THE MERCHANT OF LANTERNS
The golden trading screen floated before Kael’s eyes.
Unlike the other travelers, whose screens displayed rows of ordinary goods, his interface contained an additional message glowing in deep crimson.
Special Privilege Detected.
Road Forge Successor Identified.
Hidden Inventory Unlocked.
Kael’s heartbeat quickened.
He glanced around the safe zone.
No one else appeared to notice anything unusual.
The other survivors were already crowding toward the barrier, excitedly examining the merchant’s wares through their own system interfaces.
Some shouted in disbelief.
“A steel sword!”
“There’s medicine!”
“Monster bait!”
“I can buy arrows!”
Others cursed when they saw the prices.
“Fifty Road Coins for a loaf of bread?”
“That’s robbery!”
The old merchant merely smiled as if he had heard the same complaints thousands of times.
“The road has never been kind,” he said calmly.
“It simply offers opportunities.”
Kael selected the hidden inventory.
The ordinary list disappeared.
Only five items remained.
Road Compass
Grade: Rare
Effect: Reveals hidden roads and warns of dangerous routes.
Price: 300 Road Coins
Forge Hammer of Origins
Grade: Epic
Required: Road Forge Talent
Price: 5,000 Road Coins
Traveler’s Expansion Blueprint
Grade: Rare
Allows the caravan to increase storage capacity.
Price: 450 Road Coins
Road Seed
Grade: Unknown
Description: “Everything begins with a single seed.”
Price: 1 Road Coin
Broken Bronze Key
Grade: Unknown
Description: “Half of a forgotten promise.”
Price: 10 Road Coins
Kael frowned.
The first three items were impossibly expensive.
He only possessed one hundred and twenty Road Coins.
But the final two…
They were strangely cheap.
Especially the mysterious seed.
Most merchants charged according to value.
Why would an item with an unknown grade cost only one coin?
His instincts immediately warned him.
Cheap things on the Endless Road were probably the most dangerous…
Or the most valuable.
A soft chuckle interrupted his thoughts.
“You noticed.”
The old merchant was standing directly outside the barrier.
Despite dozens of travelers surrounding him, his attention rested entirely on Kael.
“You have good eyes.”
Kael walked closer.
“You priced those items intentionally.”
“I price everything intentionally.”
The merchant folded his hands behind his back.
“Value and price are not always the same.”
“What does the seed do?”
The merchant smiled.
“If I answered that question…”
“…would your journey still belong to you?”
Kael remained silent.
The old man nodded approvingly.
“Better.”
“Curiosity is healthy.”
“Dependence is fatal.”
Without another word, the merchant stepped aside to assist another traveler.
Kael looked once more at the glowing list.
One Road Coin.
He selected the Road Seed.
Purchase Confirmed.
Road Coins Remaining:
119.
A tiny object appeared inside his inventory.
It resembled an ordinary black seed no larger than a grain of corn.
No description.
No explanation.
Nothing.
Kael stored it without hesitation.
Sometimes answers came later.
Around him, the temporary market became increasingly lively.
A middle-aged woman exchanged monster hides for healing herbs.
Two young men pooled their coins together to purchase a hunting spear.
Another traveler traded fresh monster meat for several bottles of clean water.
The merchant accepted almost anything.
Monster parts.
Road Coins.
Rare plants.
Even information.
Kael watched carefully.
Information…
The merchant considered it valuable.
That meant knowledge itself had become a currency.
He would remember that.
Suddenly, loud shouting erupted near the opposite side of the camp.
“You cheated me!”
Kael turned.
A thin man with sunken cheeks stood before the merchant, clutching a cracked crystal.
“You said this beast core was still usable!”
The merchant calmly adjusted one of his lanterns.
“I said it still contained energy.”
“It does.”
“It exploded!”
“Yes.”
“It released its remaining energy.”
Several nearby travelers struggled not to laugh.
The angry customer pointed an accusing finger.
“Give me my coins back!”
The merchant’s smile never disappeared.
“The road has no refunds.”
The man’s face reddened.
Without warning, he reached across the barrier, attempting to grab the merchant’s robes.
