Ugly Merchant

The path crunched beneath their horses' hooves as they approached the towering city gates, their shadows stretching long in the amber glow of the setting sun. The massive iron portcullis loomed overhead, its rust-stained bars casting prison-like shadows across the dusty ground. Guards in tarnished chainmail stood at attention, their leather boots planted firmly on the worn stone, spears glinting like silver teeth in the fading light.

"Halt." The lead guard's voice cut through the air, his weathered face set in stone. Sweat beaded on his brow despite the cool breeze, and his knuckles whitened around his spear shaft.

One of the group moved forward, dust swirling under his feet. "We're citizens of this city." His voice carried the weariness of a long journey, hoarse from the road.

"I know." The guard's eyes narrowed. "But you've been coming and going too often. That's suspicious enough."

Jasper exhaled through his nose. "Ivar, handle this," he whispered under his breath.

Ivar hesitated, his hand half-covering his mouth. "Master, I... I don't know what to say to them."

Jasper let out a short breath, his shoulders sagged slightly, the weight of leadership pressing down like a physical burden. "Right. I'll handle it." he can't hide behind his subordinates.

Stepping forward, his horse blew his lips asking to let them pass quickly. Jasper kept his hood pulled low, casting his face in impenetrable shadow. "Apologies, good sir. We were searching for something but returned empty-handed."

The guard leaned in, trying to glimpse Jasper's face, but Jasper tilted his head just enough to stay hidden.

"Why hide your face?" The guard slammed his spear butt against the ground. "Remove your hood. Now."

Jasper's voice dropped, laced with feigned regret. "Trust me, you don't want to see it. My face is… not a pleasant sight."

"I'll be the judge of that. Off." The guard's voice brooked no argument, his free hand gesturing impatiently.

With a resigned sigh, Jasper pulled back his hood.

The guard recoiled violently, his boots scraping against stone as he stumbled backward. His spear jerked up on pure instinct, point wavering in the air. "Oh, sh—!" The curse died in his throat as his face drained of color, His expression shifted from arrogance to raw shock in an instant. Around him, nearby guards stiffened like hunting dogs catching a scent, their hands flying to sword hilts and spear shafts. The metallic shing of partially drawn blades filled the air. "What kind of monster is this?!"

Ivar rushed forward, forcing a placating smile. "Easy now, good sir, there's no need—"

"I warned you." Jasper cut him off, his voice was calm. "You've seen us before. I always wore my hood—that's why you never noticed. We were looking for herbs to heal this." He gestured to his face then shrugged, "No luck."

The guard hesitatingly put his weapon, looking cautiously toward Jasper, "You can go you, disgusting creature." Even after saying that, his guard was up fearing the monster in front of him would jump on him.

The guard lowered his spear, but his grip stayed white-knuckled. "Just… go." His voice wavered between disgust and fear. "Disgusting creature."

Jasper was numb to the insult, but his companions weren't. Fury crackled in the air, hands twitching toward weapons. Sensing the tension, Jasper snapped, "Move. Now."

Once they were clear of the gate, the group erupted in curses. Jasper almost smiled at their outrage.

Fox spat on the ground. "Boss, say the word, and we'll ambush that bastard on his way home. Teach him some respect."

"No, that won't help. I know you humans aren't stupid—connecting the dots is easy. He'll figure out we're behind the attack. The good point is that security here is lax. We've been moving in and out without much trouble, and I'd hate for us to be the reason they tighten it. But if he starts pushing us around… well, he'll end up like everyone else who's tried to mess with me."

"That's true, boss," Fox admitted, rubbing his temple. "My anger got the better of me."

Jasper gave a wry smile. "Happens to the best of us."

Ivar edged closer, lowering his voice. "Master, you could have shown your Merchant Guild badge. That would've spared us the trouble."Jasper shook his head. "That would only invite trouble. True, he wouldn't demand my hood's removal, but soon every wagon bearing our guild's mark would be stopped for 'inspections' - meaning bribes. And if we refuse? They'll delay us for hours out of spite."

