148th
Hassan and the Underground Market
148 ? Hassan and the Underground Market #2
“Hassan, no! This guy is the last one-!”
Luna’s hands were flailing as if trying to throw me off, but my hands were already holding onto the last wildling attached to Luna’s chest.
And then drink.
Gyu, gyuing… .
“I drank the milk of the Queen of Heaven.”
『Task + 100.』
『Current task value + 279.』
Subal, I got over 200 task points by drinking some weird liquid monster! Shit, I can’t tell if this is a dream or reality.
If the task value is 200, it means you’ll level up at least 2 times. Since my current level is 19, if I use up all of this value, my sub-level will surpass 20.
Then, reaching level 30, which is the standard for being promoted to a Silver Tier adventurer, is not really a dream.
“Hehehe-.”
“Hassan, you idiot! I, I ate all of my wildlings! I told you to eat only one…!”
However, Luna seemed quite angry that all of her wildlings had been eaten. After all, they were incredibly precious beasts, worth two gold each.
It’s natural to get angry if you eat it without permission.
I knew that too. The moment I tasted him, what should I say? It was as if my body wanted it, and I didn’t have any thoughts. Why on earth did I do that?
“I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t do it on purpose. Here, I’ll give you the gold I ate.”
“…okay!”
When I gave Luna 4 gold coins, the same amount as the amount I ate, her expression brightened immediately. Her emotions change quickly, so it was hard to get used to it, but it was helpful in its own way.
“Hehehe, I got some more gold. What should I do with it? Should I go see if there are any more wildlings?”
“Hehehe, it seems like the brothers and sisters have already adapted to the underground market. Then I will go and look for the dragon-beard pipa that I have been wanting to get for a long time.”
“Well, I’ll go too then… There’s something bothering me… .”
So we split up to waste each other’s money.
Thanks to that, Luna and I were able to wander around this underground market together, looking for a place that sold the wildling we had just eaten.
But nowhere was there a place that sold liquid monsters.
The three Luna bought earlier were the last wildlings.
“There aren’t many items coming in. Maybe one a month. I don’t know when they’ll come in.”
“If you look at the Milky Way, you might get lucky and see one fall.”
Even the merchants of the underground were amazed at the rarity of the wildling. It was indeed an expensive and rare beast.
It really feels like a white snake that has turned white after eating ginseng. White snakes that have eaten ginseng are used as precious medicine. My father also used to be happy for a month when he found those guys.
Anyway, I wandered around the underground market for about half a day.
“My legs hurt.”
Luna, who seems to have gained strength from walking around for a long time, sits down on an old wooden barrel lying around. I also decide to sit next to her and take a short break.
Since I happened to have two totems that Luna had made for me, I leveled them up with those. Of course, I didn’t have to worry about the stats, I just invested everything into strength.
One of the two times, an additional ability value appeared, and my strength increased by a total of 3.
“…Long live chaos.”
Deering-.
『Name: Hassan Lv. 19 22
Strength: 9 12
Agility: 4
Stamina: 6
Task: 179
Grace: Blessing of Chaos》 Shining Hands》 Cloak of Night》
“Hehehe.”
My strength level is now 12.
12.
It’s not that different from Hippolyte’s strength score of 15. And I remember Elfriede’s strength score was probably 12.
Kwaaak.
I clenched my fists, feeling a sense of omnipotence unlike any I’ve ever felt before, coursing through my body.
It feels like things that I couldn’t do before are now possible. In fact, I felt this way from the moment the number went over 10.
How strong have I become?
As I was chewing on the bench press machine, thinking that I would test my strength, I noticed Luna’s gaze staring at me.
“why?”
“just.”
Luna continued to look at my face without even explaining the reason for my question.
How long has it been since I’ve felt such a piercing gaze from another person? Even though it’s Luna and me, no, it’s even more embarrassing because of it.
“As expected, Hassan is ugly.”
“What, all of a sudden?”
“Your hair is black, and your eyes are black. Black is an ominous color, isn’t it? I like it, though.”
Suddenly disparaging someone else’s appearance. Are you saying that you’ve suddenly realized that you’re ugly? I was worried that the blinders on Luna’s eyes had come off.
“But I liked Hassan because he was ugly. I thought no one else would like him but me.”
“What is that? What is the reason?”
Is there a hipster quality to your standards for appearance? Luna liked me because I was ugly. It was fortunate that I was ugly.
But I have never heard anyone say I am ugly. In this world, savages like me are basically prejudiced against being ‘strangely-looking’ and there is nothing we can do about it.
Then Luna said.
“But if it looks good to me, it might look good to other people too.”
“… Really? Why are you saying that all of a sudden? Who likes me?”
“No. But I thought it might happen in the future. If Hassan continues to grow stronger and more famous, he’ll definitely gain followers. There might even be women among them.”
“Why are you worrying about that already?”
Luna said in response to my light response.
“Hassan, I wish you could become more famous and reach the gold tier. On the other hand, I wish you could be my own little hero, rolling around in the dirt like this.”
