Choi Sangwon’s face went pale as he belatedly grasped the situation.

He frantically drew his weapon.

“It’s nothing. We just need to kill this guy—!”

-Kkiik!

At that moment, something dropped down from above as if plummeting.

Not one monkey—three.

Each one clutching blood-soaked iron tongs, they landed and blocked Choi Sangwon’s path.

Large iron tongs, soaked in blood and corroded with rust.

The scout drew his dagger and charged at the monkeys.

-Kagagang!

But the monkey swiftly raised its tongs and deflected the dagger.

While the scout reeled from the unexpectedly fast reaction, the monkey immediately followed up with its own attack.

The tongs swung like a bludgeon—fast as a bullet and just as lethal.

-Ppagak!

“Ugh!”

The iron tongs struck the scout’s arm with devastating speed and weight.

He swallowed a scream and staggered back, but his dagger slipped from his grip.

The rest of the group stared in disbelief.

‘He lost in speed?’

‘He’s the fastest one among us…!’

The man assigned as scout for his agility now looked painfully slow.

The monkeys were clapping their hands and shrieking with glee.

-Ukkyaaak!

The monkeys darted freely between the ground and the trees, driving Choi Sangwon’s group into a corner.

By any measure, the demon beasts had the upper hand.

They approached Choi Sangwon, tongues lolling out long as if intoxicated.

The tempting fruit growing behind the monkeys now began to look gruesome.

‘Am I going to become fertilizer for that tree too?’

Choi Sangwon’s hands trembled violently.

Numerous monkeys reached out their hands toward Choi Sangwon’s group.

The moment they pried open the people’s mouths, ready to rip out their tongues—

-Ukkik!

A sharp cry rang out nearby.

A demon beast’s cry.

It sounded frantic, as if one of them had been attacked.

-U, uuk?

The monkeys that had been about to assault Choi Sangwon’s group turned their heads at the sound.

Then they immediately began scrambling in that direction.

Choi Sangwon looked toward the source of the noise—and was struck with horror.

‘Wh-what is that? That’s…!’

Amidst the swarm of monkeys, a single person was swinging a blade like a madman.

Seo Kangrim was in the middle of taking down the monkeys.

Despite the overwhelming number of monkeys, he was slaughtering the demon beasts without showing a single opening.

Seeing this, the scout shouted urgently.

“N-now! We need to run, now!”

At the scout’s cry, they bolted.

The cacophony behind them continued to rage.

Only after barely escaping the orchard did they let out ragged breaths.

“Th-that person earlier—was that Seo Kangrim?”

“Yeah. I only saw him from afar, but… how does he catch them so easily?”

The monkeys had been so fast that even evading them had been nearly impossible.

Yet he had wiped out not just one or two, but over a dozen of them.

While the others marveled at Kangrim’s skill, Choi Sangwon remained silent.

His brow was deeply furrowed.

‘Of all people, I had to be saved by Seo Kangrim.’

He still hadn’t forgotten how Seo Kangrim had dressed him down at the Fortune Cafe.

Just then, one of his companions pointed toward the entrance and spoke.

“L-look! Seo Kangrim is coming out!”

Having dealt with all the monkeys, Kangrim was strolling out of the orchard at a leisurely pace.

The group rushed toward him.

“Thank you so much! If it hadn’t been for you, Mr. Seo Kangrim…”

“We owe our lives to you, Kangrim!”

Kangrim offered no response.

He hadn’t particularly intended to save them.

He had simply hunted the nearby monkeys because he needed the peaches.

He glanced at them briefly and spoke.

“I’d advise against going in there if you can help it.”

“Y-yeah… we know it’s dangerous, but we’re running low on food…”

They began exchanging uneasy glances.

Finally, one of them hesitantly spoke up.

“Seo Kangrim, did you… happen to pick any peaches?”

“No. Too many monkeys swarmed in, so I just got out.”

“Then… do you have any other food to spare? Could you share some with us?”

Their eyes were filled with desperation.

Days of starvation had hollowed their cheeks, making them look all the more pitiful.

Kangrim regarded them steadily.

“I do have some, but I’ll be eating it myself.”

“B-but still…”

“If you pay in Spirit Jade, I can sell you the extras.”

With that, Kangrim pulled something from his Storage Pouch.

It was the dry rations handed out for free at the cafeteria.

Rations they would normally turn their noses up at—now they coveted them more than anything.

They swallowed dry saliva and asked.

“How much?”

“Two hundred Insect Grade Spirit Jade per packet.”

“What?! Two hundred?”

On average, the trainees were earning about a hundred Spirit Jade per day.

A single packet of rations was essentially worth two days’ earnings.

Just then, a mocking voice cut in from somewhere.

“What a piece of work that beggar’s mentality is. Selling free rations for two hundred Spirit Jade?”

Kangrim turned toward the source of the voice.

His eyes met Choi Sangwon’s.

When their gazes locked, Choi Sangwon continued in a sneering tone.

“This is exactly why people with no money are terrifying. No matter what, demanding payment when people are dying?”

At those words, the rest of the group’s eyes shifted in agreement.

Gazes steeped in desperation and resentment.

Any ordinary person would have flinched under that pressure, but Kangrim didn’t budge an inch.

Choi Sangwon added one more jab.

“You might not have money, but you should at least have a conscience. Where did yours go?”

