Chapter 38 038

A steady clanking beat rang out through the passageway of The King's Tomb, which was only illuminated by weak torchlights. There were periodic intervals and regular echoes.

Sensing the sound, the skeletons instinctively moved in to find the source of it. They finally located it with their empty eye sockets.

Clack, clack! Clacky-clack!

Two skeletons were in a frenzied battle. Their movements were rather monotonous since they were entirely made up of bones, but the fight itself was quite fierce. One skeleton kicked the opponent's pelvic bone with its shin, and the other countered with an elbow chop. The other skeletons just stood there blankly and watched the scene unfold, they didn't know whom they had to help. Both of the skeletons were their allies and the fight was equal.

"Yes, way to go Clacky III! You can do it!"

The tension and balance of the battle collapsed right as the human cried out.

Cla-clack, clack!

A brutal combo attack! One of the skeletons suddenly stopped smacking the other and went berserk.

Strike, parry, and strike again—the opponent was defeated and collapsed in the end.

"That's right! You did a great job. You're way better than Clacky I and II!"

The skeletons that had formed an audience flinched. A cheeky man popped out of nowhere and collected the fragments of bone that the skeleton dropped. Just then, the human spotted the new arrivals.

"Huh, these guys found us themselves!"

The man was welcoming them rather than looking nervous, but the skeletons didn't just sit back and wait. They had flinched at the unexpected sight, not at the one weak human. The human, however, wasn't planning to fight them by himself.

"Time to shine, Clacky III! You can do it! Your bones are much stronger than theirs!"

The same skeleton from earlier, who was somehow much stronger than them, rushed at the others.

* * *

EXP Up!

EXP Up!

Acquired: Bone Fragment (7)

Seojin nodded in satisfaction, watching the series of messages pop up in a row.

'It's quite effective actually.'

Everything was going much better than he'd expected. After entering the tomb, Seojin cast the skill that he prepared as soon as he encountered the skeleton. It was the combination of a "Petty Liar" and "A White Lie." Thanks to the overwhelming stat difference, the skeleton recognized Seojin as an object it needed to protect.

Buff: A White Lie

Target's ability increases significantly.

Seojin's over 100 INT increased the skeleton's ability by a tremendous margin. Thanks to that, Clacky III, as Seojin had dubbed him, could fight ten ordinary skeletons without difficulty.

Buff wears off

Rather unfortunately, his skeleton minion didn't last for long after the buff wore off, but he could always turn another one to his side. Persuasion, threats, lies. Thanks to the overwhelming difference in stats, Seojin was able to control any skeleton, no matter what method he used. Two hours later, Seojin achieved things ordinary players could not even dream of.

Dungeon: The King's Tomb

Monsters Slain: 127

Bone Fragments: (873)

* Bone Fragment that makes up a skeleton. Used to create basic reagents.

He had killed 127 skeletons and gathered all of the miscellaneous items that they dropped.

Quota Exceeded!

Quota Exceeded! (2)

…

Quota Exceeded! (11)

It was almost as if Seojin had cleared the quest twelve times. However, he was still hungry for more.

'I'm going to milk this dungeon for all its worth'

People said quality over quantity, and Seojin couldn't stop here if he wanted to gain as much as he could out of a single request compared to doing five in a row.

"Go, Clacky XVII!"

The buffed skeleton charged forward and smashed his enemies, before getting smashed to pieces himself. It was not until he'd lost count and the dimly lit passage felt familiar that Seojin was able to see the system messages he had been waiting for.

Dungeon Clear

Exiting Dungeon

Time Remaining: 60 seconds

The messages basically meant that he had broken the dungeon and needed to get the hell out. Seojin finally felt his tensed body ease up.

"Oh, it's over."

He checked his watch and saw that it had been six hours since he first entered the dungeon. No sane man could have endured such a task. Seojin, however, just nodded calmly.

"That was faster than I expected… I thought it would take at least twelve hours."

He made his calculation based on the experiences of others. However, his skills had better effects than he'd expected, so he was able to finish the dungeon in practically half the time. Seojin opened the status window, wondering how many skeletons he'd defeated.

Dungeon: The King's Tomb

Monsters Slain: 400

Bone Fragments: (2788)

* Bone Fragment that makes up a skeleton. Used to create basic reagents.

Four hundred! Seojin had killed a hundred and twenty during his first two hours, but he picked up speed as time went on, getting more proficient. His inventory was full as well, filled with 99 bone fragments in each slot.

"I could make some decent money out of this."

It'd be twenty-seven silvers if he sold one frag for a copper. He was in a settlement for Level 20 players and above, so it'd probably be worth more.

He'd achieved his goal, and he had also made some solid money, too. Seojin hummed as a bright light blurred his vision and he returned to the field.

"…Any melee classes welcome!"

"Spiders… please… anyone want to kill some spiders…?"

The entrance was still the same as when he left six hours ago. Seojin left the scene with a smile.

"I'm going to sell all of the misc items first."'