I could instinctively sense that Luna was anxious.
I’ve heard that too, but it seems like women are often anxious that their lovers might get involved with other women.
So in severe cases, he said, he wouldn’t even let her be with other women or talk to them. My friend’s girlfriend was exactly that type. She even erased all the women’s names from her phone.
Of course, my friend is a popular kid who is doing very well, so I can understand why his girlfriend is anxious. But I am a bottom-tier savage who is not doing well.
Luna seemed to be worried that another woman might come after me. And Luna’s intuition sometimes surprisingly hits the mark.
So, I decided to ask, quite subtly, as if in passing, while picturing Hippolyta’s face in my mind.
“Hey, Luna. Just, I’m just asking because I’m bored. What do you think about polygamy?”
Luna’s expression suddenly crumpled at my words.
“Why do you ask that?”
No, asking this in return? It was a sharp counter punch, unlike Luna, who usually answers my questions with a jocular tone.
My stomach feels even colder than when I got hit in the face by Elfriede earlier.
“No, just.”
“Just why. There must be a reason.”
“I was just really curious.”
“… I wonder why!”
Luna began to growl and raise her claws like a ferocious dinosaur. The glimpse of her sharp fangs was scary.
“If you don’t tell me honestly, I’ll bite you, Hassan!”
“No, that, that….”
Sval, I wish I had a friend like you. If not, what would Malko say in a situation like this?
“Brother, you’re in trouble.”
Brother, you’re going to say, “That’s so annoying.” No, what is it? I really thought I heard a voice.
So I turned my head and saw Malko walking towards us, half naked.
He finally did it. He’s added public indecency to the charges of radio eating and singing loudly.
“Malko, you little punk! What’s going on!”
I ran towards that Malko with all my might. The match where I would have fainted after being hit by Luna’s question counter was ended by a third party’s intervention. Anyway, it was fortunate.
“Malko, you little shit! Nice to meet you!”
“I’m so happy that you welcome me so warmly. It feels like a little sunshine has come into my frozen heart. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m still angry.”
Malko was in his underpants, without his ridiculous cone-shaped hat or his usual cumbersome musical instrument. What could happen in half a day to ruin a person like this?
“What on earth happened?”
“I got robbed by thieves. Who would have thought they would steal even the clothes I was wearing?”
“Sval, who stole your clothes?”
If you have the skills to steal even the clothes you’re wearing, I think you should be called an artist or something else instead of a thief. Maybe a king of thieves.
Then Malko added a few more words.
“Actually, I lost in gambling. If I had just tried a little harder, I could have won a lot. Ha, Mercury. Why did you put me through this ordeal…?”
“What the heck, I really thought I was robbed.”
If a thief would steal even the clothes you were wearing, then he must be a great guy who is definitely connected to the thieves’ guild.
Then I thought that if we tracked him down, it might help us take down the Thieves’ Guild, whose tail was hard to step on.
Even if we talked about catching the thieves, I had no idea where or how to start in this vast underground space.
But it also felt a bit ridiculous to go around asking people underground, “Do you know about the Thieves’ Guild?”
So when I was feeling a little disappointed, Malco grabbed my collar.
“No, it was stolen. It was definitely a scam. They scammed me. If this isn’t theft, then what is it?”
“Hey, Sval, all the guys who lose money at gambling say that. Rather, let go of this. Where the hell is that naked guy-”
The only physical contact allowed between men is fist bumps during emergency rescues and violence. That’s the rule in any world. Touching outside of that? That’s a s-b-out.
“Let go, kid. Before I hit you!”
“Oh, it’s been stolen. My gold. My gold has been stolen! Mercury!”
But Malko seemed to be out of his mind at all.
It would be surprising if he didn’t go crazy, since it seems like he lost all the gold he had in half a day.
If I were to lose money gambling, I wouldn’t be able to maintain my composure at all.
“Hassan, Luna! Malko! You were there…! I’ve been looking for you for a long time…!”
At that moment, I saw the nymph convert Paranoy waving his hand from afar and approaching me. He was holding a strange bone in his hand.
“Hehe, I was lucky…! I was able to buy a nymph hand bone for 7 gold…! I heard that wands made from nymph hand bones are effective…!”
A nymph was coming, carrying a nymph’s hand bone. I felt my brain spinning with a strange sensation that I couldn’t explain.
“Hey, that’s nymph-hating.”
“It’s okay as long as they are nymphs of the same species…!”
It’s okay for nymphs to be like each other. Black people can tease each other with racist nicknames, but it’s not okay for people of other races to do that.
As I was convincing myself like that, Luna, who had been keeping her mouth shut next to me as if she was slightly embarrassed, spoke brightly.
“Nymph hand bones! Wow! Look! Show me!”
I always feel this way, but it’s a talent to quickly forget the things that made you angry and upset. Luna’s life will always be fun.
Swish. Sweet.
Luna took the hand bone from Paranoy’s hand and exclaimed, “Ooh-.”