The moment his fingers touched the golden wall…
A brilliant flash erupted.
The man screamed.
He was thrown backward nearly five meters before crashing into the stone platform.
Smoke rose from his fingertips.
Every traveler instinctively stepped away from the barrier.
The merchant sighed.
“I did warn everyone.”
“No hostile actions during trading.”
The golden barrier slowly returned to normal.
The merchant straightened his sleeves as though nothing unusual had happened.
Kael filed away another important lesson.
The system enforced its own rules.
Sometimes more effectively than people could.
A few minutes later, Garrick approached Kael carrying the mantis spear over one shoulder.
“So.”
“You bought something?”
Kael nodded.
“A seed.”
Garrick blinked.
“A seed?”
“For one coin.”
The large man scratched his beard.
“I spent sixty coins on this sharpening stone.”
He held up a palm-sized piece of dark gray rock.
“According to the merchant, it’ll make monster weapons stronger.”
Kael examined it briefly.
Useful.
But ordinary.
His own purchase felt…
Different.
Neither man noticed the merchant watching them from afar.
The old man’s smile deepened for only an instant.
Then he quietly turned away.
The trading period continued for another twenty minutes.
As time passed, the atmosphere inside the safe zone relaxed.
People spoke more openly.
Small groups began forming naturally.
Some discussed hunting strategies.
Others shared stories about the monsters they had encountered.
One elderly engineer proposed reinforcing wagons with wooden spikes.
A former chef experimented with cooking unfamiliar roadside vegetables.
Even frightened children slowly began playing beside the campfires.
For the first time since the world had changed…
Hope returned.
Kael sat beside his wagon, listening more than speaking.
He learned that everyone had arrived under different circumstances.
A schoolteacher had been driving home.
A doctor had been working the night shift.
A retired couple had been traveling across the country.
No one understood why they had been chosen.
No one knew if the old world still existed.
No one had found a way back.
Hours passed.
Finally, the merchant raised one hand.
Every lantern hanging from his magnificent wagon extinguished simultaneously.
The road grew noticeably darker.
“The market closes.”
Several disappointed groans spread through the camp.
The old man climbed back onto his floating wagon.
Before leaving, he looked once more toward the gathered travelers.
“My final gift.”
He snapped his fingers.
A golden map appeared above the safe zone.
“The First Rest Station lies fifty-three kilometers ahead.”
“The road between here and there contains three major dangers.”
He pointed toward the glowing map.
“The Whispering Mire.”
“The Broken Bridge.”
“And…”
His expression became unusually serious.
“The Red Toll Gate.”
Murmurs spread immediately.
“Toll gate?”
“What does that mean?”
The merchant slowly shook his head.
“I hope…”
“…none of you discover the answer.”
With that cryptic warning, he picked up the reins.
The six white deer began walking.
The floating wagon rolled silently into the endless darkness.
Within moments, both the merchant and his countless lanterns disappeared beyond the horizon.
The safe zone suddenly felt much colder.
Much emptier.
A new notification appeared.
Special Merchant Has Departed.
Next Appearance: Unknown.
Kael watched until the last trace of golden light vanished.
Then he looked down at his inventory.
The tiny black seed rested alone in one corner.
For reasons he couldn’t explain…
It pulsed once.
Very faintly.
Almost like a heartbeat.
At that exact moment, the circular mark above Kael’s heart—the symbol of the Road Forge—grew warm beneath his shirt.
Another hidden notification appeared.
Road Seed Resonance Detected.
New Road Forge Quest Unlocked.
Quest: Plant the First Seed.
Objective: Find soil worthy of the Road Forge.
Reward: ???
Kael stared at the screen.
There was only one seed.
One chance.
If he planted it in the wrong place…
Would it be wasted forever?
He closed the interface and looked toward the endless black road stretching beyond the sleeping camp.
Tomorrow they would leave the safety of the temporary rest point.
Tomorrow the real journey would begin.
And somewhere ahead, hidden beyond fifty-three kilometers of unknown dangers…
The First Rest Station awaited.
END OF CHAPTER 4