oh, yes! Hey, open the door, guys! Since he is wearing the boots with our guild logo, give him a pass when he is wearing the boots,” he shouted at the other four guys blocking the entrance.
“No problem!” they replied loudly as if to show off, who were blocking the entrance.
Without looking at them, however, I moved to the swamp right away.
“Wow, you must be a good peddler! How come you sold the boots for 70,000 golden rings that usually sell for 10,000?”
“Lol. It’s because of my eloquent skills, man. Eloquence! Learn it from me, shit. As you know, I stay put here without even hunting. So, I need to make some profits while I’m here man.”
“Oh no, you can do it, not us. What if we are caught doing it…”
“Bullshit. You guys are so cowardly.”
“By the way, the wizard who bought the books seemed meek, but I feel like it’s a strong character. What do you think?”
“Really?”
“Yea, I have some bad feelings…”
“Forget it. What can he do now? We’re in charge here. If something bad happens, we can threaten him not to come here again.”
“Well, whatever…”
That Kahwa guild member who was collecting tolls in front of the muddy swamp area chatted with the other members loudly. I could overhear them as I was not far from the area.
“Hmm. I see.”
Once I entered the hunting ground, I didn’t move far from there because I wanted to know more.
“Okay, it’s true that Kahwa Guild exists there, and they collect tolls. But he overcharged me by selling me the boots for 70,000 golden rings when they usually sell for 10,000. He even boasted that he was giving me a discount of 30,000 golden rings.”
Of course, even the price tag of 10,000 golden rings was a rip-off itself. To put it simply, the quality of the boots was so bad, let alone their performance. But it seemed that they forced any hunter entering the swamp area to buy the boots against their will, with their guild as the strong supporter.
“Oh my God! These guys really suck!”
Moreover, this was an unpopular hunting ground. That was why they assigned five men there to forcibly sell the boots, but this kind of rip-off activity was far from helpful from the guild’s point of view. In the end, they were penny-wise and pound-foolish. I could size up Kawha Guild instantly.
“Okay. Let me give it a pass. I can go through this and that in my life, and I’ll gain experience from it anyway. Like the Sungchang Guild.”
I didn’t forget the people of the Sungchang Guild who insisted that the boss monster was theirs as soon as the monster appeared.
Now I know something. Myongjin Group, led by my father, is also putting everything into this game. Maybe Myongjin might have been doing the same thing, let alone Daesung Group which was already running a game workshop. I was convinced that Myongjin, like Daesung, might have already started this kind of business like Kahwa because they don’t invest in games like a charitable business.
So, I paid 70,000 golden rings without hesitation. Of course, I had a big surplus of golden rings, so I had no problem spamming them. But I was motivated by the desire to grow stronger than now.
Nevertheless, I could not deny that as a fragile human being, I was subject to extremely subjective human actions and judgement.
So, if my family did the same thing, I would give it a pass. Or I might give them a piece of advice, things like, ‘We should open this kind of unpopular hunting ground to anybody, but we should monopolize only the popular hunting grounds.’
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