“There’s a group contaminated by Takgi deep in that area.”

Takgi (濁氣).
Its literal meaning is “dirty and turbid energy.”

However, in this world, Takgi referred to the unclean energy originating from another realm.

And everything contaminated by Takgi came under the control of the Overmind, a transcendent mental entity.

“When it comes to Takgi, there’s no known way to stop it, so everyone avoids it. Once someone is swept up in its energy, no exceptions—they fall under the Overmind’s control.”

Seong-Min was somewhat aware of the dangers of Takgi.

It could be likened to radiation: the longer one was exposed, the more they were consumed by it, ultimately leading to their demise.

While Takgi was undoubtedly dangerous, Seong-Min couldn’t agree with the Moon Rabbit’s statement that there was no way to block it.

“You’re wrong.”

“Excuse me? What do you mean?”

“You just said there’s no way to block Takgi, didn’t you?”

“That’s… generally true.”

Hearing something unexpected, even the viewers grew interested.

[Takgi-contaminated beings are something you’re supposed to avoid, aren’t they?]
[ㄴㄴ Later in the game, there are so many Takgi-contaminated beings you have to defeat them.]
[Once contaminated by Takgi, don’t you end up abandoning the character? That’s how I quit multiple times.]

Seong-Min began explaining how Takgi could be resisted.

“Someone with a strong mind, like me, can be considered immune to Takgi.”

Here, “strong mind” referred to high mental stats.

“And those with overwhelming magical power, like Archmages, or those who have endured extreme training, can withstand Takgi to some extent.”

The Moon Rabbit didn’t bother refuting him.

What Seong-Min said was true.

‘Strong mental resilience naturally resists Takgi. That’s why the Kabbalah Heretical Monk is the only class completely immune to Takgi. And it’s also the only class capable of approaching the ending.’

Classes like the Kabbalah Heretical Monk, which were based on mental stats, were inherently resistant to Takgi.

While mages with high mental stats could resist Takgi to some degree, they didn’t have the same immunity as the Kabbalah Heretical Monk.

The Moon Rabbit spoke.

“In any case, I’ve heard from various reliable sources that Takgi is closely related to the Calamity God’s forces from another realm. If that’s true, then eliminating the Takgi-contaminated group would be a good way to test your strength.”

Deep in the Cold Forest was the Takgi-contaminated group.

A quest-related message appeared in Seong-Min’s vision.

---

[The overall quest has been updated.]

[Main Quest (1)]

• Moon Rabbit’s Test (In Progress)
  • You’ve met the Moon Rabbit to use the Moonlight Shop. The Moon Rabbit suggested that if you eliminate the Takgi-contaminated group deep within the Cold Forest, he might extend his favor to you. For your future journey, you must pass the Moon Rabbit’s test.
• Valhalla Mountain (Complete)
• Escape the Execution Grounds (Complete)

[Sub Quests (0)]

---

After reviewing the quest details, Seong-Min asked the Moon Rabbit.

“If I pass that test, what do I get out of it?”

For him, the first priority was the reward. The second? The reward again.

“I’ve already promised you a VIP membership. But if this proves your strength and potential, I’ll go out of my way to grant you VVIP membership.”

The biggest difference between VIP and VVIP memberships lay in the transaction fee.

For VIP members, the transaction fee was 20%. For VVIP members, it was 10%.

A 10% difference.

The larger the transaction amount, the more significant this difference became.

“As you know, obtaining the VVIP membership saves you a full 10% on transaction fees. Don’t you think that’s sufficient compensation?”

Seong-Min shook his head.

This guy must think I’m some kind of pushover.

“Listen. If you’re willing to give me a VVIP membership, it means you’re also concerned about the apocalypse, right? Is that really all you can offer? Maybe I should just let the world end.”

Caught off guard by his audacity, the Moon Rabbit stammered.

“Uh, no. So, what else are you expecting? There’s nothing more I can give. Surely… you’re not asking for free items, are you? Do you think this store runs on thin air?”

“How about waiving the transaction fees entirely? For a super VVIP customer, that should be manageable, shouldn’t it?”

Wait, does this guy even understand what “super VVIP” means?

“If you were a real super VVIP, wouldn’t the fees be higher…? I mean, no, but if there are no transaction fees, how do we even make a living?”

“Come on. It’s not like you’re buying your goods at full price, is it? From what I know, you acquire items at 70–90% of their appraised value.”

“Of course, we buy at lower prices to cover our risks! What if the items don’t sell? We factor that risk into the discounted price.”

“I get it. So let’s just trade without fees. You’re not really losing anything anyway.”

“That’s impossible. What do you take us for? Apocalypse or not, we need to make a living too.”

Seong-Min had no intention of backing down easily.

“Still, transaction fees aren’t the only issue, are they? Remember how I asked earlier who between you two becomes the shop owner?”

The Moon Rabbit gulped.

“Wh-who is it?”

