Chapter 129 (2/2)

“No, nothing.” Oh Rahee shook her head. Glancing at Hugo, she asked, “Oi, you.”

“Huh?”

“How about it?”

Hugo raised both of his thumbs up as if he didn't even need to think about the answer.

“Call!”

“Good.”

The trade had been completed.

Oh Rahee spun the rapier in her hand before caressing the blade with her hand and smiling. Hugo ran around while swinging the axe, like a child who had received his Christmas present.

Seeing this, the four people who entered the Plaza of the Dissonant Wish with them didn't sit still. In case someone had an item worth trading for, they began to unwrap their cloth.

Then, other people began to gather round. When they saw the rewards the six people received, they couldn't help but marvel at them.

The most sought after reward among Earthlings.

The Banquet that magnificently satisfied their interest.

Soon….

“Um.” One person swallowed his saliva and asked, “When are we selecting the next group of partic.i.p.ants?”

Hearing this, Seol Jihu grinned with satisfaction.

The conquering of the Plaza of Sacrifice hastened.

The second attempt ended without anyone dying, mainly due to Oh Rahee playing an active role. She killed more enemies than anyone else, and just as one might expect, it wasn't for an altruistic reason.

It turned out that the rapier got stronger and could even restore its user's stamina by drinking blood. When Seol Jihu found out, he was convinced the rapier was a demonic sword of some sort.

In any case, the partic.i.p.ants were able to conquer the Plaza of Sacrifice four times that day, and six times the next day. They had progressed more than halfway in just two days.

And on the sixth night…

“Amazing.”

Kazuki muttered in awe after once again conquering the Plaza of Sacrifice for the sixth time in a single day.

“I never even imagined something like this on the first day.”

It was late at night, but dozens of people were gathered together on the gra.s.s field.

People who were simply watching, people who stopped uninterested traders trying to persuade them, people wondering if they should accept the trade, people haggling….

The entire field was rowdy. The way people were gathered around a large campfire, Kazuki felt like he was looking at a festival.

“You know, I never even considered trading.”

It wasn't that he couldn't. He didn't.

When Kazuki chuckled, Seol Jihu also laughed.

“It's nothing amazing, really.”

“What's surprising is that you considered this possibility in that situation.”

Kazuki wasn't wrong about this. While everyone else was obsessed with sacrificing others to escape, Seol Jihu alone had the idea of turning the Dissonant Wish into the Harmonious Wish.

“Well… I just wondered why this place was given the name Banquet when it first opened.” Seol Jihu continued, “Banquets are supposed to be fun.”

Originally, a banquet was a feast where many gathered to celebrate or congratulate. Seol Jihu had interpreted this in a Paradisian fas.h.i.+on.

“I thought about why Dissonant Wishes were given out… and I thought it was for people to interact with each other and grow closer….”

Seol Jihu blurred the end of his speech before squatting down with a sigh. Kazuki tilted his head.

“Why the sigh?”

“Because it's difficult.”

“Even though things went according to your plan?”

“That's true, but….” Seol Jihu smacked his lips. “To be honest, I got lucky.”

“Lucky?”

“Yes. I could force the situation thanks to several conditions being met. If our allied team wasn't the strongest force here….”

In truth, Seol Jihu's initial plan was to persuade others by telling them about trading. But after seeing how things were working out, he had used a more forceful approach. He had only taken out the trade card afterwards. Otherwise, nothing he said would have held weight.

Kazuki shrugged his shoulders.

“If you were the eloquent orator type or the cunning strategist type, things might have gone as you expected. The same can be said if you possessed charisma that can mesmerize people at first glance.”

“If there really are people like that — I'm jealous.”

“But I don't think you were wrong. You don't need to blame yourself.”

“I think so too.”

With that, the conversation between the two was cut off. It was Seol Jihu who broke the silence.

“Anyways, what did you get?”

“Me? You know…. What about you?” Kazuki asked back while glossing over the answer.

Seol Jihu answered clearly, “Competence.”

Kazuki's eyes widened, and he burst into laughter.

“Haha. You're a real piece of work. What kind of wish….”

Suddenly, he tilted his head as if something was strange and muttered seriously.

“Wait, your reward should have been 'dissonant'… but it doesn't seem like it was.”

“Right?”

“Can you show it to me?”

Seol Jihu shook his head.

“I don't have it.”

“You don't?”

“I traded it.”

Seol Jihu had given up on Competence? Kazuki found this hard to believe.

