Rattle—
[Death Count: 11]
After Feirin left, I immediately committed suicide.
Because if her words were true, Feirin had the skill to break through the tenth floor.
Rather than waiting for her to die and for the Reset to begin, dying and returning to the grave myself was faster.
Dying wasn't difficult. Because the trap still worked.
All I had to do was aim carefully for a hole and press the floor down with my head.
"A new friend has arrived."
I heard Big Guy's voice.
For now, should I try asking?
"Do you know the difference between an intruder and a monster?"
"What?"
He didn't know after all. I hadn't expected much from Big Guy.
Passing him, I approached Beanpole. I threw out the exact same question again.
"The difference between an intruder and a monster?"
"Yes."
Clack, clack—
Beanpole's jaw shook.
Here, the difference between Big Guy and Beanpole showed. At the very least, Beanpole tried pretending to think.
"That's a question I'm hearing for the first time...."
"If nothing comes to mind...."
"First off, they're humans. And we're Skeleton Soldiers. Could it be the difference in race?"
Just as I was about to go to another room, Beanpole spoke up. I decided to listen a little longer.
"However, aren't Slimes monsters too?"
"Hmm, that's true."
Beanpole admitted it right away.
In the first place, if the difference in race were the condition, it would be nothing short of hopeless. Because there was no way I could become human.
"Then it's that they're intruders after all. That they come in from outside."
That wasn't helpful. I wasn't asking him to explain the definition of an intruder.
"I understand."
Still, after expressing my gratitude for the fact that he had thought about it, I left the room. I intended to look for Skeleton Soldiers in other rooms before the intruders arrived.
The iron bars came down. I waited briefly in the passage and then headed to the next room.
Passing a Slime room, I looked for a place with Skeleton Soldiers.
'It's a brown chest this time.'
I passed the chest room. Hoping there would be Skeleton Soldiers in the next room, I opened the door.
"Huh?"
Our eyes met. It was a skeleton, all right, but something was different.
He was carrying a bundle on his back.
"What brings a Skeleton Soldier here?"
"You are...."
"A Great Merchant does not pick and choose his customers."
Clack, clack—
Moving his jaw, he untied the bundle.
Amazingly, items came out that were nowhere near small enough to fit inside the bundle.
"This is...."
There were three items on top of the bundle.
Two daggers with sharply honed blades, a sturdy-looking mace, and dark brown leather armor.
In front of them, '30G', '40G', and '25G' were written respectively.
"Gold transcends race and language."
Gold.
It was one of the things Feirin had demanded. Of course, I had no Gold.
"Are you doing business here?"
"As you can see."
It was a short answer. Because he was a fellow skeleton, I couldn't read his expression.
"Are you doing business with the intruders?"
"Like I said earlier, a Great Merchant does not pick and choose his customers. Whether intruder or monster, as long as they have Gold, they are my customer."
His head moved up and down. Was he looking me over?
"You look like you do not have a single coin."
That was true. Because I hadn't even seen what Gold looked like.
"However, a Great Merchant knows how to recognize value."
His hollow eyes turned toward my hand. To be precise, toward the ring I was wearing.
"That ring—do you have any intention of selling it? I can feel magic from it... I will generously give you 50 Gold. Of course, trading it for an item here is also possible."
50 Gold.
It was an amount that could buy one of the items right before my eyes.
"No, thank you."
However, I refused flatly.
I didn't need equipment like this. What I needed right now was information, not equipment like this.
"Do you... have a name?"
"A name?"
Clack, clack—
Shaking his jaw, he tilted his head.
"Since when did a Skeleton Soldier have a name? I, too, am merely a Great Merchant."
Great Merchant wasn't a name. In the end, this skeleton wasn't a special skeleton either.
"Were you originally on the first floor?"
"No, every time the intruders change, I wait on a different floor."
I was a little surprised by the Great Merchant's words. Unlike the other Skeleton Soldiers, he knew the fact that the intruders changed.