Ivar frowned. "But wouldn't that happen regardless?"

"Not likely," Jasper explained. "Guards wouldn't harass a symbolized guild's wagons fearing the consequences, unless they confirm that the guild master has no noble ties. While nobles may despise merchants, most hold shares in guilds, let's not forget that few of them own a guild themself."

…

At the guild, Breeze paced anxiously beside Falcon, his boots tapping a restless rhythm against the floor. His gaze kept darting toward the gate. "Maybe I should go after them," he muttered.

Falcon crossed his arms, grinning. "Relax. Boss is a terrifying monster—even barbarians think twice before picking a fight with him." There was pride in his voice, a blind confidence in Jasper's non-existent power.

Breeze opened his mouth to reply—then froze. A familiar silhouette appeared in the distance. Before Falcon could react, Breeze was already sprinting forward, the wind whipping past him.

"Jasper! Ivar!" Relief flooded his voice. "Thank god you are fine."

"I told you everything will be fine." Jasper said, giving a dismissive wave

Behind him, the scouts exchanged exaggerated sighs. "It was terrifying! We barely made it out in one piece!".

Ivar rolled his eyes, "We weren't even conscious to feel the fear—stop lying through your teeth, guys!" Ivar responded sarcastically.

"Heh heh heh"

Fox shoved forward, chest puffed out. "And whose quick thinking saved your hides? If I hadn't dragged Boss there, you'd be crow food by now."

"This traitor smelled danger, left us alone, and escaped with his tail between his legs... yet somehow, I'm grateful." One of the scouts shook his head, and the others chuckled in agreement.

…

In the evening, Jasper sat in his comfortable chair, rolling the core absently across the table as his mind churned. Time was a luxury he couldn't afford to waste, yet the conversation with the ArmBrace had left him unsettled. Every move now demanded caution. The thought circled back to Lysandra's words—how the core purification ingredients were cheap, readily available. Too available.

A sudden realization struck him. He shot to his feet. "If the kingdoms were studying core purification over a decade ago—if they were force-feeding gladiators exotic elixirs like Breeze said—" His breath hitched. "That means—"

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

Jasper exhaled sharply. "Come in."

The door creaked open, revealing Ivar hovering at the threshold. "Master," he began, hesitant, "you mentioned having something to help me grow stronger. You… haven't changed your mind, have you?" His eyes flicked toward the core.

Jasper's expression hardened, he hated seeing the cheerful Ivar in this situation. "Train harder. The core isn't ready—ingredients are still missing. This core won't grow legs and escape. And Ivar?" He stepped forward, voice low. "If you ever disobey me and try to consume it raw behind my back, the life you know ends. Understand?"

Ivar flinched but held his gaze.

Jasper's tone softened, just slightly. "Losing to Predators doesn't make you weak. They've devoured cores—you're fighting with pure skill, do you even understand how many could survive fighting against them?

Ivar shook his head.

"The same for me, but that's not important right now, it's just the fact you survive is something remarkable."

Jasper paused for a second, then continued,

"Anyway, I was just like you, even worse—beaten down, over and over. God, I'm still weak." His grip tightened on Ivar's shoulder. "But listen. Something's off about these ingredients. Train harder. Gather a loyal group and drill them relentlessly—we're about to shake things up."

A sharp grin cut across his face. "When the time comes, we strike." He stepped away, voice dropping to a whisper. "Let's show this ArmBrace that even if I'm a pushover physically, my mind is more than capable of balancing the scales."

Jasper's footsteps echoed softly as he approached Lysandra's door after speaking with Ivar. He rapped his knuckles against the wood—three sharp,

KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.

"Lysandra?"

No answer.

"Is she sleeping?"

The next room's door opened, and Lysandra slid her face into view from behind the door.

"Master?"

"Oh, so you are there. I wish to talk to you about something," Jasper said, taking his steps toward her.

"Come in."

Entering the room, Breeze was stretching as usual. Lysandra sat on the bed while Jasper took a chair, looking at every corner of the room before diving into the conversation.