“This, this is the famous nymph hand bone… .”
“Luna, isn’t this truly amazing…?”
“… That’s really cool. You have two of these cool things too?”
“Well, that’s true, but… .”
“Paranoy, I love it!”
“Ugh!”
Soon, it was Luna who hugged Paranoy’s waist.
I’m really out of my mind.
Well, I just came to the underground market today to experience it in advance. The real request will start tomorrow with Hippolyte. I guess I can just relax like this for today.
Because the balance between work and rest is really important.
So to sum it up, Malko ended up losing all his money through gambling.
Did Paranoia spend all his money on that hand bone or something?
Luna and I each have 4 and 6 gold left in the underground. We definitely got over 30 gold, but I wonder where it all went. Earning it is so hard, but spending it all in half a day.
But this is how the lives of lower-tier adventurers in the Iron-Bronze tier are.
Since they have never made a lot of money, they are not able to save money, and even when they get a chance to make money, they spend it all like a gamble. There are many people who are in debt here and there.
Even without debt, it’s a fairly honest life for a low-level adventurer.
“But, Paranoy, this also seems fake.”
“That, that can’t be…!”
“No, it’s really fake. It just looks like a monkey hand bone. Look, the joints and joints here are a little different. I know because I’ve handled monkey hand bones a lot.”
Luna has an excellent eye for materials. That’s why the hand bone that Paranoy brought was eventually determined to be a fake and not a nymph’s hand bone.
Screaming Paranoia.
“Heeeeeeek! Ha, Hassan! What should I do…! I, I seem to have been scammed…! I, all of my money… .”
“Ugh, what should I do? I have to go get a refund.”
Seven gold coins is a lot of money. Losing money in gambling can be forgiven by saying it is your own fault, but selling a false item like this is not surprising.
“Where are you going? Let’s go.”
“Over there, over there… .”
We led the insane Paranoy through the underground market. After winding through the alleys and alleys for a while,
Deep inside, you can find a shop filled with everything from strange bone models to pots with plants growing from them, leather bags, and odds and ends of unknown purpose.
What should I call it? Basement store? Yeah, that’s it.
“Come in.”
The owner of the store was a man with one eye covered by a blindfold and a black bandana on his head.
He appears to be in his thirties or late forties with his beard, but due to the unpredictable nature of the old people in this world, it is impossible to know for sure.
“You don’t seem to be a guest.”
Was it because he saw the sobbing Paranoy? The man smiled and pointed to a corner with his finger. There was a flat iron plate stuck there.
“Our store is under Hydra’s protection. We can’t give you a refund, so go back.”
There was a nine-headed lizard drawn on the iron plate. Was it a store affiliated with a thieves’ guild? That’s why they were able to sell fraudulent goods and do business with such guts.
That’s good.
If I dig this guy up, I’ll be able to get information on the thieves I was looking for. So I decided to threaten him and test out the intimidation skills I’d been honing in the slums.
“You’d better return the money politely. Otherwise, you won’t look good. I’ll skin you.”
“What? Leather?”
The owner of the squint-eyed man flinches at him.
There are four of us.
The guy is alone.
I guess he couldn’t help but feel intimidated. But then the guy finally burst into laughter.
“I was surprised for a moment. As expected of a savage, he’s full of wildness. Threats, threats are good. But I’m not the type of person who’s going to do business in this underground for a month or two.”
Is this guy really that good at it? It seems like my growling, which I practiced for a month or two, has its limits in scaring him.
The fool said.
“If you want to show off your strength, try breaking that Hydra’s steel plate over there. Then I’ll think about giving you your money back.”
The one-eyed guy pointed at the iron plate with his finger again. I was a little angry at being ignored, so I decided to give it a try and pulled out the iron plate hanging on the wall.
It’s a solid and cool iron plate. It’s also quite thick. I guess you could call it a steel plate.
“I wanted to see how strong you’d become. It turned out well.”
“Are you really going to try it? It won’t even get scratched. It’s made of titanium. It won’t bend even if a bear steps on it.”
A crowbar.
“It doesn’t bend, so why…? Why doesn’t it bend…?”
“Now, give me back my money. And you have something to tell me.”
Gugit, gugigit.
I threw a folded sheet of iron in front of the guy like a ball.
The guy was so surprised that he didn’t know what to do.
… I was actually really surprised inside.
Wow, my power was stronger than I thought.
[Work Review]
Okay, the illustration of Kampride was completed last night… It will be shown as a large picture in the work’s setting…!!
Anyway, Kanfride… He’s a controversial character in many ways, but he still won the illustration vote by a landslide… I have to accept the result… This is Michuri-style democracy… If you don’t vote hard… you’ll end up putting an illustration of a character you don’t want on the cover…
For your information, the composition, movements, and clothing of the illustrations are something that I, Michuri, put a lot of thought into and order so that the readers will like them…!! I hope you can feel the hard work that I put into the illustrations and the hard work of star741, who drew them…!!!