'Does he know about the Reset?'
If so, it was worth conversing with him a little more.
"How many times have you met the intruders?"
"I have never counted, but many times. Very many."
Could he perhaps know?
"Do you know about the differences between monsters and intruders?"
"The differences? There are far too many of those as well."
"There are many?"
"Of course. Monsters rarely come looking for me. On the other hand, intruders go around to every room if possible, looking for me."
The Great Merchant stroked his jaw.
"Furthermore, they pay a fair price. They do not attack me. Because they know that if I die, they cannot obtain my goods. However, monsters are different. Without even considering such things, they try to beat down the price of my goods. Intimidation is a basic virtue of monsters."
"That is not what I wish to know."
The Great Merchant shrugged his shoulders. Had I asked the wrong question?
It happened just as I was about to open my mouth again.
BANG—
The door opened.
"Hmm?"
A gravelly voice reached my ears. Startled, I immediately stepped back behind the Great Merchant.
"What the, why's there a monster here?"
It was a familiar face.
The bald man. The muscular bald man.
He was still going around barely clothed.
"Welcome."
At the Great Merchant's words, the bald man's gaze turned. He soon seemed to lose interest in me.
"Mr. Great Merchant. You're on the first floor today."
"Is there an item you need?"
The bald man slowly examined the items. I held my breath.
"Ah... I'm short on Gold. I can only buy one. Can't I get a discount if I buy two?"
"What an amusing joke."
He called it amusing, yet the Great Merchant didn't laugh. Instead, as if he had expected that response, the bald man chuckled dryly.
"Right, right. Figured as much. Last time, my Defense was lacking. Give me one of this armor."
"Thank you. That will be 25 Gold."
When the bald man held out a pouch, the Great Merchant held out the armor.
Soon, his scanty clothes disappeared, and the bald man was wearing the armor.
"Good. Then I'll see you again later."
"I will look forward to it."
Smiling, the bald man exited through the door on the opposite side. Although he had left, I didn't move.
THUD— THUD— THUD—
Only after the iron bars came down did I step out in front of the Great Merchant. Because as long as it was blocked by the iron bars, at least he wouldn't be coming back.
"Do you trust the intruders?"
"Hmm?"
At my question, the Great Merchant raised his head.
"What were you going to do if the intruder smashed your skull and stole these weapons?"
"Did that intruder just now do that?"
"That is not what happened, but...."
When the Great Merchant asked back, I had nothing to say. However, wasn't my question reasonable?
Even I, if I just set my mind to it.
"Would you like to try?"
Had he read my mind? Looking up at me, the Great Merchant asked.
"Try what?"
Feigning ignorance, I asked.
"Would you like to give it a try? To see whether I will be struck down or not."
He was full of confidence. I wanted to check.
The questions piled up inside me right now were considerable. If I could resolve one right here and now, I wanted to.
Without saying a word to him, I thrust my fist forward.
HUM—
The air trembled. My fist stopped right in front of the Great Merchant.
It wasn't by my will. It simply stopped because it couldn't move any further forward.
"Do you understand now?"
Ease could be felt in his voice.
It was a feeling distinct from the invisible wall. It felt as if the space around the Great Merchant itself were rejecting me.
"Indeed...."
"No one can attack me. However, I cannot attack anyone else either."
Clack, clack—
The Great Merchant shook his jaw.
"Staying here is fine, but do not interfere with my work."
"I understand."
I had held a faint hope that if I became an intruder, I might be able to attack this guy. It was a relief that I had checked beforehand.
Still, there was something gained. When I rose from the grave again, if I found the Great Merchant's room, I wouldn't need to bother using Play Dead.
"I will visit from time to time."
"Do as you please. A Great Merchant always welcomes customers. Though it would be nice if you brought Gold too."
There didn't seem to be anything more to gain from him. It happened right at the moment I was about to step out through another door.
"If I may tell you one more thing...."
At the Great Merchant's voice, I turned around. Could he perhaps know something?
