It waspletely silent.

    Seol didn’t know who the people beyond the fog were, but they must have known each other.

    They would know that J was here, present with them, and even which one of them J was.

    And then the merchant who showed Seol the items said this…

    “See, what did I tell you? In the end, it’ll only hurt your self-esteem.”

    The other merchants flinched as if there was a situation that Seol wasn’t aware of.

    “You yed a trick on us, J.”

    “Trick? Haha, you really don’t know how to keep your mouth shut, do you, you old wrinkled fart?”

    “What?”

    “Did you really think you’d be able to seduce my customer with trash like that?! What a waste of time! A great merchant like me is already struggling with the guilt of wasting my customer’s time."

    “Th-this fucking… How did he know it was J?”

    The silhouette, who was confirmed to be J now, then said something to thementing merchants.

    “It’s because you guys are here to sell items and I’m here to let them buy the items. Do you really not know the difference?”

    “What’s the difference?” answered one of the silhouettes.

    Seol knew what the difference was.

    He felt the difference strongly the moment J showed him those two items.

    ‘The difference was whether the item they were trying to sell was something that I needed or not.’

    The other merchants all tried to sell Seol expensive items almost like they were trying to get his Madness. J, however, offered Seol the items he needed the most at this moment.

    And that was why J had an equal standing to Seol in the transaction, not below him like the other merchants were.

    J then shouted at the other merchants in a booming voice, threatening them.

    “If you don’t know, then fuck off! You damned third-rates.”

    “...We’ll see you when you get back, J.”

    “Of course, as much as you want. I’ll see you guyster though. I have an important trade to make after all.”

    “Krgh…”

    “That might be the case but you do know that it’s dangerous if you only trade that much, you know…”

    “That’s not for you to worry about. Go already!”

    The other merchants left one after another through arge hole.

    Slowly, the fog started to lift. Though, just because it had lifted didn’t mean the area was any brighter.

    A bloody hue and a demon mask.

    The things that symbolized J filled the surrounding area once again.

    “Phew, I would’ve been sad if you didn’t recognize me.”

    “I realized who you were the moment I saw the items.”

    “I knew it! You really do have a good eye…”

    Seol checked the items that J brought forth earlier.

    [[Gtin of Persecutory Delusions]

    Quality: Rare

    Rmended Level: N/A

    Weight: 0.1kg

    Bonus Effect: A vtile energy which has been solidified into a soft jelly form.]

    This was the gtin of persecutory delusions that Seol wanted, and…

    [[Poisonous Herb Powder]

    Quality: Rare

    Rmended Level: N/A

    Weight: 0.1kg

    Bonus Effect: If you consume this with water, you will die in five seconds unless you have some kind of special resistance to it. However, if you are afflicted with a poison that is more potent than the poisonous herb's poison, the poisonous herb’s poison will devour that poison instead.]

    This was the key ingredient to creating the shadow venom’s antidote.

    Both of these were things that Seol desperately needed.

    “How did you know?”

    “Know what? Ah! Are you asking how I know that these two items were materials that you needed?”

    “So you do know what I was asking.”

    “You might be disappointed with my answer though…”

    J pointed at Seol’s belongings.

    “That ck flower.”

    “Ah!”

    “Haha, yeah… Did you forget that I was the one who sold you that?”

    The ck flower could be used as is, but it also evolved tremendously after you processed it. There was no way that J, who sold him the item, wouldn’t know the method either.

    "However, though it isn’t a problem that I know the secret behind the Shadow Flower, the fact that an ordinary human like you who was caught up in the World Merge knows how to process it is another matter entirely."

    “…”

    “So you aren’t an ordinary human.”

    J realized a lot of things about Seol from just one interaction.

    She put the next trade in ce by selling Seol the Shadow Flower and was also on the verge of having another sessful trade.

    Furthermore, through setting up the trade, she was able to realize Seol’s uniqueness.

    Seol looked at J with wary eyes. However, contrary to his expectations, J just picked her ear and blew the ear wax off her finger.

    “Well, unique circumstances can happen from the World Merge and you’re just one of them. Don’t worry! I, J, am not a shameless merchant who tries to expose her customer’s weaknesses.”

    She then gave a slyugh, her mask bobbing up and down slightly with it.

    “The only thing I have to do is sell my wares after all.”

    “But how did you know about the poisonous herb powder?”

    “Ah! That’s because I’ve been watching your recent moves.”

    “You can do that?”

    “Did you think I couldn’t? Anyway, those two itemsbined are 3,000 Madness.”

    Seol was shocked by the price as it was cheaper than he expected. He then looked at J and nodded.

    “Alright, a sessful deal!”

    Seol gave a satisfied smile then realized something.

