Ch 69 - The Offer of Vensalor

Chapter 69 - The Offer of Vesperion

Jester tried to piece everything together again, going over all the information and the situation surrounding the Vesperion Guild. More importantly, he thought about how all of it was connected to Lucia.

So, there had been a Dragon Warrior who rescued Lucia away from her parents shortly after she was born. That same dragon later left her in a small village deep within the forest, the very place where Jester eventually found her.

But where had that Dragon Warrior gone after that?

Siki had never given him an answer, and it did not seem like the Vesperion Guild had any more information about the dragon either.

Still, they did know one thing. A massive disaster was coming.

Or perhaps a great war. Whatever it was, something enormous was about to happen in Yunatea, and there was no doubt that every player would be affected by it. It would become one of those major world events where the strongest guilds competed fiercely to stand at the very front of everything.

Doing so would give them an incredible advantage. Levels, rewards, influence, exclusive opportunities, and powerful positions would all be waiting for those who managed to place themselves where it mattered most when the event finally began.

That was why they were using every resource and every connection they had to search for Lucia.

And somehow, by pure accident, Jester had found her before any of them.

The Vesperion Guild needed Lucia because she would become the key to everything that was about to happen.

"Not in the way you might be thinking, Mr. Joker," Siki continued calmly. "What we want from today's meeting is for you to consider working together with us. If we can build that trust, then later we can expand this cooperation even further, this time with the full support of every member of the Vesperion Guild."

"But, wait." Jester frowned. "Why me? What's so special about this Saintess girl?"

"Well, Mr. Joker." Siki smiled. "You might be very good at acting. I'll give you that."

His grin widened. "But I'm also sure you can tell we don't have any bad intentions. We came here because we want a partnership. There's no need for you to keep hiding behind that act anymore."

Damn it. Why did that irritate Jester so much?

He had done everything he could to hide all of this, yet someone like Siki had appeared out of nowhere and laid every piece of the truth out in front of him as if it had never been a secret.

Just how much did this man know?

Did Siki already know that Jester was the one disguising himself as Caelan?

Or was he only suspicious that Jester had some kind of connection to Prince Caelan?

Either way, the confidence Siki showed by revealing information this important made it painfully obvious how certain he was about whatever he already knew.

More than that, Siki had even placed the Vesperion Guild in a surprisingly humble position just to negotiate with someone who, to everyone else, was practically a nobody in this game.

Jester's level was still incredibly low.

"We'll give you time to think about it," Siki said after a brief pause. "We'll return to this city later."

His eyes wandered across the streets before he smiled again.

"The city has grown remarkably well. You... no, I mean Prince Caelan... has led this place exceptionally well."

He continued, "More of our people will arrive here over the next few days. When the time comes, probably within one or two weeks, we'll hold another meeting. That time, it should include the rest of the Vesperion Guild."

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"I haven't agreed to any of that."

"It's okay." Siki nodded without hesitation. "At the very least, today's meeting happened."

After that, Siki and Naevys excused themselves. What surprised Jester the most was seeing the famous actress bow deeply to him before leaving.

No way!

If anyone had witnessed that scene, they would have assumed he was some powerful executive traveling under a fake identity or someone equally important.

Fortunately, the meeting had taken place inside a private dining hall owned directly by the City Lord's estate. Access was strictly limited, making the entire conversation completely confidential. There was no chance any other player would learn what had happened here.

Several moments passed after they left.

Jester remained seated in silence, letting everything Siki had revealed settle in his mind.

"So, Siki's a pretty smart guy," he muttered.

The man had acted humble throughout the conversation, almost lowering himself during the negotiation. But Jester could clearly see what he had really been doing.

Siki had been presenting an offer that was simply too valuable to ignore.

Bringing the entire Vesperion Guild to this city was not some casual promise.

It was something capable of completely changing the city's future.

If every member of the Vesperion Guild came here, word would spread almost immediately throughout the player community. More players would naturally become curious, and before long, even more people would start traveling to the city themselves.

Jester needed to prepare for that possibility.

The city was still under construction. Countless projects remained unfinished, and many facilities still needed to be built.

If too many players arrived before everything was ready, managing the city would become far more difficult instead of beneficial.

On top of that, Siki had made it perfectly clear that this would be an equal partnership. He had gone out of his way to show that the Vesperion Guild was willing to contribute whatever resources, manpower, or even payment were necessary to make the cooperation happen.

Damn it. Rich people!

Afterward, Jester left the building and took another walk through the city, checking on its progress while gathering more information. During his rounds, he learned that Siki and Naevys had rented rooms and decided to stay in the city for the time being.

Huh... they really are serious about this.

Instead of putting him at ease, that only convinced Jester to revise several of the security measures he had already established throughout the city. At night, his maids were responsible for patrolling the areas outside the city, keeping watch for attacks from players or any other unexpected threats.

Because of that, he decided it would be better to reduce the number of people on patrol. Shade alone should be enough for most situations, with Fang and Faria accompanying her whenever necessary. Both of them possessed excellent scouting abilities and stealth skills, making them far more suitable for that kind of work.

As for the Bullkin stationed deep within the forest...

They were currently settled inside a high-level monster zone. There was always a chance that Siki and the others would head there to hunt monsters and eventually run into them.

Yeah... dealing with players that are way above your level is seriously troublesome.

That same day, Jester left the city, riding on Fang's back, while Lucia followed beside him atop Faria. Together, they sped toward the depths of the forest.

Bringing Lucia along was extremely important. First, only Lucia and Elora knew about the Bullkin, so there was no reason to involve anyone else.

Besides that, the region they were heading into was home to monsters well above Level 100. If Jester had to fight them and ended up dying, he would simply respawn back in the city and be forced to make the long trip all over again. Fortunately, Lucia's abilities allowed them to slip past most monsters without ever being noticed.

The two wolves raced between the ancient trees. Their massive trunks rose high into the sky, while thick branches and dense layers of leaves blocked most of the sunlight above. Only scattered rays reached the forest floor, leaving the surroundings dim even in the middle of the day.

More than once, they nearly crossed paths with powerful monsters. Each time, Lucia quietly activated one of her skills, allowing them to slip past unnoticed without having to fight.

After some time, Fang and Faria gradually slowed as they approached the place where the Bullkin had built their new settlement.

The two wolves emerged from the thick undergrowth into a wide natural clearing.

The Bullkin's new home looked nothing like their old one.

Instead of crude shelters, rows of massive wooden houses now stood throughout the clearing. Each structure had been built on a scale suitable for warriors standing between two and a half and well over three meters tall, with thick timber walls, oversized doorways, and broad roofs supported by enormous logs.

Wooden watchtowers overlooked the settlement, while sturdy fences and sharpened stakes surrounded its outer edge. Even in the middle of the ancient forest, the place already felt less like a temporary camp and more like a true village.

Smoke drifted lazily from several chimneys, and Bullkin moved between the buildings carrying timber, weapons, and supplies as construction continued throughout the settlement.

The moment Jester rode into the clearing, several Bullkin immediately noticed their arrival.

"This is a lot more than I expected them to build." Jester let out a quiet chuckle.

He glanced over at Lucia. "You're sure you didn't overwork them, Lucia?"

The girl giggled and shook her head. "I only shared what I learned back in the village to help them build their own homes, my lord."

Jester smiled.

"Let's go. Time to see how they're doing."