"Nothing in the world is free. If there is something you want, you will have to pay a price worthy of it."
"I will keep that in mind."
***
Seven times.
That was the number of times the Reset had occurred since I met the Great Merchant.
I had changed my strategy.
Viewing intruders from a monster's perspective had its limits. In the end, to learn the differences between monsters and intruders, I had no choice but to observe them up close.
Since what had been given to me was infinite time, I judged that it was worth investing.
Then how was I to observe the intruders?
Feirin's case was the answer.
As soon as I rose from the grave, I immediately looked for the first room. Although they were wary of me, I used Heart-to-Heart to ease their guard.
At this stage, I could be attacked and die.
Two times out of seven, the intruders killed me as soon as they saw me.
One killed me without a single word in reply, and the other killed me saying they didn't trust a monster's words.
Had they lived their whole lives being deceived?
Humans didn't seem used to trusting others.
When that wasn't the case, I volunteered to guide them through the first floor. Most intruders who had a map accepted my proposal here.
Intruders who hadn't reached the tenth floor doubted me, but agreed for the time being.
The method was simple. I entered a room first, grasped the number of monsters or traps, and came back to tell them.
Since most monsters on the first floor were easy to deal with, it was an unnecessary process, but cautious intruders listened to my words.
While going around with them, I observed the intruders.
The very first thing I realized was the fact that just as they didn't trust me, I shouldn't trust them either.
Four times out of seven, once the guiding ended and the stairs appeared, the bastards killed me. Even though there was no need to kill me. No, if I had to pick a reason, perhaps it was for EXP.
In total, six times out of seven, the intruders killed me.
Looking at the previous cases made me realize just how kind an intruder Feirin had been.
The remaining one time was ambiguous. It was a case where the intruder was too weak.
Because he died before I did, there was no way to know whether he had intended to kill me or not.
Rattle—
I returned to the grave again.
"A new friend...."
Ignoring Big Guy's words, I organized my thoughts.
Judging from my experiences thus far, there were a few facts I had learned about the intruders.
First, intruders who arrived on the first floor either climbed the stairs right away or went around to every room.
The former were strong bastards. Perhaps confident in their skills, they stormed right in even when I only told them the number of monsters.
The latter were ordinary bastards. They cautiously went around room by room, dealing with the monsters. Was EXP their goal? Thanks to that, I died too.
Second, whether alone or in a group, intruders never arrived twice in a row. Depending on whether the Reset took place across the entire tower or floor by floor, different inferences could be made.
In the former case, it meant only one group of intruders could exist in the tower.
On the other hand, in the latter case, it had to mean multiple groups of intruders were going around different floors of the tower.
Third, intruders returned to the tower again after dying. However, the items they brought with them seemed to gradually get better.
Just as I resurrected with Heart-to-Heart, intruders also seemed to resurrect with the items they held at the moment of death.
Hope sprouted that perhaps I, too, might be able to become an intruder.
"What a blunt friend."
The mumbling voice faded away. It seemed Big Guy had given up and gone back to his spot.
Based on my comprehensive observations and my previous experiences, I intended to try a single experiment.
THUD— THUD— THUD—
I heard the sound of the iron bars coming down.
I came out of the grave and gave bones to Big Guy and Beanpole.
"Thanks."
"That's a good idea."
Half-ignoring their thanks, I grabbed two bones. I set one down and struck it with the other.
CRACK—
The bone broke, exposing a sharp point.
The weapon I had used when I killed the boy. Humans were more vulnerable to sharp things.
Now, all I had to do was wait for the intruder to come.
If there were many of them, I would wait for the next time; if they were alone, I would attack.
Big Guy and Beanpole took their positions in the center.
THUD— THUD— THUD—
The iron bars went up. It seemed the intruder had passed through the first room.
'Come on....'
Hoping there would only be one intruder, I hid between the graves.
BANG—
The door opened.
"It's an intruder!"
Big Guy shouted loudly.