“Where is your conscience, trying to seize food for free? You should know perfectly well what food means in this Demon Realm.”

Choi Sangwon flinched at those words.

Kangrim continued in a low voice.

“You just said I saved your lives moments ago, and now I’m the one without a conscience. The situation is rather amusing, don’t you think?”

“Th-that may be, but two hundred Spirit Jade is too expensive…”

“If you don’t like it, you don’t have to buy.”

When Kangrim began putting the rations back into his bag, everyone’s faces went pale.

One person hurriedly spoke up.

“I-I’m sorry, Seo Kangrim. I want to buy those rations…!”

“H-hey. You’re really going to buy? This is highway robbery!”

“Still cheaper than the price of our lives.”

In this place, food was the most precious commodity.

Even for a fortune, no one would sell their food.

Two hundred Spirit Jade was certainly a steep price, but the fact that he was willing to sell at all was a mercy.

“How many do you want? I have plenty to spare.”

“Three packets… no, give me six.”

The others bit the bullet and bought rations as well.

Kangrim glanced at Choi Sangwon.

“Are you not buying, Mr. Choi Sangwon?”

“…I don’t have Spirit Jade.”

Having been lazy about hunting, Choi Sangwon’s Spirit Jade reserves were woefully insufficient.

What little he’d had was already drained from purchasing weapons.

Choi Sangwon stole a glance at Kangrim and asked.

“How many packets do you have left?”

“About ten.”

“How about goods instead of cash? This is worth ten million won.”

He unclasped the watch from his wrist and showed it to Kangrim.

The people beside him visibly startled.

A ten-million-won watch for ten packets of rations.

That was essentially paying one million won per packet.

“Mr. Choi Sangwon, you’re paying way too much…”

“Whatever. I have plenty at home.”

Choi Sangwon shot Kangrim a glance.

At this price, surely even Kangrim wouldn’t refuse.

But Kangrim was staring down at the watch with an expression of complete indifference.

“I only accept Spirit Jade.”

“What? This is a ten-million-won watch!”

“Do you have a certificate of authenticity? How would I know if it’s real or fake, or actually worth ten million won?”

“Look right here! The brand mark is stamped on it plain as day!”

But Kangrim appeared utterly unimpressed.

He let out a short sigh and spoke.

For a moment, he almost looked at Choi Sangwon with pity.

“Fine. Let’s say that’s true.”

“It’s not ‘let’s say’—it IS real!”

“Ten packets is a bit much, but I could do five.”

“Y-you…!”

Trading a ten-million-won watch for five packets of free rations—did that even make sense?

But the situation was different now.

Choi Sangwon looked around at the others, harboring a sliver of hope.

They were devouring their rations ravenously, and when their eyes met Choi Sangwon’s, they quickly averted their gazes.

None of them looked the least bit willing to share their own rations.

“Are you buying or not?”

At Kangrim’s prompting, Choi Sangwon was shaking with rage.

In the end, he thrust the watch forward.

Kangrim took it and casually stuffed it into his pocket, then handed over five packets of rations.

“Ah, and one more thing.”

He pulled something out and placed it on top of the rations.

A star candy.

“That one’s on the house.”

“…!”

Choi Sangwon glared at Kangrim murderously, but he departed leisurely without a care.

Meanwhile, the chatter of the gods could be heard.

【Wow, even a legendary swindler would want a divine descent after seeing that.】

【Seo Kangrim is something else entirely.】

【Now that’s what I call a proper score.】

【But if he gives away that many rations, what’s he going to live on?】

At those words, Choi Sangwon’s expression turned peculiar.

As the gods had said, the quantity of rations Kangrim had sold was considerable.

It appeared to be over twenty packets.

‘What is Seo Kangrim planning to do from here? Did he bring more food?’

What if he had enough food that twenty packets of rations was trivial?

At that thought, greed began to creep into Choi Sangwon’s heart.

He leapt to his feet and declared.

“Everyone, get up.”

“Huh? Why?”

“We’re going to ambush Seo Kangrim.”

The word “ambush” made everyone’s eyes go wide.

Seeing their reaction, Choi Sangwon spoke with contempt.

“After getting ripped off like that, you’re just going to let him walk?”

“B-but…”

“Besides, the fact that he could sell that many rations and still stay calm means he’s got more food. We need to take it from him.”

The word “food” made their eyes waver.

Each of them currently had about five or six packets of rations.

At two packets a day, that would last only three days.

“But Seo Kangrim looks pretty strong…”

“Could one person handle this many of us? Why is everyone so cowardly?”

Choi Sangwon said with disdain.

Some looked stung by pride, others pricked by conscience.

But hunger was stronger than pride or conscience.

In the end, they all rose to their feet.

“He couldn’t have gone far. Let’s find him quickly.”

Choi Sangwon dragged them along and began pursuing the direction Kangrim had vanished.

Even Choi Sangwon, who would normally hang back and observe, was busily scanning the surroundings.

Then the scout came sprinting toward Choi Sangwon.

“Mr. Choi Sangwon, I found him! Seo Kangrim is over there!”

“Lead the way, quickly!”

They hurried in the direction where Kangrim was.

They spotted him hunting an Earth Boar.

They kept their distance and hid behind the foliage, waiting for Kangrim to show an opening.

As they watched, the scout muttered with a puzzled expression.

“Why is he… taking that right now?”