    “...Is there anything else you want to sell?” asked Seol.

    “Did you think that I, J, titan of the industry, would only prepare this? If you have the time…”

    “I’ll take a look.”

    “Then shall I, J, the magician of the trade, try to guess what you need the most right now, dear customer?”

    “…”

    Seol gave J a dull look.

    “Pants,” said J.

    “Huh?”

    “I got it right, right? I was wondering why you had good equipment elsewhere but really shitty pants…”

    “...You didn’t need to go that far.”

    “You haven’t met a skilled craftsman yet, have you? Well, I guess adjusting to a new world is doing more than good enough already, so… Alright! Regardless, I never thought the day woulde where I would show this item.”

    J, after magnificently introducing the item, pulled out something from her sleeves. Even though it was something that shouldn’t be able to fit there, she was able to pull it out in one go.

    “Okay! Check this out.”

    “Alright.”

    [[ck Ghost’s Shroud]

    Quality: Madness

    Required ss: Shadow Summoner

    Rmended Level: 18-25

    Defense: 95

    Durability: 100/100

    Weight: 0.3kg

    Pants made from the webs of Alketra, a fallen sacred beast. Though there is nothing special about its appearance, it contains Alketra’s ability to control shadows.

    Basic Effect: +12 Wisdom, +7 Spirit, +5 Constitution

    Bonus Effect: Your Shadow Summons’ stats are increased by 10%. Your Shadow Summons’ skills have a 5% increased chance tond a critical hit.]

    “...‘Madness’ quality?”

    “When the items that we trade surpass a certain quality, it just bes listed as Madness quality.”

    Since the rare quality items were listed normally, this item was likely Treasure quality.

    Seol was in a daze as he held the ck, flowy pants in his hands. This item’s effects were amazing for him.

    The issue was the price.

    Seol gave J a cold gaze and J responded by putting up all ten fingers.

    “Taking our past circumstances into consideration, I’ll sell it to you for exactly 10,000 Madness.”

    “Are you not going to attach a condition this time?”

    “Because it’s a fair price. Also, I’m sure you know it as well now.”

    “Know what? Ah…”

    “You need me, don’t you?”

    J was right. Compared to the other merchants of madness, J was far superior to them.

    “Are the other merchants going to being with you next time too?”

    “I don’t know? They might, they might not.”

    “By the way, I was curious about something… What exactly do you merchants do with the Madness?”

    “Madness is everything to us. You could tell though, no? Even the beings who used to be your gods sold you off for Madnes—”

    Seol’s expression instantly grew ice cold the moment J mentioned the gods.

    J felt a sting and quickly tried to say goodbye to him.

    “Ah, I almost forgot to give you the invitation again. Here, I hope we have a fun trade next time too! Don’t die~”

    Seol still wasn’t sure whether J was a man, a woman, or some being that transcended all of that. However, maybe they were starting to like Seol a bit…

    “I really don’t want to lose a client who I’ve worked so hard to get.”

    Nope, that wasn’t the case.

    [You have acquired an ‘Invitation of Madness’.]

    [You have acquired a ‘ck Ghost's Shroud'.]

    [You have acquired a 'Gtin of Persecutory Delusions'.]

    [You have acquired a 'Poisonous Herb Powder'.]

    * * *

    Trantor - goguma

    Proofreader - Karane

    * * *

    When Seol woke up, it was morning.

    The moment Seol woke up, he headed to the auction house to buy the additional material he needed for the antidote and then returned to his outbuilding.

    Unexpectedly, Seol immediately headed into the kitchen after returning.

    “Should I start with the antidote?”

    Seol wasn’t sure if he would be using the antidote or not but because it was worth more than the materials separately it was worth it regardless.

    It wasn’t that difficult to make the antidote either. All you had to do was add the specified herbs and poisonous herb powder into water and boil it.

    Boil…

    The sour smell that came from it was an unavoidable side-effect though.

    A sticky smell, something that was impossible to tell if it was poison or an antidote, filled the room

    “Cough… Cough…”

    - Don’t die, Snowman!

    - There’s no one else to watch if you die! Hang on!

    - It would also be amazing if he died during Rest too though LOL

    After a quarter of a day, the dark liquid was finallyplete.

    Pour…

    Seol poured a portion of the liquid he boiled in the massive pot into a considerably small ss bottle before putting that ss bottle into his inventory.

    ‘I’ve finished making the antidote. Now I need to leave the liquid alone for a moment to…’

    Now that Seol had finished creating the antidote, all he had to do was process the ck flower.

    Seol then pulled out the Shadow Flower which he often called the ck flower.

    [[Shadow Flower]

    Quality: Rare

    Rmended Level: N/A

    Weight: 0.1kg

    Even though they grow in Flegueria, there is a good chance you won’t ever see this flower unless you are lucky.

