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The voice was raspy and low, sounding like rusty gears turning slowly.
Through a purple mask, a thick Spanish accent was distorted into a strange tone that drifted leisurely through the empty hall.
"It looks like you've... run into a bit of trouble?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Leon chambered a round into his shotgun with a 'click,' the dark muzzle locking onto the uninvited shadow at the window without a tremor.
The shadow remained completely indifferent to the lethal weapon.
He even tilted his head with interest, his wide hood swaying like a member of an audience enjoying a play.
Eyes hidden in the shadows reflected a feline luster under the dim moonlight.
Before Leon could even open his mouth to question him, the mysterious man continued on his own.
"Me? I'm a Merchant."
His voice was unhurried, each word trailing off with a long cadence.
"I've been here... for a long time..."
"So long that I've almost forgotten what time even is."
His raspy voice carried an ancient quality that matched the decaying atmosphere of this land perfectly.
He extended a hand wearing a black leather glove, five fingers slowly spreading out and then closing in the air, as if grasping something invisible.
"As long as the price is right, heh heh heh... you can buy anything you want from me."
Price?
Things?
Leon's brow furrowed even tighter.
He had just been nearly driven to a stroke by that damn 'treasure hunt,' and now some guy playing ghost had popped up to talk business with him?
Everything about this hellish place was tinged with a black humor so absurd it could drive a person mad.
"We don't need—"
Leon was halfway through his sentence when Noah raised a hand to cut him off.
Noah hadn't said a word, merely watching the mysterious man at the window calmly with his dark eyes.
This person's aura was very strange.
He didn't have the fanatical, twisted madness of the Villager, nor the mountain-like pressure of the giant Bitores Mendez.
He was like... like a fog shrouded in darkness; you could see him, but you couldn't see through him at all.
The fact that he could sneak up here silently, evade their senses, and appear exactly when they were most anxious and in need of help spoke volumes in itself.
"You've been here a long time."
"So, a detailed map of this place... you should have one, right?"
This was exactly what they needed most urgently right now.
Upon hearing Noah's words, the shadow at the window gave an extremely subtle pause.
Immediately after, a suppressed 'heh heh' laugh, sounding like a wheezing bellows under the mask, emerged from deep in his throat.
"Heh heh heh, a smart one."
He nodded approvingly, a flicker of appreciation seemingly flashing in his eyes.
"You've come to the right person. In this valley, there is nowhere I don't know. No secret can escape my eyes."
As he spoke, he withdrew his hand from the windowsill and slowly extended an open palm.
The hand in the black leather glove lay open in the moonlight.
"However, as for the price..."
His voice returned to that slow, playful tone, "Heh heh heh..."
Leon looked at the open hand, then at the calm-faced Noah beside him, and the irritation in his heart strangely subsided.
Anger wouldn't solve the problem, but a transaction could.
He took a deep breath, freed one hand to reach into an inner pocket of his tactical vest, and felt around for a moment.
When his hand emerged, a gemstone the size of a pigeon's egg, crystal clear and reflecting an eerie red light in the moonlight, lay quietly in his palm.
It was a top-tier spinel, perfectly cut with dazzling fire.
Leon looked at the gem in his hand, a complex mix of emotions flashing in his eyes.
There was reluctance, the sting of loss, and a hint of self-mockery.
At the same time, Noah silently reached his hand into a waterproof compartment of his tactical backpack.
His movements were light, and when he pulled the item out, a pure green, like a mountain spring, lit up the hall.
It was an emerald of similarly high quality; though it hadn't been finely cut, its natural shape and rich color were enough to prove its value.
When Leon saw the green gem in Noah's hand, the expression on his face instantly froze.
And Noah also noticed the dazzling red in Leon's palm.
The two of them turned their heads toward each other at the same time.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to stagnate at this moment.
"When did you..."
"When did you..."
The two of them spoke almost in unison, then both fell silent in the same instant.
Leon's lip twitched as he looked at Noah, his eyes filled with an accusation of 'even a guy like you did this?'