"Ahem, by any chance, do you know about a poison called The Thousand Piercing Needles?"

Lysandra's finger rose to her cheek, her expression thoughtful. The candlelight played across her features as she searched her memory. "I'm not sure about the name, but I heard my father once say that there was a patient poisoned, describing the pain like countless needles piercing his body."

Jasper's eyes widened as he stood so rapidly, his chair scraped against the floor. "Did he discover any antidote or the source of it?"

Lysandra flinched. "No, he didn't, but he assumed that the poison wasn't from this continent."

"That's a really interesting thought. We haven't heard of any region in Eggyara (the continent's name) about such poison, nor of a poison master who could create something like this. Still, we can't be sure yet."

Breeze jumped to his feet after finishing his flexibility training. "Hey Jasper, I do have a proposal." Breeze's expression darkened.

"What?"

…

Jasper returned to his chamber and lay down on his bed. "Power On."

The familiar interface materialized before him, and his character stood beside the Penniless Sage, unchanged and patient. He navigated toward the nearby apothecary to buy the ingredients needed for the core purification.

He talked to the apothecary.

Apothecary:

Hello, how can I help you today!

[Buy]

[Sell]

[Craft]

[Talk]

Pressing [Buy], he scanned the ingredient list with growing relief. They were indeed available and cheap—except for the clove oil, which would take a significant bite out of his dwindling coin purse.

 Herbs list:

. Almond

. Ashvine – 1B

. Berry

. Blackroot – 2B

. Glaze Lily

. Mummyshroom – 3B

. Peach seeds

. Rand herbs – 1B

. Silverthyme – 1B

. Clove oil – 8S

…

Coins: 0G 10S 52B 5C

"Hmm… Yawn!"

Jasper kept staring at the screen before him. "Was my and Lysandra's premonition a bit exaggerated?"

With a shrug, he bought the ingredients, closed the list window, and pressed [Craft].

A window appeared in front of him with slots to put the ingredient in and a START button at the bottom.

Once he pressed it, an image of a cauldron boiling appeared… then a Success! appeared on top of the cauldron.

Congratulations! You obtained [Neural-Chem Catalyst]. The item has been placed in your inventory.

Jasper's eyes widened in excitement—he was finally going to level up!

With no hesitation, he consumed it. A message appeared:

[Your character is in pain… The pain will last for 15 min to 30 min.]

After about 17 minutes, another message appeared:

[Your character feels refreshed!]

LEVEL INCREASED! Lv 0 → Lv 2.

+2 Strength (Permanent)

+2 Vitality (Permanent)

+2 Agility (Permanent)

+2 Stamina (Permanent)

Strength: 7.5 + 2 → 9.5

Vitality: 8 + 2 → 10

Agility: 10 + 2 → 12

Stamina: 7 + 2 → 9

Dexterity: 1(Avr. Skills Lv) + (0.25 Vit + 0.25 Agi) → 1.5

Congratulations, dear user! Your game has now entered another phase. It's called the Tricky Phase. Now, you can speak freely with the NPCs, you can ask whatever you want, and they will react to you. They can even be the ones to start the conversation. However, keep in mind that the game is now thousands of times harder.

"Well, I like playing hard mode. You will see how—Yawn!—it will be easy for me. I think I have to sleep now. Good night, ArmBrace!"

"Power Off."

Good night, dear user.

Jasper settled back into his pillow, but sleep eluded him. The conversation with Breeze replayed in his mind like a broken record,

...

"Hey Jasper, I do have a proposal." Breeze's expression darkened.

"What?"

"These kingdoms are really corrupt to the bone. Let's destroy them and build new ones."

Lysandra had shot to her feet, shock painted across her features. "Stop with these scary ideas, Brother. A path like that is really cruel."

Jasper, without turning to face her, had shaken his head slowly. "The way it is now is more cruel, Lysandra, but you are not aware of it."

Extending his hand he said, "I'm in, one hundred percent, Breeze."