The NPCs Are Weird?!

 Ivant…? Maybe that Ivant?

The 'Ivant' that Yeon-woo knows is the strongest guild in the game world.  It had a size comparable to other guilds, but its operations were guided by the guild leader's conviction that he did not want to be constrained by the "Guilds rules."

The level of cooperation among the guild members was astounding since they all had faith in the beliefs of one guild leader. Perhaps because they were renowned for not accepting new guild members, users joined the association and continued to live for that reason. Yeon-woo was only active as a mercenary in the guild when he had to get pocket money or special quests.

He couldn't believe such a guild runs a hotel in such a small town.

Yeon-woo's eyes widened in surprise as he cast alternate glances at Mrs. Margot and the hotel.

“Why is Ivant here? No, no. What is the reason for a guild as big as Ivant running a hotel here?”

This was something that wasn't even shown in the in-game settings. No matter how long he had been a mercenary, Yeon-woo did not know much about Ivant, but he knew that his main occupation was subjugating monsters and killing intermediate bosses.

That made it even more questionable. If it was a hotel that big, he wouldn't have missed it while playing the game.

“I hear it's a resting place for commissioned mercenaries. I'm not sure if they accept outsiders who aren't mercenaries, but would they really be kicked out?"

Mrs. Margot, who had a good laugh, appeared to be having fun while discussing the troubles of others. Although it was someone else's business, Yeon-woo, who was glancing around with a gloomy eye, had a thought on the word ‘mercenary.’

“Then can I become a mercenary?”

“Can you? I don't think you can do any rough work because you look so handsome."

Yeon-woo needed money for a place to reside and to enhance his current item. There is a place that can meet all of them, there’s no need to hesitate. Even a mercenary could pick a job, and if he killed the mid-boss, he would have received some amazing goods and a little sum of money.

Although it would appear outdated to an NPC, but to the users who had the ability, they could be a valuable item like gold or some crap. Initially, it may have been offered for a greater price at a user-traded auction, but now that it’s a reality, it must be offered for sale at a store, even if it was a little less expensive.

Yeon-woo, who solely sought to make money, found it incredibly heartbreaking yet he had no choice but to hold on with his teeth. In the meantime, I'll have to look into that hotel as well.

"It's okay. I’m a very useful person, so there are many things that I can do. Thank you for your concern.”

“Then I’m glad…”

Yeon-woo smiled brightly as ended the conversation with Mrs. Margot, who had not yet had all of her questions answered. Before turning around and saying goodbye, he bought a few bottles of potions, drank them all in one go, and then left.

Yeon-woo, who was familiar with the area and the layout of the town, took a shortcut to get to the hotel quickly. Yeon-woo had to travel through the "Florence Back Alleys," which featured low-quality guilds, but since the NPCs couldn't hurt the user, he just kept moving without much thought.

He was going to turn around the last alley as he got closer to the hotel when a voice rang out from somewhere dim inside.

“Hey, it looks like you have some money?”

It was a cliched phrase that belonged in the past. It was understandable given that the game's release date was in the 2000s, but it was still embarrassing to hear.

Three big men were standing there when I turned to face the voice and stared at them with pitiful eyes. Though I was aware that he is the alley's boss, I was unable to recall his name. Each of them had a sword in one hand, a sword of common yet rough appearance.

The space appeared to be occupied as there were three persons huddled in a small alley.

“It’s annoying, so I’ll do the quest next. I am very busy right now.”

As a sign that the quest had begun, Yeon-woo was trying to ignore them and go in the direction he was going, but the big guy grabbed Yeon-woo's shoulder. Since it was typically enough to decline the quest, he was not prepared for this kind of behavior.

Surprised, Yeon-woo stuttered as he looked into the eyes of the man above himself.

“How could you touch my body? Don’t you think it’s too much?”

“What is this kid talking about? We haven't finished our business yet, where are you going?"

I’m screwed. He had forgotten that he was no longer a user, but rather a person who had transmigrated into this world. It was a disaster because he had no idea the NPCs would pick a fight first. The three intimidating men surrounded Yeon-woo and made threatening gestures.

In fact, they were basically low-level, so their combat ability was inferior, but Yeon-woo couldn't deal with them right now. He's now just a buff character.