Noah looked at him expressionlessly, but his eyes clearly said 'right back at you.'
After a brief silence.
"This was for Ada..." Leon muttered under his breath, sounding a bit defensive.
"This was for Claire..." Noah's voice was equally low.
As the words fell, the two of them looked at each other again.
Then, without knowing who started it, a knowing smile—mixed with a hint of wretchedness and the sense of being 'kindred spirits'—appeared on both their faces.
They were in perfect sync.
"Heh heh heh... good stuff, good stuff!"
The mysterious Merchant outside the window let out an excited laugh, like a groundhog that had spotted a gold mine.
Before Leon and Noah could react, a shadow darted from the window like lightning.
The gloved hand snatched the gems from their palms with a speed that completely contradicted his slow manner of speaking.
The Merchant held the two gems in his hand, turning them over and over.
He even brought them close to his eyes, pinched them with his fingers, and carefully weighed them.
That intoxicated look was exactly like a miser admiring his life's savings.
"High purity, good weight. Not bad, not bad."
He chuckled, satisfied, and tucked the two gems into his wide robe.
"I'll tell you a little secret, heh... beneath this valley, there's an abandoned mine where you can dig up more of these fine things. Of course, we take local Pesetas too."
"If you find any more in the future, you can come to me to trade for more and better things."
Leon and Noah exchanged a look, both seeing a flash of realization in the other's eyes.
No wonder this fellow was such an expert on gems.
The Merchant seemed very pleased with the deal; he pulled a scroll wrapped in oil paper from his chest and tossed it in.
"Take it. A single map isn't worth the price of these two gems."
The scroll arched through the air and was caught steadily by Noah.
"Seeing as you're so generous, you can pick a few more things."
Before his voice had even faded.
Under Leon and Noah's astonished gazes, the mysterious Merchant slowly opened his deep blue robe.
"Welcome!"
In that instant, Leon felt as if his eyes had been blasted by a searchlight.
The inside of that wide robe was not made of ordinary fabric at all.
Inside, it was densely packed, a dazzling array of various weapons and ammunition emitting a cold metallic luster!
Rows of handgun magazines were lined up neatly like mouth organs.
Several pineapple-shaped fragmentation grenades were hung on specialized clips.
A heavily modified, short and compact tmp submachine gun was fastened at chest height.
Various models of scopes, suppressors, and laser sights were hung like ornaments on a Christmas tree—he had everything.
He even wore a huge, bulging backpack.
When he unzipped the backpack, it revealed cases of neatly stacked, golden bullets!
This was clearly a mobile armory!
"Where... where the hell did you get all this..." Leon's mouth was open wide enough to fit a fist; for the first time, his face, which had seen all sorts of major situations, showed a look of pure shock and disbelief.
"Heh heh heh, I have my ways."
The Merchant let out a triumphant laugh, clearly enjoying Leon's shock.
He didn't explain further, instead acting like an enthusiastic salesman as he pointed to the shotgun in Leon's hand.
"That gun of yours has decent power, but the capacity is too low and the fire rate is a bit slow."
As he spoke, he produced several delicate tools from somewhere and beckoned to Leon through the window.
Leon hesitated for a moment but eventually handed over his precious shotgun.
The Merchant took the gun, his gloved fingers flying up and down so fast they almost left afterimages.
"Click, clack, snap—"
After a dizzying series of disassembly and assembly sounds, the shotgun was handed back in less than half a minute.
Leon took the gun and immediately felt the difference.
The tubular magazine under the barrel was noticeably lengthened, the foregrip felt more comfortable, and there was even a thick rubber recoil pad at the end of the stock.
"Modified the magazine, it can hold two more rounds now. Also optimized the pump action for you; chambering will be smoother."
The Merchant's voice carried a sense of craftsman-like pride.
Next, he pulled two heavy ammo boxes from his backpack and tossed them to the two men.
"9mm Parabellum for the gentleman who likes his beretta. And 50 rounds of buckshot for the friend who likes a bit of noise."
He replenished quite a bit of their ammunition, as if these munitions—which would be strictly controlled in the outside world—were like free candy to him.
