Chapter 103

"Did you clear up all the traces?" Robert asked, grimacing.

"Yes, union master," Hansen replied cautiously.

"Everything?"

"I triple-checked everything and did my best to make sure you don't have to worry about anything."

A man who practically resembled a bear stood before him, but that didn't make the frown on Robert's face disappear.

"Hansen, that man forced us to kick Henrite out."

"I heard he's good."

Hansen was Henrite's replacement, and he'd had to hear about how he had been kicked out several times now. The constant repetition didn't help Hansen understand the situation, though

'What's so important about an idiot getting kicked out for being an idiot?'

Hansen thought it wasn't Robert's fault, nor Ironblood. His stupid predecessor simply had it coming.

"What about the community?"

"Nothing so far. I've checked the information sites and there was nothing related to Shahav."

Robert tapped his index finger on the desk. He knew that Seojin had leaked such information on purpose, and there was no way that he'd walk away empty-handed even though Ironblood had done their best to hide everything in the region.

"It's unnatural, considering that it's been a month since he entered the region."

'He must be taking his time because there's something worth the wait in there. It'll be okay as long as it's not related to Ironblood, but if he causes any more damage this time, it won't be pretty.'

It would take a lot of effort to recover from such bad press again, and Robert was already busy dealing with PR and the compensation he paid to Seojin.

'Players can be foolish at times, but occasionally they can be surprisingly smart. Is that what you'd call a kind of collective intelligence?'

The damage would not seem like much at first, but it would accumulate over time like a ticking time bomb. If it exploded, it would cause a huge amount of damage, even for a guild like Ironblood.

"I'll send someone to Shahav right away if it concerns you."

"No, don't let any members of Ironblood go near Shahav."

"…Yes, union master," Hansen replied in confusion.

He couldn't understand why Robert wasn't telling his closest aides about his contract with Seojin.

'He should send someone if he's so concerned, or not show us that he's concerned. What does he want me to do?'

Of course, Hansen kept such thoughts to himself, knowing his place.

"Keep me informed."

"Yes, union master."

Robert frowned as Hansen left the room.

'I know Hansen's only here for PR, but…'

It was incredibly frustrating to have someone so incompetent by his side. In Robert's opinion, the type of people he had to explain everything to were incompetent. Of course, that didn't mean he wanted someone who acted of their own accord, but he rather longed for a minion that could understand his intentions without being told.

In that respect, however, Hansen was a better fit for the position. He wanted to keep those of lesser intelligence close, so as to keep Ironblood under his complete control. Additionally, thanks to his complete lack of intelligence, Hansen never managed to get his own way like Henrite.

But now Hansen had already made up his mind to travel to Shahav.

'It's my time to shine. I must prove my worth and show that I'm nothing like Henrite.'

Robert's anxiety was too high for Hansen's liking and wasn't a trait befitting a leader of a mega-guild like the Ironblood Knights. Hansen thought that he could handle such a player without making the same mistakes as Henrite.

'I'm not as foolish as him.'

* * *

'It's already been a month…'

It had been one month since Seojin started his journey in the desert of Shahav, and during that time, Maya had watched from the top of the building, even stopping her usual guide duties. She thought that, like other adventurers, Seojin was just treating this world as his playground and wouldn't be any different. But to her surprise, he was spending more than half of his day in the desert, and not for the fun of it.

"The more I see him, the more I think of that guy. Aren't you the same?" Jin asked, sitting next to Maya.

"That guy never gave up once he set a goal."

"Nonsense," Maya replied.

"Do you really think so?"

"Similar or not, it doesn't matter. He won't give up, though."

"He will, although it may take a few more months…"

At that very moment, a cry of joy echoed from the desert.

"Foooound it!"

As Maya stared in the direction of the sound with wide eyes, another yell could be heard.

"Haha! I freakin found it!"

"… He found it?"

It was unbelievable. It didn't make any sense. How could he have found something in the desert in only a month when nobody else had been able to?

"… It can't be. I'm sure those impotent monsters made a mistake or something. Or maybe… it was a scream of fear as he stepped into quicksand…"

"Let's go, Maya," Jin said, standing up.

"Where?" she asked, staring up at him blankly.

Jin pointed toward the desert.