Unlike other buff characters, the 'Spirit' Yeon-woo transmigrated into had much lower attack power than the other. Even it was insufficient to fight the weak slime on its own. Instead, the buff ability was superior, but it was not applicable to him. That’s right, it's just enough to make it less painful.

"That… I think I just made a mistake, what did you need?”

Inevitably, Yeon-woo smiled submissively, unlike before. He was convinced that if he could be ripped off or hit less, he would become more obedient than this. Because he had no idea what his future would be like if he died now.

They puffed their bodies to the utmost at that time, delighted at the assumption that their threat had worked, and threatened him.

"I was going to let you go if you give 10,000 gold. I can't stand your attitude. So give me 50,000 gold coins."

Oh, my God. I couldn't believe such angels existed. He just said that he would let me go for 50,000 gold. It was a very grateful thing for Yeon-woo, who has 34.6 billion won in his hand. That was the maximum amount he could fill by selling potions from his inventory.

Yeon-woo, who was beaming with joy, exaggeratedly stated that he would offer anything.

"Sure. Take it all! I'll give you 50,000 gold right now!"

Perhaps it was an unexpected reaction, the hesitant masses glanced at each other and immediately smiled meaningfully.

“Yeah, yeah, this one looks quite pretty. He seems to make a lot of money.”

"Yeah, I'll receive a good price if I sell him to a merchant."

Yeon-woo, who had a question mark on his head, had no idea what they were talking about. Selling to a merchant? And it's also expensive? It’s true that he looks handsome now because he had a lot of money, but what does that have to do with merchants?

One of the big men reached out and grabbed Yeon-woo's cheek, who had been thinking for a long. He had an awful sweaty hand and the eyes of a beast looking at its prey. Yeon-woo became conscious of the man licking his tongue.

Oh, I'm getting sold. To a place that I didn't know.

I didn't think about it because the age targeted audience of the game was not high, but I had the feeling that I had encountered deep inside of the world more than I had anticipated. Yeon-woo shakes the man's hand with trembling hands and walks back, contemplating how to get out of here.

'I shall try the fog magic. No, but the big guys are blocking the alley, can I get out?'

Yeon-woo, who was confused by the story he was witnessing for the first time and tried to persuade them with words.

"Well, I'm not as healthy as I look, and I'm very useless. And... I have a lot of scars on my body, so I can't be sold at a high price!"

It was really miserable. He didn't know what would happen if he died while in the game, so all he could say was the lines he saw on TV. As if it didn't work at all, the men have been grabbing Yeon-woo.

“Heh, it doesn’t matter. No, there are a lot of perverts who prefer that kind of thing.”

It was when the approaching men reached out to the pale Yeon-woo.

“Isn’t it against morals to do this in front of other people’s business?”

It wasn't the low-pitched voice that echoed through the alley, but the strange mid-tone voice sounded and divided them. When everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice, they saw a man wearing a black hoodie mask standing on the road Yeon-woo was taking.

Aside from his tall stature, the man in the hooded cloak appeared solid, despite not displaying his body.

The man approached them one step at a time. He appeared to be emitting an overwhelming aura, possibly because he was facing the light. If I were a normal person, I would be overjoyed, but Yeon-woo was not. Yeon-woo's body, which had been trembling for a moment, stopped.

'That crow mask... '

There was only one person in this world who could wear a crow mask like that. The head of the Ivant Guild was known as 'Rai,' and he was described as being stronger than the Union's heroes.

Why was he here? Many people didn't even know that he was wearing a crow mask because he usually didn't show his face. Moreover, because he was too big to be in a small town, Yeon-woo had no choice but to stiffen.

The big men, who were completely unaware of the situation, made it clear that they were annoyed by his interference with their work.

"Who the hell are you! Why don’t just get lost?!"

“Do you know who we are?!”

They glared at him, but it was futile. The man slowly approached Yeon-woo, ignoring them, and asked about Yeon-woo's condition. 

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

If you only listened to his polite tone and his timid voice, he would appear to be a very friendly person. But in the meantime, Yeon-woo had a different thought. It was…

'Oh, it's so cringy.'

Yeon-woo trembled in a different sense because he thought this situation was too corny.