Chapter 21
He had no gunpowder, so what could he do when he's in a situation where receiving quests did not earn money?
Leeha shook his head while imagining himself hitting the Golden Eagle with the butt of his musket.
But he can't, he needed to buy and use it sparingly.
“First, I want to buy gunpowder and bullets,23 each.”
“Sniff, sniff.”
“Why are you doing that?”
“What is that? What is that smell?”
The bald general store owner who was leaning on the counter approached Leeha.
“That, that, I know that smell. You, where are you from?”
"What? I came from the restaurant. Oh, is it the smell of meat?” Leeha smelled himself but did not find anything strange at all. In embarrassment, he tried to step back, but the general store owner suddenly caught him.
“Why are you doing this?”
“No, that is not the smell of meat. It's something more.”
“No, so, let’s talk about this first, these clothes are new. There should be a strange smell-”
“No, it's not a bad smell. Hmm, hmm. It's a delicious smell.”
It doesn't smell like meat, but, what does it smell?
The grocery store owner's eyes seem to have turned. Leeha felt an eerie feeling, he couldn't help but be nervous because the general store owner was drooling like a sick person.
Then he remembered.
“Ah! Let me go.”
What did Annie say? Leeha opened the bag and took out what was inside.
“Is it this smell?”
"Oh oh! That's it!' That's it! That! Where did you get it? What kind of bread smells like that?”
Bread with buwak herbs.
It is not simply sprinkled on top, but a deep aroma of bread that has been added from the dough and baked in the oven.
There was an explanation that the scent was good or that it was delicious, but it is only equivalent to one meal. It didn't have a special effect like Madame Lou's lunch box, so Leeha tried to save it for later when he got hungry.
'I think this is what it means for a person who likes bread to flip over.’
Come to think of it, the grocery store owner was constantly eating bread even when we first met, right?
Leeha finally understood Annie's words.
'If I understand it, I have to use it.'
“It's a very special bread. I don't know if you know what buwak herb is, but you can't get it even if you go to the bakery right now. I saved it for you! Because I got it.”
“Buwak herbs, ah, yes. I've heard of it. It's not even for sale. How about- no, that's okay. Ho, can't you just give me a little?”
'Is this what it looks like when someone flips over?'
“It's so precious, I can't give you some. I only have this to eat.”
“Then sell it! What if you sell it? Yes? I'll give you 50 copper.”
"What the. What can you do with 50 copper? You said you couldn't get buwak herbs. You have to pay at least 5 silver.”
500 copper per bread, the expression of the half-bald owner turned sharp.
“No way! Why don't you just rob me blind? I won't buy it, I won't eat it.”
The general store owner turned his head.
“Ah, is that so? Then I can't help it. Please give me some gunpowder.”
Leeha again wrapped the bread in a wrapper and put it in his bag, and sighed a little.
“A bargaining trigger.”
[The bargaining skill has been activated.]
[The probability of the opponent being persuaded increases by 21%.]
“Please give me gunpowder as soon as possible.”
“Ah, gunpowder.”
The half-bald owner kept glancing at Leeha's direction while he was organizing things under the table. Because of that, his hands continued to sway.
"That, now, you. How about this?"
"What?"
“5 silver is a bit expensive. Affordable. Make it. Oh, I want to buy it. I mean.”
The half-bald owner couldn't control his drool while speaking. Wow, people, no, NPCs can also change like this. Leeha was amazed to see that this shameless business owner couldn't hide his heart for a single piece of bread.
If he hadn't learned much from the bakery owner, Leeha might have missed the opportunity.
But not right now, he swallowed it whole and Leeha strengthened his resolve.
“You like bread so much! What nonsense are you talking about? If the boss likes bread, you know what I need, don't you? Please pack gunpowder and bullets as soon as possible.”
As Leeha walked in front of the sloppy counter, the owner's pupils shook.
“Oh, I know."
I didn't know what the owner meant, but he suddenly rubbed his hands.
After all, Leeha realized that it was easy to deal with people, NPCs, or whatever.
'Now, what would you do? If I go out like this, the bread will be gone forever.’
Leeha deliberately put two silver coins on the counter and pulled the other out slowly.
“Give me 23 gunpowder and bullets. I'm kinda busy!"
“Well, here. Did you say your name is Ha Leeha? Hahaha! Well, again... Young travelers are in a hurry. How about stay h-here for a while and have a cup of tea. Heo Heo!”
“Boss, I really am busy, you know. People like us are always busy, even at this moment, there are a lot of work to be done.”
“Oh, yes. Yes. Oh my. I didn't think of that. So how about this one? For money, haha. It is difficult to price those precious things.
Changing to ammunition and gunpowder.
"Yeah? How many coppers do you want to exchange for this precious thing? Because it’s different from gunpowder and bullets!”
“Wow, no, no, you have to listen until the end when someone makes a suggestion! You should see it humanely.”
When Leeha struck his hand, the general store owner grabbed his wrist.
Leeha barely held back his laughter when he heard the word “humanely”. Since he is an NPC, he behaved as if he would not be able to say he was human.