After completing the transaction, the Merchant rearranged his robe, hiding the mobile armory under the darkness once again.
He waved to the two men, preparing to leave.
"Pleasure doing business with you, Sir Knights."
"Oh, and take this."
As if remembering something, he pulled a small badge from his chest and tossed it in.
The badge flashed blue in the air and was caught by Noah.
It was a circular badge made of blue enamel, engraved with a strange, twisted symbol.
"This is proof that we've traded."
The Merchant's voice became a bit more solemn.
"My brothers have stalls set up in other parts of this valley as well. Whether you want to buy or sell, as long as you have this badge, my brothers will give you the most satisfactory price."
"Who exactly are you..." Noah gripped the still-warm badge and finally asked the question in his heart.
This person's existence was too bizarre, and too convenient.
He was like a System Merchant existing outside the story specifically to provide help to 'outsiders' like them.
"Shh—"
The Merchant suddenly placed an index finger over his masked mouth, his eyes looking at Noah meaningfully.
"Everyone has their little secrets, don't they?"
"...Mr. Superman."
As he spoke those last two words, his voice was extremely low, so low that only Noah, standing right there, could hear it.
Noah's heart jolted.
The other party... knew his background!
The Merchant seemed satisfied with Noah's reaction; he didn't linger, giving a nod of his hooded head as a farewell.
Then his figure flickered and silently merged into the darkness outside the window, like a drop of clear water into ink.
It was as if he had never appeared at all.
Silence returned to the hall once more.
Only Leon and Noah remained, looking at each other, still processing everything that had happened in those few minutes—everything that felt as surreal as a dream.
Leon looked down at the transformed shotgun in his hand, then weighed the heavy ammo box in his pocket, and finally, his gaze fell on the oil-paper-wrapped map in Noah's hand.
"Well..." He let out a long breath, a wry expression on his face, "It seems our anger earlier at least bought us something useful."
Noah didn't speak, merely walking over to the stone podium.
He carefully and slowly spread the oil-paper map out on the flat stone slab.
Leon immediately leaned in as well, clicking on his tactical flashlight; a bright beam of light instantly illuminated the entire map.
The moment they saw the contents of the map, both of their breaths hitched involuntarily.
It wasn't some crudely made, simple sketch at all.
It was an incredibly detailed, incredibly precise regional survey map drawn with an extremely fine charcoal pencil on tough parchment!
The map's scope covered the entire valley.
From the village where they were, to the farm to the west, to the distant church and lake—every path, every building was clearly marked.
The level of detail was almost outrageous.
Which house had a climbable ladder.
Which house's windows were unlocked.
Which walls were structurally weak and could be blown open.
Even the intricate sewer System beneath the village was meticulously traced with blue dashed lines.
In the margins of the map, there were many dense annotations written in tiny script.
"Herbs hidden in the second-floor wardrobe."
"Sniper rifle ammo on the top floor of the barn."
"Caution! Trap here!"
How was this just a map?
This was practically a nanny-level walkthrough guide!
Leon looked at the extremely detailed markings on the map.
"My god..." he couldn't help but mutter in a daze, "With this... this hellhole is like our own backyard!"
The desperate situation that had plagued them for so long, where they were running around like headless flies, had been completely shattered by those two gems.
Noah's finger slowly traced over the smooth parchment.
His gaze finally landed on the towering church icon in the center of the map.
Then, his finger followed the church icon to find the locations of the four altars mentioned in the previous 'game guide'.
Forest Altar.
Valley Altar.
Large Cavern Altar.
Small Flooded Cavern Altar by the lake.
These four objectives, which had once felt more elusive than the Holy Grail, were now clearly marked with four red 'X's in the four corners of this map.
The best route to each altar, danger points along the way, and even potential enemy types were all detailed in the text annotations beside them.
All the fog dissipated at this moment.
"Leon." Noah looked up.
"Yeah?" Leon was still immersed in the immense joy of obtaining the treasure map.
Noah's finger tapped on the nearest red marker.
"We'll go here first."
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