Martial Arts Returnee’s Game Broadcast

1,

Among the players in Banyogok, the Wandering Merchant was not only the unique NPC who bought miscellaneous items but also gained considerable popularity due to her distinctive, clicking attitude and her unexpected charm.

“Ashes of the Blood Demon? Ugh, why on earth would you be carrying that around? That’s disgusting.”

“The skin of a demon? A poison pouch? Ugh, it’s so sticky. Are you a pervert? Do you collect this kind of stuff?”

“Wow, a beautiful stone! I’ll buy it! How about 100 Hon? What? Why is this 100 times more expensive than the ashes? Well, it's because I want to buy a monster’s heart!”

Unlike the usual NPC merchants who merely say things like “This item costs this much” or “Thank you for shopping at my store,” the Wandering Merchant was one of the few healing elements in Banyogok, known for her sparkling charm.

When Banyogok first became popular, players who were obsessed with the merchant NPCs were not uncommon.

• What are they doing?
• (This is not a paused screen!)
• I thought it froze for a moment, haha

However, the Wandering Merchant that Ha Eun-eung met in the Yokai Realm wasn’t doing business at the time, so she didn’t urge Ha Eun-eung to sell anything. The Silent Swordmaster also didn’t even realize that the merchant was, in fact, a seller and didn’t attempt any trade.

“?”

“?”

Like two owls meeting in the wild, both just tilted their heads, staring at each other.

• Say something!!
• The Silent Swordmaster is a mute, after all.
• Who is this supposed to be for, seriously?
• Can’t speak, so you can’t use the shop?
• Hahaha
• Cute factor doubled? Can’t resist this
• Wandering Merchant x Silent Swordmaster doujinshi incoming 100% guarantee.
• So you're the one drawing it, huh?
• Hah, how did you know? Since you figured it out...
• Report to the authorities.
• Let’s just see once.

If only she had met the Demon Man before, she might have chopped down the monster without hesitation, but now that Ha Eun-eung had learned that even a Yokai could be her friend, she didn’t harbor any hostility. She blinked her clear eyes at the little Yokai girl, who looked back at her without any trace of malice. Ha Eun-eung had no intention of attacking her.

• Didn’t the Silent Swordmaster... kill it?
• Second survivor, maybe?
• Not really, though. The Demon Man died in the end, too.
• No way?
• Run, Wandering Merchant! Not a single NPC has survived near this woman!
• Hahaha, so sad but funny...
• You damned slayer! Not only did you steal our mascot, the Demon Man, but now you plan to kill the Wandering Merchant too?!

The first to break the awkward silence was, predictably, the Wandering Merchant.

[Hey, isn’t this dangerous? If a human roams around in a place like this, they’ll die right away.]

“….”

[I can’t tell what you’re thinking. If you’re free, how about helping me with this?]

A selection window appeared in front of Ha Eun-eung after the Wandering Merchant’s offer.

【Interaction Options】

[You can choose to…]

1. Help with the excavation.
2. Pretend to help with the excavation but steal something.
3. (Kill the defenseless Yokai.)

Assistance, theft, extermination. Three options lay before her.

Ha Eun-eung made her decision.

[▶ Help with the excavation.]

She descended into the ashes and stretched out her hand to find various items.

[Cracked toad statue]

[Torn cloth clothing]

[Faded seashell]

[Slippery lotion bottle]

[Broken sign]

Every time she pulled her hand out of the ashes, absurd items came out.

• What is all this?
• Merchant... Were you selling this kind of trash?
• Hahaha, seriously
• I feel so frustrated for some reason
• Just trash, right? This is just trash, isn’t it?

The viewers, expecting the Silent Swordmaster to scold the Wandering Merchant for picking up useless trash, were disappointed as the Wandering Merchant, beaming with excitement, evaluated the bizarre items with a grin.

[Statue fragment, 15 Hon! Torn clothing, 3 Hon! Seashell, 80 Hon! Lotion bottle, 40 Hon! Sign, 5 Hon!]

Despite how worthless these items seemed, the Wandering Merchant tossed them all into her large bag without hesitation.

[Human, you have quite an eye for treasure hunting, don’t you?]

“……”

[Still, it’ll take you a century to catch up to me, right? Heh heh heh~]

With great pride, the Wandering Merchant proudly pulled out her next find.

[Paper airplane-making machine]

[100 sheets of A4 paper]

It was a peculiar toy.

• How the heck did that end up under the ashes? Hahaha
• How on earth did she find that?

Even Ha Eun-eung clapped her hands in honest admiration as though she was watching a magic show.

[Isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it? Heh, this is what they call the experience of a true merchant.]

Ha Eun-eung stared at the paper. If she had a pen, she could easily write down notes even in Banyogok.

[Under the ashes of the Yokai realm, there are all sorts of amazing items.]

“….”

