Chapter 439: Welcome to Crack Land (2)
A loan? What kind of loan was this?
The glowing eyes of the innkeeper reminded me of Lee Jihye.
‘And you call yourself human, Jihye? You’re really not.’
I had many ideas, but I had never thought about a loan system. It was a secret weapon that could maximize the profits of Crack Land.
‘You’re really vicious. Lee Jihye, there’s definitely a reason why you’ve been such a sh*tty person the first round, too.’
I, too, often felt like I was trash. Of course, it was only on occasions, but I had been troubled by the sudden sense of shame.
Looking at Lee Jihye’s work, it felt like all of my worries had promptly been resolved.
No matter how great Lee Kiyoung was, he was still a firefly in front of a nuclear power plant, and a children’s pool in front of an invading tsunami whenever he was faced with that woman.
I couldn’t help but applaud at Lee Jihye’s viciousness. She was indeed trying to make all the adventurers in Crack Land indebted.
I could definitely see the picture. Adventurers who came there and spent money would definitely end up entering the dungeon in a dazed state.
Unexpected spending was bound to acc.u.mulate, and eventually, they would use up more money than they originally planned for. If the attack was successful after entering the dungeon, people could recover the things that had been blown up, but if it went wrong just once, their account balance would automatically stay at a negative.
There was no way those people could easily leave Crack Land.
There was nothing more miserable than an expedition that put the adventures into a deficit. That in itself would serve as a catalyst for the adventurers to challenge themselves with a swollen dream. It could also be the reason why they’d enter the dungeon again after careful a.n.a.lysis and research.
They would be forced to spend money to prepare for the dungeon raid once again.
They would need to pay for accommodation fees, supplies, equipment, dungeon entry fees, insurance fees, meals, etc. It was clear that even if good results were achieved the second time around, it would be difficult to compensate for what they had already expended.
‘Ha…’
In the end, there was nothing that could be done except to be sucked into the pit of h.e.l.l Lee Jihye had dug up.
Before leaving Crack Land, they had would already be in debt.
Even if they earned for a lifetime, they would only be able to pay the interest while they wandered around the continent’s hunting grounds. Some might think that this was a bit heartbreaking, but this was still the reality.
Although they would lose everything, the experience would make them stronger and put them in a position to live better.
It meant that they would reflect on themselves in the past and be active all day long.
There was no such thing as an injection that didn’t hurt. The big picture would make Elune trash, and Benignore shed tears of emotion.
‘Whew…’
Even while I was lost in my thoughts, the inn employee still looked at our party like a hawk looking for its next prey.
‘Right. It’s understandable.’
Anything that the inn employee sold to us would be an achievement for her. No one could endure the eyes that tempted consumption.
“There are also loans…”
“Crack Land is prepared with the adventurers’ convenience in mind. It is our motto at Crack Land to put our customer’s comfort first.”
‘Look at her lying without even stuttering.’
“There are a lot of inconveniences for adventures, but we can combat it with many different kinds of services that would allow the adventurers to focus only on their expeditions. Some of those services are the expedition insurance and loan deals.”
“We don’t want the loan… How exactly does the expedition insurance work?”
“It works exactly as I said earlier. In fact, in the case of expedition insurance, common adventurers often avoid it, but… statistically speaking, considering that the dungeon survival rate of a heroic-grade party isn’t high, it’s recommended to be availed. In the case of an accident, no one would be compensating for it. Of course, in the case of an experienced adventurer, they would already be completely familiar with the procedure in the case of failure. However, if it’s a recently created party, or if you’re working together for the first time, it’s better to go in after employing the expedition insurance. The Blue Guild, the Black Swan Guild, and the Red Mercenary Guild also emphasize the importance of expedition insurance in many ways.”
“Hmm… a recently created party…”
“Yes. There are many cases like that. In addition to accidents that occur during hunting, we also help in mediation to make sure the adventurers won’t have to worry about conflicts or distribution issues with party members.”
‘Don’t get hooked, you morons.’
However, I felt like they were already caught.
“I think… it would be better to consider it. Isn’t that right, oppa? It would be fine if only the old members are coming, but we have an outsider this time. We haven’t yet confirmed if we’ll be able to work together properly…”
‘Don’t look at me, b.i.t.c.hes.’
Of course, the inn’s receptionist swooped in at this opportunity.
“Oh! This wizard must be a new party member. You must be anxious. Of course, I’m not looking down on our beautiful wizard. However, there aren’t many cases where a newly created party can move as one unit immediately. With a few dozen golds per person, preventing accidents in advance is certainly considered a merit option. Of course, the choice is up to you.”
“Hmm. That’s…”
“No, Daegun. I think it would be better to try it. We don’t know what kind of accident can happen, as she said. We would like the common-grade insurance.”
