SWNOVELXO Chapter 40 - Multi-Level Marketing (2)
Chapter 40 Multi-Level Marketing (2)
There was a decisive difference between Yuri’s silver coins and the boy’s silver coins.
“The numbers are different.”
The number engraved on one of Yuri’s silver coins was 10,000.
However, the boy’s coin had the number 50.
“No way?”
Realizing something, Yuri’s eyes sparkled as he asked.
“Hey, are you perhaps a Yellow Dragon Plaque holder?”
“Those who originally came in through donation recommendations… didn’t take the test… so they all have Yellow Dragon Plaques.”
The boy, savoring the taste of Tosaba slowly, quickly answered and shot a look that seemed to say, ‘Don’t bother me anymore.’
Yuri waved his hand as if he understood and fell into his own thoughts.
“This means differentiated payment, doesn’t it?”
There were two possibilities for differentiated payment.
The first: those recommended by a Black Dragon Plaque Holder received a total of 100,000 silver coins, while those recommended by donation received a uniform total of 500 silver coins.
The second: cadets issued a Black Dragon Plaque received a total of 100,000 silver coins, and those with a Yellow Dragon Plaque received a total of 500 silver coins.
No matter which case it was, the meaning was the same.
“Compete, but don’t think it will be a fair competition?”
If these bizarre-looking silver coins were indeed the currency used in the Cradle, he, who had received 100,000 silver coins, would be ahead of everyone else.
However…
“That makes me an easy target too.”
If the existence of the 10,000 silver coin was discovered, he might face countless challenges.
Capturing him alone would be as effective as capturing 200 Yellow Dragon Plaque holders.
A smile, as if finding it amusing, appeared on Yuri’s lips.
Meanwhile, the boy, having finished the Tosaba, licked his lips regretfully and looked at Yuri.
At the boy’s gaze, as if asking for more, Yuri stood up.
The boy hastily grabbed Yuri’s hem.
“Where are you going?!”
“The business is done, so I have to go.”
“Do you have any more Tosaba?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then…!”
Seeing the boy’s desperate eyes asking for just one more, Yuri snorted.
“Hey, I’m not a charity. I can’t give away food for free, can I?”
“I’ll pay for it!”
“With what?”
“……?!”
“With what will you pay? This time, will you give me that ring?”
“……”
Realizing he had nothing suitable to offer, the boy’s pupils shook.
Then, thinking of something, he shouted loudly.
“You said you’re a compassionate person who can’t pass by those who are difficult and pitiful! You said you’d help me!”
“I did help you.”
“When?”
“Just now, I sold you this precious Tosaba at a dirt-cheap price, so now you can last a few more days, right? Isn’t that enough help?”
Although Yuri emphasized ‘precious’ and ‘dirt-cheap’, the boy couldn’t refute it.
He had painfully realized over the past few days how precious food was in this forest.
Moreover, it was true that thanks to the Tosaba he had just eaten, he felt he could last a few more days.
Thanks to this, his intention to give up everything and go home had completely vanished.
“Well, that’s true, but…”
As the boy hesitated, Yuri spoke as if reluctantly giving him a clue.
“Well, it’s not like there’s no way to share more food with you…”
“Really?”
“Well, never mind.”
“What’s with the never mind!”
“Hmm… do you really want to know?”
“What is it, that method?”
“Fine! Because it’s you, I’ll tell you specially.”
At the boy’s eager look, Yuri held up two fingers.
“There are two ways. The first…”
Yuri showed the boy the silver coin he received.
“If you bring silver coins totaling 500, like this, I’ll give you one Tosaba.”
“…Where do I find that?”
“Do I have to tell you that too? Is your head only for balancing your body?”
“…What’s the second method?”
“Bring other kids.”
“Huh?”
“Bring other people who will buy my goods here. I’ll give you one Tosaba for each person you bring.”
“One Tosaba for each person I bring?!”
The boy’s eyes sparkled in surprise.
It seemed much easier to bring two people than to find silver coins from who knows where.
“Alright! I’ll be right back, so wait here!”
With that, the boy quickly ran into the forest.
The sweetness of the Tosaba had completely revived the boy, who had been like a zombie.
Watching the boy’s disappearing figure, Yuri smiled.
“This is the beginning.”
When he first guessed the purpose of the silver coins scattered by the Black Sword Corps, Yuri’s dilemma began.
[Is this right?]
The scattered silver coins were clearly meant to incite competition among the cadets.
The quick-witted ones might even attack other cadets to seize their coins.
No, it was certain that such incidents would occur frequently.
So-called ‘Silver Coin Hunting’.
“Do I have to join that mess and run around until my feet sweat? Is that the best way?”
The Forest of Beginnings was vast.
Once the silver coin hunting began in earnest, no matter how hard he ran, the number of silver coins he could collect in a day would be limited.
It was too inefficient.
In that case…
“I need to make them come to me instead of me going to them.”
He had to make the cadets come to him with their silver coins.
If things went according to plan, the flow of all the silver coins would converge towards him.
“The Cradle wants competition where the winner takes the coins through fighting.”
But Yuri’s thoughts were different.