[So... how about it, human? Want to become my assistant?]

“?”

[Being the Wandering Merchant’s assistant is a rare opportunity, you know?]

The merchant's words were true. No player had ever been offered such a chance. Many players had begged for the opportunity to join forces with an NPC in this perilous Banyogok, but no one had been offered the position of an assistant.

• Ugh, an assistant? To that human who carries around trash? I totally hate it.
• I refuse. All the trash you bring is totally useless. Don’t come near me.
• You’re just going to pick up things like the claws and skin fragments of Yokai, aren’t you? I don’t need an assistant like that!

The outcome was unanimous rejection. Even when players sold the spoils of capturing Yokai, the merchant’s dismal reactions to their goods made the refusal even more obvious.

• Wasn’t the Wandering Merchant’s assistant a MacGuffin?
• Hahaha, so you get a hidden class! What an unexpected skill (Picking Up Pretty Trash).
• Haha, I mean, who cares about picking up trash when you can hang out with the cute Wandering Merchant?
• Literally volunteer work, but I get to hang out with the best-looking NPC in town? Definitely a win!
• Hey, guys, our mascot is the Demon Man.
• Did you throw away the Demon Man already?
• Ugh, you guys are terrible. If you had to choose between the Wandering Merchant and the Demon Man, who would you pick?
• Obviously the Wandering Merchant.
• Wandering Merchant!
• She’s definitely cuter than the Demon Man.

For the many viewers who longed for this, it was an opportunity that could be seized with just a nod.

The Silent Swordmaster shook her head from side to side in response to the offer, instead of nodding.

[Why not?! Think about it. If you become my assistant, I can give you plenty of Hon.]

[Did you know? Hon is the currency used by the Yokai. With Hon, there’s nothing you can’t buy.]

[I’ll even provide food and lodging.]

[And if any nasty Yokai try to bother you, I’ll chase them off for you!]

If she needed to level up her items or lacked the strength to face the Yokai, she wouldn’t turn down such a good opportunity. However, Ha Eun-eung, with her ample skills and additional training, was in a different situation.

[▷You have declined the recruitment offer.]

Despite the Wandering Merchant’s repeated offers, Ha Eun-eung’s stance didn’t change.

[I kind of thought you’d say that. Most players are just scrambling to find food or equipment.]

“?”

[You didn’t know? This ash pit often has items that people need when they put their hands in it.]

The Wandering Merchant gave a slap to the paper airplane-making machine she had pulled out from the pit.

[Yokai love toys. That’s why toys are the most expensive. On the other hand, humans usually look for weapons or food, but we don’t need that stuff.]

[We’re strong enough without it, and we can find food anywhere.]

Ha Eun-eung’s eyes widened. She hadn’t expected such a gimmick to be hidden here. According to the Wandering Merchant, the items she had pulled out might have been exactly what the merchant was after.

[Cracked toad statue]

[Torn cloth clothing]

[Faded seashell]

[Slippery lotion bottle]

[Broken sign]

‘What was she hoping to do with these things?’

The Wandering Merchant laid out the items Ha Eun-eung had found from her bag.

[Take a closer look. You’ll probably recognize something here.]

Among the seemingly random excavated items, Ha Eun-eung’s eyes caught something that made her gasp. On the cracked sign, there were faint Chinese characters.

[Haenam faction, southwest direction, 70 km]

This was one of the traces left by the possessed seniors who were kidnapped in the Murim world, modern remnants of the past. Not just the sign, but...

[Toad statue from the Imperial Palace]

[Blood-stained cloth of the Grand Master]

[Seashell from a memory]

[Souvenir bought in the marketplace]

All the items the Wandering Merchant had pulled out carried traces of the Murim world. These were relics of times gone by, memories once locked away in Ha Eun-eung’s mind, appearing again, albeit in imperfect forms, after a long passage of time.

“….”

With a complicated expression, the Silent Swordmaster stared at the excavated items. The Wandering Merchant once again made her offer.

[Human, your treasures are pretty unique, even though they’re not worth much.]

[If we travel together, I’m sure we’ll come across some incredible treasures.]

[If you’re lucky, you might even get something as great as my infinite pouch!]

The word incredible treasure immediately reminded Ha Eun-eung of the "Inner Pill of Solar Flowers"—the only elixir that could cure the strange condition known as Guumjeolmaek.

When her hand plunged into the pit, she quickly grabbed something round, thinking it might be the Inner Pill, but instead, she pulled out a golden fish-shaped pastry.

“......”

She cut the fish-shaped pastry open and found it filled with sweet red bean paste.

• No way, she pulled a fish-shaped pastry out of the trash!? Hahaha
• Master fisherman, recognized
• Why is there fish-shaped pastry coming out of the ashes? Lmao
• Guess she must’ve wanted some?
• Looks like she loves fish-shaped pastry

[Wait, maybe it’s not food. That’s kind of odd.]

