I Level Up With In-app Purchases

I Raise With In-app Purchases – 8

EP.8 Mysterious Secret Merchant (4)

“What’s going on there?”

It was already strange enough to see a suspicious man in a hood along with a young girl who looked like a student, but with the girl hopping around and shouting, it was impossible not to be curious.

“No!!! Nothing’s happening!!!”

Shine reacted strongly, perhaps fearing that he might harm me.

I sighed softly, lifting my hood slightly to greet the man suspiciously eyeing me.

It was a way to show that I was a decent person with no intentions of committing a crime, by revealing my face. If I showed my face now, I could easily be caught if I ever committed a crime later.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but she seems like a student. Be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah~! It’s really nothing. Don’t worry, I’m just too happy.”

Shine smiled brightly, and the man, unable to interfere any longer, stepped back.

Having dispelled people’s suspicions, I extended my hand to Shine.

“Yes?”

“You have to return it. We haven’t signed the contract yet.”

“Oh… right…”

Despair appeared on Shine’s face. The weapon she held tightly in her arms seemed to enjoy its unintended glory.

‘Well, that’s a bit enviable.’

Externally, she looked like an adult, so even I, unintentionally, had criminal thoughts.

Shaking my head to dispel those thoughts, I made a gesture indicating she should surrender the weapon.

Did that look like I wanted her to return it? Tearfully, Shine, now in distress, spoke.

“I gave that as collateral. Can’t I just rent it?”

“…Are you that attached to it?”

“Yes!! Please trust me. I won’t betray you. Oh! I’ll give you my student ID as collateral.”

A student ID was quite important in the academy, so building trust by entrusting it was entirely plausible.

“Fine. You’ll need time to confirm the weapon’s performance, right? Let’s meet a bit earlier next week, say 10 in the morning here.”

“Yes, yes, yes, yes!”

“Then see you here at 10 in the morning. Thanks!! Blessings upon you, Uncle!”

I’m not that old to be called Uncle….

Certainly, compared to 18-year-old Shine, I, at 30, was like an Uncle.

I felt a bit sad being addressed as Uncle.

Perhaps worried I might take the weapon back, Shine hastily said goodbye and disappeared.

She probably too busy checking the weapon’s performance.

‘Is it really that good?’

I thought she would like it, being a character’s unique equipment, but her excessively enthusiastic reaction worried me a bit.

‘Even if she tries to take it away by force…’

Is it because of my mercenary life? I keep suspecting things in a negative light.

Well, it can’t be helped. It’s a personality developed through years of mercenary life. Besides, not all characters I recruit are as good as Shine.

Each character has different tendencies and personalities, and their way of dealing with me would vary.

Shine treated me as a suspicious man, but she didn’t report me due to her greed for the equipment.

However, other characters might show interest in the route I took to obtain this equipment.

‘Since Shine casually asked where I got it. Selling equipment like this can only be done once or twice. I need to obtain the qualification to sell items officially.’

Trading equipment on the street is too risky. I needed an official merchant license.

To obtain a merchant license, though…

“Money.”

Once again, money was needed.

The currency used by nobles was entirely different from what commoners used.

So, using the money I accumulated during my mercenary life to get a merchant license was an unrealistic idea.

Fortunately, I currently had something in my hands that could be a proper ‘payment.’

Money earned through mercenary life?

‘It won’t last more than a few months here.’

The cost of living was insanely high.

Honestly, more terrifying than monsters. At least they would pay me.

Living here required an immense amount of money for everything – food, shelter, and even fighting.

I smiled contentedly as I looked at the shining silver fur.

“How much will this fetch?”

Honestly, I was surprised when Shine suggested renting the equipment. It’s an aspect I hadn’t considered.

‘This equipment can only be used by her…’

I am in a position where I must sell the unique equipment to Shine. Outwardly, I pretended to be the ‘provider’, but if you delve into the situation, I could only end up being the ‘provided for’.

However, Shine proactively suggested a new approach of renting, and she even generously offered a substantial fee for the rental.

‘I was just going to pass it on…’

Comparing the value of the item, Shine is probably endlessly at a loss.

The unique equipment I gave Shine, in her hands, would continually increase in value. However, this equipment is something that only has value when in the owner’s hands, otherwise, it’s worth zero.

So, when I received the Werewolf fur, I simply intended to hand over the equipment. Of course, now it not only resulted in obtaining silver Werewolf fur but also led to a continuous source of additional income.

“Is it regrettable?”

Before converting this into money, I first used my ability to open a shop and checked its value in Korean won.

2,350,000 Won

It was worth a whopping 2.35 million won. This was the first time I encountered something with a value exceeding a million in the monster loot I had encountered so far.

‘If I sell this for cash here…’

Could it cover the cost of a house?

The tempting amount of 2.35 million won enticed me.

I wondered how many times I could try the gacha with this.

If I’m lucky, I might be able to get about 1/3 of the SSR characters’ business cards, if not all.

‘Changing the priority of tasks due to immediate desires is a big mistake. Right now, establishing a place where I can safely sell items is a priority.’

If I only create a place to sell items, the rest of the plan will naturally fall into place. Of course, there’s an important task remaining, pulling an SSR character. But it’s less burdensome than acting suspiciously near the academy.

‘I might get kicked out if I mess up.’

I vaguely remember mentioning this before, but it’s been 14 years since I sent time to get in here.

As a commoner, I should never engage in actions that provoke the nobles’ sentiments.

“Hmm… You want to sell this?”

“More precisely, I want to exchange it for a merchant license and a shop.”

“The price might vary depending on the location of the shop. What’s the minimum distance for the shop location?”

‘As long as it’s near the academy, it’s fine, even if it’s in a less populated area.’

“If it’s less populated, students might not go there often. What do you plan to sell there?”

“A variety of miscellaneous items in a general store.”

I went to arrange a fair trader, an NPC even present in the game, and it exist here.

Amazing.

“Hmm… Even if it’s near the academy, the prices might not be cheap. If what you say is true, there should be quite a few people interested in buying.”

I’m a commoner. Just because I got monster loot doesn’t mean I can sell it right away. However, there’s a trick. Exchanging this monster loot for something other than money, like an item, is possible.

I planned to exchange it for a merchant license and a shop.

And a few days later, the NPC didn’t disappoint me. They generously provided a merchant license with a validity period of ten years and arranged for a somewhat run-down but relatively close shop near the academy.

Both parties were satisfied with the deal.

“Cough! Cough!”

…The location wasn’t as remote as I had initially thought.

It was even closer to the academy than I had planned, to the point of surprise.

But I could clearly understand why the owner handed it over to me without hesitation.

The alley entering this building gave off a dark and dangerous vibe. Moreover, the building was old and small. It looked worn-out and neglected.

Inside the dilapidated building, dust and insects filled the air.

It seemed like a lot of effort would be needed to turn this into a decent shop.

‘But maybe this atmosphere is better for me?’

I can’t reveal the source of the items I’ll be selling. Furthermore, the items I sell are limited to a few specific targets.

Of course, I’ll sell other items to make it look like a general store if ordinary people come by. However, the real deal is the unique equipment of the ‘characters’ I pull and release into this world.

And to make real ‘money’, I need to sell those.

‘Pulling characters is not enough. Do I need to pull their unique equipment as well?’

There are still many unique items I haven’t obtained. And the more money, the better, having more money never leads to a loss.

“First… I should clean up so it can at least look like a shop.”

Turning this place into a general store. That’s the most urgent task for me right now. Nobles might tolerate an old building, but they won’t tolerate dirt and insects. For me, cleanliness was essential, given my position of eating, sleeping, and working in this place.