They dragged Min across the ground like a sack of garbage.
Ahrie and Koko walked side by side, both grinning like devils who just pulled off the perfect scam.
Min’s boots scraped against the dirt, leaving two long lines behind him.
As soon as they cleared the crowd’s view, they ducked into an alley and stopped.
Min slowly began to wake up.
Groaning.
Eyes fluttering open.
"...Ugh..."
Koko and Ahrie dumped him and imdiately started counting the coins.
Ahrie slid half the stack toward Koko.
"Here. Min’s paid, aight." Ahrie said.
Koko grabbed it without hesitation.
Min blinked a few tis, still half dizzy.
"...Thanks... Rie..." he muttered weakly.
Ahrie slowly walked toward him.
Step.
Step.
Then stopped right in front of Min... face to face.
Ahrie leaned down slightly, staring straight at him.
"...Who said it’s free though?"
Min’s eyes widened a bit.
Ahrie’s grin slowly stretched wider.
"I’ll work you to hell until you pay all of it..."
"KEKEKE."
"You damn bastard..." Min growled, teeth clenched as he grabbed Ahrie by the collar of his shirt.
And so...
They got away with it.
No one from the crowd chased them down.
All of them were grinning wide.
Jackpot.
Then while they were jogging away, Min suddenly rembered sothing.
"...Wait."
He slowed down a bit.
"Where did you leave the horse again?"
Ahrie’s smile instantly died.
His face twisted into full annoyance.
"...Urg."
"That useless horse."
Ahrie and the others kept running until they reached the market district.
Only then did they finally slow down.
The money was still clinking nicely in their large sacks.
Naturally... they started spending it.
The first thing they did?
They walked straight into a luxury inn.
The mont they stepped inside, the staff imdiately greeted them with polite bows.
The first thing they did?
They walked straight into a luxury inn.
The mont they stepped inside, the staff imdiately greeted them with polite bows.
The three of them stopped for a second.
Stunned.
Everything inside looked expensive.
Polished floors, clean chandeliers, even the air slled different.
A few guests walked through the hall.
Most of them looked like nobles... or at least people with serious money.
So seekers were there too—
—but these weren’t the usual rough seekers they were used to seeing.
These ones looked like big shots.
"How much for three rooms?" Koko asked the receptionist.
The receptionist smiled politely.
"For three normal-sized rooms... it will cost around 6,000 coins per night."
"Si—six thousand?!"
Ahrie and Min’s eyes nearly popped out.
The receptionist kept her professional smile and calmly explained.
"Our rooms include a luxury bathtub... along with a premium breakfast and dinner service."
She gestured toward the upper floors.
"You will also have free access to our exclusive training grounds."
Then she added the final part.
"And of course... each guest will have a personal maid assigned to assist with your daily needs."
Ahrie and Min slowly turned to Koko.
Their faces said the sa thing:
We are way too poor to be here.
Koko and Rocky looked completely sold.
anwhile, Ahrie sighed and started counting their coins one by one on the counter.
Min leaned over and checked the pile with him.
The two exchanged a look.
Yeah... not enough.
"Okay," Koko said confidently. "Then we’ll book three rooms ple—"
Before she could finish the sentence—
Min and Ahrie imdiately grabbed her by the arms and dragged her outside.
"Wai—!" Koko protested as they hauled her through the door.
Once outside, she dusted herself off and looked at them.
"...Is it not enough?" she asked.
Min and Ahrie both nodded.
Koko pouted.
"Hu... that’s kinda embarrassing."
She glanced off to the side—
right toward the readers.
"Don’t look at like that."
Then she shrugged it off and started walking.
Min and Ahrie looked at each other.
Both slowly lifted their shoulders in a helpless shrug...
...and followed after Koko.
They ended up entering a normal inn instead.
The mont they stepped inside, the difference was obvious.
It was loud. Packed with seekers. Laughter, clanking mugs, soone arguing about monster loot in the corner.
They paid for a single night stay, dropped their stuff in the room, and headed back out.
The market was still lively.
Stalls everywhere—selling weapons, strange tools, spices, dried monster at, glowing trinkets that may or may not explode.
The three of them wandered through the crowd, casually looking around.
Then Min slowed down.
"...Wait."
Sothing familiar was moving through the crowd.
On four legs.
Their horse.
Apparently it had waited for them back at the arena for a while... before deciding it had probably been abandoned again.
So naturally, it went looking.
The mont it spotted them—
NEIGH!