“I don't know what efficacy it had… but I doubt it was bad. What did you trade it with?”

Seol Jihu grinned.

“That's a secret.”

Kazuki looked as if he had taken a good blow.

“You didn't tell me either.”

Kazuki raised both his hands, then walked away with a grin. Seeing Kazuki walk toward the people absorbed in trading, Seol Jihu got up and turned back.

He headed to the campsite. Entering the tent, he saw Maria, who had fallen asleep after finis.h.i.+ng up with healing the injured, and Hugo, who was sitting with a frown.

Seeing Hugo grumbling while holding the battle-axe he traded with Oh Rahee, Seol Jihu clicked his tongue.

'That weapon sure is amazing.'

Seol Jihu knew the reason for Hugo's disgruntled face. Although the weapon was flawless in other aspects….

Pzzzt!

“Aaaak.”

It resisted every time Hugo tried to infuse his mana.

According to Kazuki, rarely, there were intelligent weapons that chose their users. In other words, the battle-axe was rejecting Hugo's disposition and refusing to accept Hugo as its master.

“Ehew….”

Seeing Hugo sigh as if it was the end of the world, Seol Jihu patted his back.

“Is it still like that?”

Hugo nodded dejectedly. He had been talking to the axe for the past four days, treating it as though it was a divine object, but it seemed that wasn't enough to change the weapon's mind.

After grunting hard, Hugo exploded in anger.

“f.u.c.k! I must be mad, doing all this bulls.h.i.+t.”

“Why don't you just trade it away? You never know if someone has a better axe. Plus, there are people who haven't entered yet.”

Seol Jihu had a point, but Hugo shook his head firmly.

“No, I'm going to use this. I will!”

Seol Jihu thought Hugo had given up, but he turned out to be burning with eagerness instead.

“I mean, isn't it just a hunk of metal at the end of the day?”

“W-Well….”

“This little b.i.t.c.h wants to choose its master? Since it was born as a weapon, it should be thanking me for wanting to use it!”

Woong! The battle-axe shone fiercely. It seemed to be angry.

“Huh? This b.i.t.c.h…. Hey, you dumba.s.s axe. Do you hate me that much?”

Woong!

“Oh? Wow…. You know, I'm a gentleman when I'm with my partner, but I won't be one with you. Since you can't understand with words, I'll just break you in.”

Seol Jihu was watching with interest before he started doubting his eyes.

Hugo suddenly slammed the axe down and plopped down on it with his dirty b.u.t.t. He sat cross-legged on it and spoke with a displeased face.

“This is the last chance. I plan on using you no matter what. You still wanna play hard to get?”

Woong! Woong!

“Ooookay. Fine. You better not regret it.”

Hugo grit his teeth before suddenly shooting his eyes open. He then let out a short “Haat!”

Ps.h.!.+ A bomb detonated. No, that's what Seol Jihu thought before he saw Hugo's b.u.t.t jump up.

Even Maria woke up in a stupor.

“Wha… what!? What happened!?”

With a drowsy face, she turned left and right before sniffing the air. When a foul odor entered her nose, she scowled.

“AH, f.u.c.k!”

She screamed before blocking her nose and running out of the tent. Seol Jihu could hear her screaming “YOU SON OF A b.i.t.c.h!” while barfing.

“Haha, she's overreacting. It smells fine to me.”

Hugo laughed contently while rubbing his b.u.t.t on the battle-axe.

“How is it? Hm? It's s.h.i.+t-fart aged for four days!”

Woooooooooong!

Seeing the battle-axe vibrating in horror, Seol Jihu apologized inwardly and quietly entered his sleeping bag.

'Tomorrow.'

Stage 2 would end. And perhaps this tiring Banquet would come to a close as well.

Seol Jihu looked up at the ceiling, then shoved his hand into his pocket. After looking at the item he took out, he grinned.

'Who would have thought something like this existed?'

The Competence he got had incredible efficacy. Naturally, he had agonized over the decision. But after deliberating for a long time, Seol Jihu chose to trade. He believed this item had much greater value in terms of usefulness.

'I hope she'll be happy.'

Reminding himself to visit the Forest of Denial after returning to Paradise, Seol Jihu closed his eyes, while using the battle-axe's screams of despair as a lullaby.

The night pa.s.sed, and the next morning dawned.

The partic.i.p.ants cleared the four remaining attempts instantly. Once they succeeded in clearing the Plaza of Sacrifice 20 times, the Plaza of the Dissonant Wish opened up permanently.

Stage 2 had finally come to a close.