His destination was Erzebet's Alchemy Workshop, where the alchemists were producing reagents.

* * *

Jeriel, an alchemist, frowned up on hearing a report from his subordinate.

"So, you want to sell bone fragments?"

"Yes."

"…Why did you even call me?"

"The staff member over there told me I should tell you in person.".

The middle-aged man with gray hair tried to calm himself down. What the adventurer said was right, as a guild member responsible for managing the shop told Jeriel that he needed to come out and talk to someone.

'I thought I was meeting a VIP or something… and what's this? Bone fragments?'

Even the worst adventurers could take down some skeletons to collect fragments. That was how worthless it was. The low-ranked guild member lowered his eyes as Jeriel glared at him. What could a humble, low-ranked member possibly do? Jeriel was a superior and he couldn't do anything about it. Jeriel was an authorized alchemist, and he was capable of commanding novice guild members like they were his servants.

"Haa…yes, it seems like he made a mistake. I'm sorry, but we only buy in bulk. There's a general store in the central square, so you'd be better off going there."

"I have about twenty-eight hundred pieces."

"Yes, the general store can…" Jeriel paused. "Twenty-eight hundred?"

"Yup."

"Not two-eighty?"

"Two thousand and eight hundred pieces in total."

"…"

Jeriel was speechless for a moment. He never did retail because adventurers always ganged up in groups of five or six before rushing in and harassing him to buy fifty or sixty fragments from them. It was much better to buy it in bulk through a general store, even with the added fee. It was all about efficiency.

"…Where's your team?"

"I don't have any. I gathered it all by myself."

"You collected over two thousand by yourself?"

That was impossible. Though they were merely skeletons, two thousand was simply too much for a solo adventurer to gather alone. Jeriel wouldn't believe it even if the result was right before his eyes.

"You must be a high-ranking mercenary. I apologize, I don't think we got the memo."

Jeriel came to his own conclusion. The adventurer in front of him was not just any average guy, he must have been an elite, higher than Rank B.

"So, I see my guy made the right decision."

In Erzebet, rank C mercenaries were more common than seagulls, and the materials they gathered were extremely plain. However, the value of mercenaries spiked from rank B or higher, and the resources they brought in were much scarcer. It would be better to make a connection with a high-leveled adventurer if Jeriel wanted to get his hands on rare materials in the future.

"I should have personally greeted a talented person like you, I'm sorry that I didn't notice beforehand."

"Yes, well…"

The adventurer didn't seem too pleased, but Jeriel didn't care. The alchemist thought the adventurer must have been offended that he didn't recognize him earlier. However, Jeriel was more than capable enough to compensate for such a minor offense.

"I wouldn't mind paying a premium that includes the costs I get charged for bulk orders from the general store, I'll offer you the same amount."

"How much is that?"

"It'd be thirty-three coppers per ten pieces. So, ninety-two silvers overall."

"Ninety-two, eh?"

"I'll make it one gold, consider that as my apology."

"Thank you."

The adventurer finally smiled in satisfaction. Jeriel covered the eight silver difference with his own money and it was more than worth it. The alchemist spoke in a low voice, planning a deal in a flash.

"By the way, have you decided on which dungeon to go to next?"

* * *

Seojin swallowed his laughter as the alchemist got friendly with him all of a sudden.

'It looks like high-ranked mercenaries are really rare.'

Jeriel seemed to be having a rather big misunderstanding. There was no way he would act this modestly based on the number of fragments alone.

'The item itself is nothing… he could buy tons of the same fragments from the general store, just as he said.'

Seojin had come all the way here because he thought it might come in handy if he was acquainted with an alchemist, but it turned out Jeriel's initial reaction was rather arrogant.

'Okay, what's my next move…?'

Jeriel's expectant eyes were very pressing, but Seojin couldn't just lie his way out of it as it seemed like the vigilance committee was keeping him updated on the high-ranked adventurers.

"I'll take that silence to mean you have not chosen yet! If so…"

Stance: Childish Threat

Effective: 10 Minutes

"I don't take orders from others."

Seojin made a decision. It was an act that he calculated in an instant. Jeriel was an alchemist, so he must have poured everything into INT. His STR must have been close to zero. On top of that, Jeriel was only Level 25. Seojin made a gamble and he nailed it.

Effect is greatly increased due to overwhelming stat difference!

"Oh, s-sure. Who would even try to give orders to a talented man like you? Haha, ha…."

Jeriel was completely thrown off. He even had a drop of sweat forming on his forehead. Seojin deliberately stared him in the eyes before drawing out the deepest voice he could possibly muster.

"However, if it's a friend asking me… I can do it."

"…Oh!"

Jeriel's face lit up. He took that to mean Seojin was too tired to help him right now, but he would help him if he behaved.

"See you again."

"B-bye! Thank you for coming today! We could benefit each other greatly!"

Jeriel waved with a flushed face.

'All right, one point to me.'

Seojin smiled as he left the workshop. All that was left was to go to the vigilance committee's headquarters and make Jeriel's misunderstanding come true.