It rushed straight toward them.
Min imdiately sidestepped.
Ahrie watched the incoming horse and thought—
It’ll hit Min first.
His prediction was wrong.
WHAP.
The horse’s head slamd directly into Ahrie’s chest.
"Ouf—!"
He staggered back.
"You piece of useless shiiit... why are you back again..." Ahrie groaned.
"Neigh," the horse answered proudly.
Min and Koko imdiately started giggling.
"FAAAK..." Ahrie sighed, tapping his forehead a few tis.
Still looking deeply disappointed in life, he stood up, grabbed the reins—
and shook his head.
"C’mon... let’s get you a wagon, you stupid horse."
Koko held her hand out in front of the horse.
Rocky slowly climbed down from her shoulder and stepped onto her palm, raising his tiny hand too.
"Welco back," Koko giggled.
The horse lowered its front hoof...
...and gently placed it in Koko’s hand.
Like so kind of reunion handshake.
And then it smiled.
Min squinted at it.
"...Err."
"What kind of freaking smile was that..." he muttered.
The horse’s face looked weirdly proud. Too proud.
Min shook his head quickly, trying to erase that disturbing image.
"Yeah yeah, we totally rember you, bud," he said lazily from the background, stepping forward to join the mont.
He raised his hand to add it to the little reunion stack—
The horse imdiately tried to kick him.
"WOAH—!"
Min jumped back just in ti.
He instantly raised his middle finger.
"Fuck you."
He turned to Ahrie.
"Oii Rie, let’s sell this shit and buy a new one."
Ahrie thought about it for half a second...
...and nodded.
And so it began.
The hunt for a replacent horse.
They stopped at the first stable.
"How much for a horse?" Min asked.
The stable owner rubbed his chin.
"Horse, eh? Around 800 coins. That’s the lowest I can offer. They’re all sub-adults entering their pri."
"Tch..."
They moved on.
Next stable.
"How much for a horse?"
"900 coins. These ones have strong mutations—faster and tougher than the usual stock."
they slowly turned away.
Next place.
"950 coins. Best quality you’ll find in the capital."
Min and Ahrie rubbed their faces.
"It’s so damn expensive..." he muttered.
"Well what do you expect?" Koko said with a shrug. "You’re in the capital."
"Ugkk..."
Both Min and Ahrie looked completely drained.
anwhile—
their current horse stood right behind them.
Head held high.
Chest out.
Looking smug as hell.
So, reluctantly, they gave up on replacing the horse.
Instead, they started looking for a wagon.
They tried a few different ones—small wagons, light wagons, even a couple that looked like they were barely held together.
But even the normal looking wagons seed too heavy for their semi-slim fucker of a horse.
Min and Ahrie slowly pressed their inner eyebrows together in disappointnt.
Even the seller started looking disappointed.
The seller just stared at the horse, then at them, then back at the horse. His face said everything.
This horse? Really?
Afraid they might just walk off, he held up a hand and hurried to the back.
"Please—wait a mont."
Before they could respond, he hurried toward the storage room.
"Where the heck did I put it..." the seller muttered from inside the storage room.
A loud scraping noise echoed from within.
Sothing heavy was being dragged across the floor.
Then—
"Ahhh, found it!"
The seller ca back out, holding two wooden planks.
He placed them down in front of them.
"Here. This one’s normal wood. The kind used in most carriages, wagons... basically anything comrcial."
He tapped the first plank.
Then lifted the second one slightly.
"And this..."
He leaned in a little and whispered—
"...our newly made plank. Harvested from—well... company secret."
The seller gave a little wink.
"It’s super lightweight."
"Here, I’ll show you."
The seller picked up both planks and tossed them toward Ahrie.
Ahrie caught them easily—
—but imdiately paused.
He weighed them in his hands.
"...Oh."
The difference was obvious.
The second plank was ridiculously light. Yet when he pressed his fingers against it, it didn’t feel weak at all.
If anything, it felt just as solid—maybe even tougher—than the normal wood.
"Ohh..." Min muttered, leaning closer.
"We can build a wagon suited for your horse," the seller explained, tapping the lighter plank. "Using this wood. Light enough for it to pull, but still sturdy."
Koko crossed her arms.
"How much?"
"Three hundred coins upfront," the seller replied calmly, pulling out a folded paper.
"And you’ll need to accept this quest for ."
He held the paper out.
"What quest?" Min muttered, stretching his neck to peek at it.
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