“Whew, yes, what are you suggesting? I really don’t have time-”
"Okay! I mean. Ha Leeha, don't you need a lot of gunpowder and bullets to go hunting? I will sell you gunpowder and bullets at half the price! What do you say?"
Leeha calculated quickly.
He could save 6 coppers every time he bought 1 gunpowder and 1 bullet.
He roughly calculated that to get the value of 5 silver, Leeha would need to buy 84 sets.
The problem is, he didn't know how long he would stay here, and above all, when he reached level 10, he would have to leave this place.
In other words, at half the price, he might not be able to get the best benefit he could get.
What if he leaves the beginner village before even buying 84 sets? He wouldn't really benefit from the 50% discount.
“Ah, what you are saying is ridiculous. I might leave Candle Castle soon anyway. What can I do with such a deal?”
“Ah, no, don't-”
“Hah, If you really want to eat it. Boss. Would you rather do this?”
Leeha stepped up to the general store owner and said.
“There aren't many people who buy gunpowder and bullets anyways and I wanted to sell the bread for 5 silver, but it is worth more than that. How about exchanging it for 100 gunpowder and 100 iron ball bullets?”
"That, that's the selling price-"
“It's a discounted price. It's cheaper for the boss to take it, right?”
“No, even though.
“Now, think about it. Boss. How long have you been here? 10 years? 20 years?”
The Leeha used the system structure.
It's been only 4 months since the game started, but the NPCs should have years of memories from their backstories.
“It's been a decade.”
“Oh, I see. Have you seen this bread during that time?
"Eh? Oh no... that”
“No? Now, in extreme situations, if the boss dies in the future because of. heom heom. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid. Will you be to see this bread again by then?”
"No!'
The owner's eyes widened as if in shock.
“No? And as I just said, I haven't seen anyone buying gunpowder other than me. Are you going to let those rot? The gunpowder will not rot, but it will be very difficult to maintain.”
“Well, uh, yeah, so how...”
The boss' eyes turned. In the midst of his anxiety, Leeha sighed and looked at him. The boss looked like he would weep any moment now.
It seems that he was shocked by the words that he might never try the bread again before his life is over.
“Okay, okay.”
The boss raised his head and looked at Leeha, eyes with expectation.
“Then can you change it to 70 pieces each?”
"Oh! Yes Is that really all right?”
"But."
"But?"
“You need to introduce me to your supplier.”
“Hmm… …
The general store owner is also a merchant with high artificial intelligence.
There is no way he can't calculate. Handing over gunpowder and ammunition that are not sold anyway to Leeha! Additionally, he will be leaving Candle Castle soon, so it won't hurt to introduce him to the supplier.
Besides, isn't it something that he was not able to sell in the first place?
In addition, not even a single copper is lost, so it will feel like he had earned 5 silver for some reason.
As for Leeha?
He will get the maximum amount of gunpowder and ammunition, and establish his own supply route through the supplier. Even though he couldn't get money, the money he will get was meant to be spent on gunpowder anyway, so his purpose will be accomplished! It is much more profitable if you think about it in the long run.
The general store owner reached his hands out.
“Okay.”
“It's a good deal.”
[Skill-Bargaining level has risen to 4.]
Tiring, looking at the notification window, Leeha smiled.
“Phew.”
Leeha removed the helmet for the virtual reality connector.
"Did you eat? Have you been playing all day?”
“Yes, I already ate. I took a short break in the middle. Don't worry."
He moved his body to the wheelchair, supported by his mother.
'I took a break? Of course it is a lie. Rather than taking a break in the middle, I stayed connected all day until I felt a user call.'
It's already dinner, if Leeha was like everyone else, he might have said that it's only evening, but he felt like the time was faster in-game.
As soon as he disconnected from Middle Earth, he felt inconvenienced. He wanted to fix his two uncomfortable legs as soon as possible.
'Kek, the last deal was a real jackpot.'
Leeha moved to the table by pushing his wheelchair. The well-prepared dinner on the table entered his eyes.
“Oh? You already prepared everything?”
“It seemed like my son was busy, so I called you after preparing everything.”
“It must have been hard as you just came from work, you should have called me.”
“No, no. Let's eat quickly.”
Leeha who was feeling happy just before, immediately felt guilty-
“Why do you look like that in front of the food? Don't worry, eat.”
Leeha's mother, who knew him well, turned on the TV. He wanted to make his mom's heart bright and cheerful even for a little.
“Haha, yes mom. Just a little more and I will be able to earn money, so please wait.”
“What are you talking about? Don't push yourself too much and just stay healthy.”
“Oh, it’s delicious. After all, mom's cooking is the best.”
There is no way that Leeha didn't know how his mother felt. He didn't feel good, but he smiled neatly and lifted his spoon.
[Hello, this is “Middle Earth Today”, I'm Reporter Han Kyunghee! What do we have today-]
Leeha heard something among the channels he was passing by.
“Oh, mom! Can you turn on that channel, that channel again.”
"Yes? O-okay.”
(To be continued...)