    Bonus Effect: You can forcibly use Shadow Summon on a much stronger opponent once. The summoner will be considered 10 levels higher when using this item. If the Shadow Summon would still be unsessful with an increase of 10 levels, Shadow Summon will fail.]

    “It won’t be an issue if I use it as is, but…”

    Seol looked at the flower for a second before nting it in the garden of the outbuilding.

    He then sprinkled some kind of powder on it.

    “Grow well.”

    Seol dusted himself off before returning to the outbuilding and taking a rest.

    And the next day, at the same time…

    Seol was in awe after looking at the flower that was around the same height as a small child.

    “So far so good.”

    The powder that Seol sprinkled on the flower was the powder that he received as a reward from Griz’sboratory.

    [[Intact Vitality Powder]

    Quality: Treasure

    Rmended Level: N/A

    Weight: 0.1kg

    Bonus Effect: A powder enhanced in vitality. However, you must be cautious as it can grow too much.]

    - As expected from the Intact Vitality Powder! It’s definitely effective!

    - Is it okay for it to grow that big though…?

    Seol pulled out the massive Shadow Flower.

    [[Overgrown Shadow Flower]

    Quality: Rare

    Rmended Level: N/A

    Weight: 0.1kg

    Even though they grow in Flegueria, there is a good chance you won’t ever see this flower unless you are lucky.

    Bonus Effect: You can forcibly use Shadow Summon on a much stronger opponent once. The summoner will be considered 15 levels higher when using this item. If the Shadow Summon would still be unsessful with an increase of 15 levels, Shadow Summon will fail.]

    The Shadow Flower’s description changed overnight.

    Even though Seol originally would’ve been satisfied with just this, he had just received another ingredient from the merchant of madness as well. And with the ingredients he got from the auction house, he had more than enough to continue to the next step of the process.

    Seol didn’t exit the kitchen for two days.

    [You have finished cooking.]

    [You have made a Jelly That Smells Like the Gutters.]

    [It looks horrific. The dish was a failure.]

    [This method definitely isn’t it.]

    [You have been inspired.]

    [You feel like you will be able toe up with a recipe the next time youe across a new ingredient.]

    [Your cooking skills have slightly improved.]

    Seol took a bite of the jelly before holding his mouth.

    “Urgh…”

    - This ain’t it…

    - Everyone, you are currently watching work that embodies what it would be like to be in hell.

    [You have finished cooking.]

    [You have made a Severely Burned Jelly.]

    [It looks horrific. The dish was a failure.]

    “Again?”

    - The surprising thing is that he didn’t even use mes this time.

    - How the fuck did it burn then? LMFAOOOO

    - Is this cooking or alchemy?

    Once again, Seol took a bite of the jelly.

    It tasted awful to the point that he wanted to yell curses out loud.

    “Urgh…”

    [You have earned the achievement 'Just Eat Dirt Instead'.]

    [You have earned the title 'Strange Food Eater'.]

    The ‘Strange Food Eater’ title had no other effects other than still giving you the chance to increase your stats when you ate failed dishes.

    And obviously, this was something that Seol was extremely thankful for right now.

    “I’ll end this today no matter what.”

    Seol dropped a bead of sweat while focusing on cooking.

    There was noplicated reason for why Seol was failing his dish despite it having an easy recipe.

    The standard for it to be a ‘sess’ was just that high.

    Seol kept making the jelly, even forgoing sleep. His eyes grew hazy and he even dozed off from time to time. But even so, his hands were active and he kept cooking.

    - Let’s just go to sleep now…

    - What do you think about giving up? I don’t think you have any talent in cooking…

    - I can’t believe this was one of the talents he chose too ??

    And just as the ingredients Seol prepared were about to run out…

    ‘Is this it?’

    Seol even thought, ‘What a waste of Madness’ and ‘Maybe I should’ve picked another thing’ but it was toote. In the end, everything in the world is results-based.

    You did well if you seeded, and you did horribly if you failed.

    Even while he was thinking negative thoughts like that, Seol kept moving. And then, he felt something strange.

    Unlike before, his hands moved before he even had the time to think the steps were easy.

    Seol took this as a signal.

    He let his body flow like he was allowing someone else to take over his body.

    Some time passed after that.

    “Sigh… Finally…”

    [You have finished cooking.]

    [You have made a Jelly From a Cloudy Day.]

    [It smells great. The dish was a sess.]

    [Your Spirit permanently increases by 3.]

    [You have been inspired.]

    [You feel like you will be able toe up with a recipe the next time youe across a new ingredient.]

    [Your cooking skills have slightly improved.]

    It was finally time for Seol to be rewarded for his efforts.