"He said he found it."

Maya couldn't believe it, but she followed him anyways. Could it be that Seojin had really found what he was looking for in the desert… in just a month?

* * *

'Finally!'

The corners of Seojin's mouth twitched like crazy.

"Finally! I found it.'

An oasis in the desert! He had literally breathed sand for a month as he fooled around in the desert and finally, he had finished the quest, which even Oldman had said would be difficult. Of course, he wasn't completely done, as Oldman needed to confirm that there was water.

It hadn't been an easy job. His map was tattered and full of X marks, and Seojin knew it could've taken years to search the entire desert.

-Where are you exactly?

Suddenly, something shone brightly in the air, piercing through the sunlight in the desert.

-Didn't know you could do that.

-Now you know. –

-Yeah, you really are an elder spirit. I'm on my way now.

It was quite a distance away. He quickly moved away, a grin still hanging on his lips.

Main Quest: To Wet the Dry Soil…

* Oldman Shahav has many concerns regarding the operation of his estate. In the dry desert, water is an indispensable resource, and the only oasis is gradually drying up.

'Things ended sooner than I thought. But the question is… how should I dig down deep to complete this quest?'

Seojin knew that the method itself wasn't a problem, as it was Oldman's job in the first place, but he had to prepare for whatever he might find, as the preview told him that there was something there.

I kept my promise by finding the ever-flowing heart of the desert. However, that place was XXXXXX XXXX XXXXXXX! XXXX! If only X XXXXX XX XXXX, it would be XX XXXX!

Even Flappy wouldn't be able to help this time; the thick, hot sand was too much for her to dig through.

"You're here," she said as Seojin arrived at the low ground. "It's down below."

"The ring is unresponsive though," Seojin said, looking down at the blue jewel ring on his right hand. Oldman had lent it to him, but it wasn't reacting at all, contradicting Oldman's explanation and the tooltip.

"Ye get what ye pay for." Flappy said.

"What… is it cheap?" Seojin asked.

"Objects of nature, huh? They're cheap knockoffs of elven works." Flappy said.

"So this is a knockoff," Seojin concluded, believing every word the superior spirit told him about elves.

"Can we see elven works in human society?" Seojin asked.

"Sometimes." Flappy replied flippantly.

"And in general?"

"In elven society, obviously. Well, by the way…"

Seojin felt a tremor beneath his feet as the monsters waited for additional orders.

"Why are you standing like that? Aren't ya gonna get digging?"

"Yeah, I have to, but…"

"You can just order them to do it."

"I can't have monsters do it," Seojin said.

"Why?"

"My gut is warning me against it. There's something down here… and I think I'll regret it if I dig it out recklessly."

Seojin thought Flappy wouldn't understand the story related to the game's system.

"Hm, so you don't know the exact reason then?"

"No, I have no idea. Whether there's a living being or a natural trap under it… I can't make any guesses."

"Well, you know I can't go in there."

"Yeah, so let's take care of this first."

As Seojin gestured, something soared out of the sand - a monster with deteriorated eyes and sharp teeth lining its round mouth.

"I'd look like a strawberry in a blender if that thing ate me!"

It was an infamous desert mole, which had swallowed numerous players in Shahav, dripping sticky saliva.

"Go and fight between yourselves, leave only one survivor. Start now!"

The desert started to tremble.

Acquired: EXP

…

"Yawl know yawl look lahk uh villain raht now?"

"Well, these creatures would jump at me two minutes later. It's self-defense, really."

Seojin could only control them when his skills were activated and they were nothing but vicious, starving brats when he was in cooldown.

"Let's go back to Shahav. Perhaps the lord can do something about it."

* * *

Oldman Shahav seemed surprised by Seojin's report.

"Did you find it?" he asked.

"Yes, the location is around here," Seojin said, pointing to a spot on the map.

Oldman checked the map and shook his head with a wry smile.

"…That's the spot another adventurer checked the other day."

"That's why I said we'd have to start from the beginning."

"That was a wise decision," Oldman agreed.

"How are you going to work on it?"

"Ironblood left some equipment behind. We know how to use it, so we can start right away."

"I see. Can I check what's down there first though?"

"That should be possible, but why?"

"I know there's water, but that's not the only thing hiding down there."