“Excellent. Please read the contract carefully and sign on the indicated parts. Oh, and one more thing.”
“Yes”
“Did you know that the Dungeon of the Crack Museum is randomly conducted in all manners, unlike other dungeons?”
“What does that…?”
“Three kinds of boss monsters and three kinds of reward items will all come out randomly, sir. Some people return from hunting without difficulty, but many people suffer from encountering an unexpected monster. For example, many people encounter poisonous monsters or monsters that use curses. Did you bring an antidote or items for curses?”
“N-No.”
“You don’t have to worry too much, our dear adventurers. Prepared for such a case, our Crack Land sells special-monster-response packages. These are the 11 types of potions created by Lee Kiyoung, the Alchemist of Light, included in the package. The price is also very reasonable.”
‘Knock it off, you guys. You’re all demons.’
“Of course, we also sell the lower version of the package, but I personally recommend all 11 kinds of potions. Unlike low-level potions with an expiration date, the potions made by the Alchemist of Light Lee Kiyoung do not expire, even after a long time. In the case of the temperature maintenance potion that maintains body temperature, it is very effective because there is no need to prepare separate measures against cold or heat dissipation. It’s perfect for fire and ice monsters! The prices are also much lower than those sold on the market.”
“That looks fine.”
“I think we’re spending way more money than we first planned…”
“No, think about it carefully, Cheol-woo. It’s good to have this one. Even if we don’t use it for this expedition, we can continue to use it afterward. It would be nice to have at least one package.”
“Think about it and decide. It is a product that can be purchased directly from the Blue Guild.”
“Wouldn’t we need this? You aren’t very confident in detoxifying spells either. If a heroic-grade poisonous monster suddenly pops out…”
“That’s true…”
“There’s no rush. Think about it thoroughly.”
The way the inn employee was smiling was spectacular.
‘Who is this?’
I was naturally curious about her.
‘Why was such a capable person in a place like this?’
Such a capable person should be treated properly. Like a professional infomercial host, she had a voice that aroused the desire to purchase, and her presentation was close to perfection.
Listening to her explain things was pleasing to hear, making it harder for anyone to resist.
Even I wanted to buy my own products.
“If you buy it on-site, we will give you a set of 3 high-quality health potions as a gift.”
“We will buy it.”
“Excellent choice, sir.”
It hadn’t been long since we entered the Crack Land. In a few hours, the amount of money our party had spent was already unimaginable.
‘Wow, she’s really ripping them off.’
As I looked around, other parties were also caught by the employees.
The way the party members were all holding the special-monster-response packages delighted my eyes. Even rare-grade parties were holding the packages like precious treasures.
‘However, a rare-grade party wouldn’t be able to afford that.’
There was a 100% probability that they had availed a loan.
It was possible due to a loan. I was sure of it.
Considering that my potion was made to counter heroic-grade or higher monsters, it was like trying to buy a sledgehammer while trying to crack a walnut.
Additionally, the parties were also being ripped off in other ways.
There was a guy who was looking at the list of equipment that Yoo Ahyoung made.
‘That’s also a loan.’
There were also people purchasing useless consumption items. I wasn’t sure if they were there for a rest, or simply to go shopping.
‘I really like this so far.’
The fact that the quality of convenience was high was the part I really wanted to praise. All the systems were organically connected, removing the need to go to multiple places.
As soon as a person entered the inn, they could apply for dungeon entry and find out about expedition insurance, and they could even borrow money or purchase weapons.
That meant they didn’t have to bother about going around and could focus on the expedition itself.
Of course, there were shopping malls for those who wanted to explore the place, but anyone could do everything there without having to go out. I hadn’t looked at the back of the catalog, but the book listed all the Crack Land services.
It had the strength to control the entire operation of Crack Land with only one command tower.
‘Convenience.’
Of course, there might be some side effects such as price-fixing or lowballers, but…
If I asked if it could protect the continent, it was indeed a very trivial matter.
‘Can you see it, Metel Manager? How so many people love your museum.’
Max’s mother, who was in heaven, must be smiling.
The part that was a little problematic was whether it was ripping people off too much.
I did think that people could be uncomfortable with a little explicit salesmanship. However, that thought soon dissipated.
I nodded unknowingly at the scene at the restaurant.
“Phew. You mean you came in this morning and got this?! A legendary-grade item! The Queen of Truth’s necklace! Crack Museum! It’s very generous!”
It was Pak Sergei, the foreigner from Russia.
“You guys go in quickly, too! This is too generous!”
‘Why are you here?’
Next to him were Ahn Ki-mo and Kim Ye-ri.
‘Don’t go acting around without my knowledge.’
“The Crack Museum! It all looks so generous?”
Somehow, the strong voice made me feel like I was a beneficiary of the Crack Museum, too.