The Wandering Merchant seemed suspicious. She dusted her hands and stood up.

Ha Eun-eung, wanting to write down a message using a brush pen, was about to do so, but the Wandering Merchant shook her head.

[This land’s power has run out.]

[There’s nothing more to be found here.]

With a sound of crackling, the pit began to collapse as a hole appeared, sinking deeper. Ha Eun-eung peered into the abyss, unable to gauge how deep it was. The Wandering Merchant spoke.

[This is the Paradise of Ashes. Once a vibrant land, it is now a space on the brink of extinction, where the energy that once thrived has long been depleted.]

[The strong Yokai have all fled to the Inheritance, and all that remain are cute merchants like me or Yokai on the brink of death.]

[How we ended up here, I don’t know, but if you don’t leave soon, something bad will happen.]

With this surprisingly kind advice, Ha Eun-eung bowed slightly to show her thanks. The Wandering Merchant smiled broadly.

[If you were my assistant, we could leave together, but since you said no, I guess that’s not happening.]

[But you should go find the highest palace. There’s a lot of relics left by the Yokai King. Among them, there’s a scroll called Sanhasajikdo.]

[Using that scroll, you can return to the Inheritance.]

The highest palace’s Sanhasajikdo. At last, a goal appeared in the dark Yokai Realm.

[Of course, it won’t be easy. Among the Yokai who have been left behind in this crumbling realm, some are after the Yokai King’s relics too.]

[The Yokai won’t have their full power, given that the realm is collapsing.]

The Wandering Merchant packed her belongings and prepared to leave. The final interaction window appeared.

[Final Interaction Options]

[As the kind Yokai girl prepares to leave the Yokai Realm, you... ]

1. Become the Wandering Merchant’s assistant (Recruitment).
2. Ask if there’s a relic you’re looking for? (Hidden Event Unlock)
3. Ask more about the Yokai King (Hidden Event Unlock).
4. (Say a silent farewell.)
5. (Steal her belongings.)
6. (Ambush her from behind.)

The Wandering Merchant had been helpful in many ways. As a martial artist, the rule was to repay enmity tenfold but repay kindness a hundredfold. Ha Eun-eung wanted to repay the kindness.

[▶ Are you looking for a relic?]

The Wandering Merchant hesitated for a moment, biting her finger, before suddenly recalling something.

[Hmm... I do need something!]

[The Mirror of Clear Sight. It’s a relic that can stabilize Yokai or Half-Yokai with blood-tainted curses.]

[It’s fine for me, but my younger sibling is a little dangerous.]

[They weren’t as lucky as me.]

[They became a Half-Yokai, neither human nor Yokai.]

[The Great Yokai promised that if I bring enough souls, my sibling will be turned into a complete Yokai, but honestly, I’m not very sure about it.]

For her younger sibling, not for herself, the Wandering Merchant spoke with a pure heart.

A small smile appeared on Ha Eun-eung’s face, which had been firmly set in a straight line.

[If you bring me the Mirror of Clear Sight, I’ll give you all the souls I’ve collected!]

[Souls can be used to strengthen your bloodline or for deals with Yokai, so it’ll be really helpful. So, please, get the mirror!]

Ha Eun-eung nodded, and with a flick of her oversized sleeves, the Wandering Merchant headed off on her way.

[If we’re lucky, we’ll meet again. Next time, I’ll see you in the Inheritance!]

For Ha Eun-eung, it was just another quest information that was casually given. However, for the viewers, it contained a game-changing piece of information.

• Did she just say she’ll hand over all her souls??
• Doesn’t she have tens of millions?
• Wow, typically, you get around 1-10 souls from a low-level mob, but she just said she’ll give tens of millions at once?
• Wait, that’s not even the main point, did she just say the Mirror of Clear Sight is broken as heck?
• Does that mean it cleanses 0% contamination?
• Wait, that’s true.
• So if we use it, can we avoid the Yokai ending and get the Half-Yokai or Human ending instead?

For the players who had been forced into the Yokai ending due to their bloodline's shortcomings, the Mirror of Clear Sight seemed like an item that drastically lowered the difficulty of the game. Even if they didn’t play a perfect, no-hit run like the Silent Swordmaster, they could use the mirror to reset any damage or mild contamination, restoring everything in one go.

• The mirror’s healing properties are no joke.
• Haha, for real.
• But how are we supposed to get it?
• Ahh...
• ^^;
• Dammit.
• Hahahahaha
• Were you the one who got excited about the mirror, huh?
• Why even show it to us if we can’t get it?

While the Mirror of Clear Sight seemed like a great item for new players, the way to obtain it required clearing a hidden boss in the infamous Dae-Surim, one of the most difficult routes in the game. Outside of the elite high-level players, it was almost unattainable, a rare gem of an item.