“Is there a need for that? If the goal is to end up with the most coins, isn’t it better to get them without fighting?”
Yuri intended to break the board set by the Cradle and become the main player of a new board he would create.
Fortunately, he held in his hands the weapon to break the board and the most valuable resource in this harsh forest.
“If the Cradle created a board that controls food… I’ll break it by distributing food.”
The food he distributed would become the means to control the board he created.
A deep smile spread across Yuri’s lips as he envisioned his plan.
And not even 20 minutes after the boy had disappeared…
“I brought them!”
The zombie that Yuri had saved brought along two more zombies.
Like the boy before eating the Tosaba, these cadets were also those who had been wandering near the bell.
Their hollow, half-crazed appearances made Yuri’s eyes sparkle.
“These guys will be the start.”
These three would become the cornerstones of the new board he was creating.
Yuri, quickly putting away his brief flash of insight, smiled broadly and bowed deeply.
“Welcome, customers!”
And so, in a forest not far from where the survival test had begun…
“I’ll serve you at very reasonable prices!”
One crazy guy began deviating entirely from the test theme.
* * *
Rustle-.
Two boys were running quickly through the forest.
One was fleeing, and the other, close on his heels, was none other than Gunther.
The distance between them was rapidly closing, and finally, it narrowed to a reach.
In desperation, the fleeing boy turned and shouted.
“Stop chasing me!”
At the same time, he swung his sword at Gunther.
But Gunther calmly deflected the incoming sword as if expecting the attack.
Swish- Clang!
Even though his surprise attack failed, the boy gritted his teeth and continued his desperate assault, as if determined to shake off this relentless pursuer.
However, the more he fought, the more he realized the gap in skill between himself and Gunther.
“Damn it!”
Gunther blocked the boy’s full-force attacks effortlessly with one hand, as if swatting away a fly.
Eventually, the situation reversed, and the boy found himself on the defensive, blocking Gunther’s attacks.
As the boy struggled to parry Gunther’s strikes, despair filled his eyes.
“Is he a monster?”
Gunther wielded a large two-handed sword with one hand.
Each time he swung the sword lightly, the boy’s body shook with the impact.
“Damn! What strength?!”
The boy barely held out against Gunther’s attacks for long.
Clang- Clang!
Eventually, the boy’s sword flew out of his hand and into the air.
At the same time, Gunther’s sword touched the boy’s shoulder.
Feeling the cold steel against his neck, the boy swallowed dryly.
“Why are you doing this to me?”
Gunther answered with a blank expression.
“I have no grudge against you.”
“…Then why?”
“It’s just necessary.”
“What?”
“I won’t say much. Hand over the pouch. Then I’ll let you go.”
“Pouch?”
Blinking in confusion, the boy asked.
“The pouch the Black Sword Corps gave out a few days ago? The one with the holed silver coins?”
“Oh, that?”
Gunther’s urgent expression returned as the boy remembered.
“Hand it over.”
“I don’t have it.”
The boy shook his hand, and Gunther frowned, pressing the sword closer.
“Killing is forbidden among cadets, but that means I can torment you as much as I want as long as I don’t kill you.”
At Gunther’s threatening words, the boy turned pale and screamed.
“No, I’m serious! I don’t have it!”
“……”
“It’s true! Believe me!”
Realizing the boy’s urgent cry was truthful, Gunther slightly withdrew his sword and asked.
“Did someone already take it from you?”
A hint of urgency flashed across Gunther’s face as he asked.
“Someone else is acting too?”
If the boy had already been robbed, it meant others had also realized the significance of the silver coins and started acting.
The boy would have been a victim of such people.
But the boy’s next answer completely deviated from Gunther’s assumption.
“No. I used it to buy food.”
“You bought food?”
Gunther’s eyes twitched.
Taken aback by the unexpected answer, he asked in a somewhat bewildered tone.
“Is the Cradle selling food?”
But the boy’s next reply once again exceeded Gunther’s expectations.
“Oh, no…”
“……?”
“Hmm, it’s a bit hard to explain…”
Seeing Gunther’s confused reaction, a hint of a different emotion flashed in the boy’s eyes.
It was not the eyes of someone being chased but rather of someone seeing Gunther as prey.
However, that look was brief, and the boy quickly resumed a cautious expression and asked.
“It might be better if you see it yourself… How about coming with me?”
Expecting something, the boy’s tone made Gunther’s brow twitch.
“Is this a trap? Is he trying to lead me to his group?”
But there was no malice, only anticipation and friendliness, despite having just fought him.
Gunther’s mind became a whirl of confusion at the boy’s inexplicable change in attitude.
“The boy said he used the silver coins to buy food.”
If that was true…
“Something’s happening that I don’t know about?”
After a brief moment of thought, Gunther made a decision.
Shuk-.
Sheathing his sword, he spoke.
“Alright. Lead the way.”
At Gunther’s response, the boy smiled brightly.
“Sure! I’ll take you by the fastest and safest route!”
“……?”
Gunther couldn’t understand why the boy was so pleased.
However, it didn’t take long for him to realize why the boy was so happy.
About 30 minutes later.
Following the boy, Gunther came across a sight he had never imagined.