“Who knows? But don’t think I’m clueless about the contract between you two. You agreed to transfer 1% of the store’s shares to whoever achieves the highest sales, didn’t you? You thought I wouldn’t know about that?”

50–50.

The equal distribution of shares caused significant difficulties in the store’s operations.

That’s why they had agreed to settle things through sales later.

The agreement was that whoever achieved the highest sales would be granted 1% of the store’s shares.

This would give one of them a larger share, enabling them to monopolize the store’s operations.

“How did you even know about that…”

“So let’s drop the transaction fees. Deal?”

The Moon Rabbit, unwilling to back down so easily, tried to argue.

“That’s impossible. Half of the transaction fees are treated as store revenue and are later distributed according to the ownership structure. If there were no transaction fees, I’d have to cover a loss equivalent to 5% of the transaction amount from my own pocket. What kind of nonsense is that?”

The Moon Rabbit spoke firmly.

“Absolutely not. I’m a merchant, not a sucker.”

Seong-Min’s response was predictable.

“Then I’ll just take it to the Moon Toad.”

“Wh-what? What did you just say?”

“You don’t like my offer, right? Then I’ll propose the same deal to the Moon Toad. It doesn’t matter to me which one of you I work with. It’s not like the products will change, right?”

In the end.

The Moon Rabbit conceded.

“You win…”

‘Damn this human bastard! What kind of lunatic tries to squeeze blood from a stone like this! How can he rip off a merchant who doesn’t even make enough to feed himself!’

[ㅋㅋㅋ The Moon Rabbit got completely outplayed by the snake oil salesman.]
[At this rate, he’s going to steal the rabbit’s liver too ㅋㅋㅋㅋ.]
[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Unbelievable.]

-‘healingismycity’ donated 2 dollars.
-‘ApgujeongMansour’ donated 50,000 won.
-‘DonseDaJamdeuSo’ in the broadcast room donated 150,000 won.

[Wow, 150,000 won ㄷㄷ.]
[Hmm… This must be the downside of monopolies.]
[Is this some kind of bribe to get invited to the main broadcast? Usually, with that kind of donation, the streamer would move them over ㅋㅋㅋ.]
[Maybe so ㅋㅋㅋ.]

Despite having plenty of insults to throw around, the Moon Rabbit could only plaster on a smile.

“In the end, I’ll have to look at this as part of the bigger picture. A necessary sacrifice to beat that toad. Thinking of it that way… it makes things a bit easier to accept.”

“If you manage to monopolize the store’s operations, you’ll be able to pocket even more money later. So don’t take it too hard.”

As Seong-Min offered what could only loosely be considered consolation, the Moon Rabbit suddenly issued a warning.

“But let me remind you, if you fail the test I’ve proposed, all of this will be void. And the VIP membership I just granted you will be revoked as well. Keep that in mind.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle the Takgi-contaminated beings one way or another.”

“Then I’ll take my leave. I have other matters to attend to.”

As the Moon Rabbit turned to leave, Seong-Min stopped him.

“Hey, where are you going so quickly? We have a transaction to settle first.”

“A transaction? Haven’t we already settled everything?”

“You gave me the VIP membership. So let me shop a little with that membership.”

With a bitter expression, the Moon Rabbit snapped his fingers, opening the Moonlight Shop interface in Seong-Min’s view.

The Moon Rabbit added, “Since it’s not a VVIP membership, I’ll have to charge you the standard 20% transaction fee as per store policy. But judging by your current situation, there doesn’t seem to be much to gain from fleecing you, so… I’ll waive the fee this time.”

What could he expect from a broke beggar who couldn’t even afford the entrance fee?

‘Maybe I’m the crazy one here.’

Whatever the Moon Rabbit was thinking, Seong-Min was too busy browsing the Moonlight Shop’s items.

‘The most important things right now are dragon urine and a sleeping bag.’

“You have dragon urine, right? And a sleeping bag. Oh, make that two sleeping bags.”

Clearly annoyed, the Moon Rabbit responded curtly.

“Our store does not carry such trashy items like dragon piss or—”

“Don’t say you don’t have it. I know everything you have in stock.”

“…What kind of sleeping bag?”

“Obviously, the cheapest one. The shabbiest one you’ve got.”

“Our Moonlight Shop only deals in high-end epic-grade products—”

“I already told you, I know everything. Stop pretending and just grab two of the junky ones gathering dust in your warehouse.”

Using the money he had on hand, along with the iron ingot he’d obtained from defeating the Kobold King, Seong-Min managed to buy two sleeping bags stained with the stench of dragon urine.

“Enjoy those reeking sleeping bags. Be sure to pass them down for generations to come.”

The Moon Rabbit, muttering snidely, departed.

Seong-Min turned his gaze to the vast expanse of the Cold Forest below.

‘Finally, the Cold Forest.’

Like the Steelstone Mine, the Cold Forest was a place filled with valuable opportunities.

‘First, I need to find the Catfolk Hunter. I’ll need to tie this in with the Moon Rabbit’s quest.’

Other Novels