Chapter 54 054

'So it was them?'

Seojin felt like he was finally seeing the whole picture. BunnyRabbit had provided Seojin with some advantages when she contacted him earlier.

I think the Seventh Knight are the ones trying to find you. They take charge of finding prominent newbies and keeping them in check.

'So, their guild master went through Erzebet, and Robert pulled some strings to give him all of the rewards…'

That lead to one conclusion: the Lord here was also under the influence of Ironblood. What they did couldn't have happened without the lord overlooking the matter after all.

"Wait, Gemini. Does that mean they took all the rewards for the contracts?"

"That's right."

"Don't tell it's not these three they did…"

Seojin pointed at the three documents with his index finger, fear apparent in his eyes. It was the fear of not getting what was rightfully his after going through all that fuss and effort.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you in advance. Currently, there are… no rewards for the completion of irregular contracts."

'Oh, my god.'

Seojin felt his annoyance skyrocketing. He couldn't believe that all the hard work he had done so far ended up with him not getting paid a penny!

'So, that explains why there wasn't even an achievement!'

A belated realization hit him. Despite the difficulty level, he hadn't received a single achievement yet. The reason was simple.

'It's cuz those damn bastards ransacked everything. Everything that should have been mine… the achievements, the rewards, everything!'

Seojin finally understood why people "trembled" in anger; he was going through it himself.

"How dare they steal what's mi… no, it's not the time for this."

He reined his emotions in. It wasn't like he would have given up on the quests even if he had known about this earlier. That was his way of doing things and he always managed to eek out some benefits in whatever ways possible.

"I have to give these to you once I complete the contract, right? The Amber Pearl and the two fragments of darkness."

"That's right."

"The Street of Fire requested the contract regarding Frid's tomb, so, who were the other two clients?"

"I can't tell you…"

"You know you're being very irresponsible, right? So, are you just going to hide your dishonesty from the client and leave the contract like this, unable to be completed?"

Gemini bit her lip hard. Seojin already knew that she had once defied her superiors and paid her price for seeking justice.

'I feel sorry for opening her wounds again… but there's no other way.'

However, he had to do this so that he could pay back what she received, and to reclaim what was deprived from him.

"If the commander is the problem here, I can meet him personally. Shamir, was it?"

"That's right."

"He's a problem too?"

"…He used to be, but he isn't now. I'll tell you, the committee's rules state that I can't, but likewise, there are no protocols for when we cannot provide the reward."

"And the moment I hear this, it will count as my reward?"

"No, please consider it temporary compensation."

Gemini eventually came to a decision. Seojin left the same impression as "they" did, but he actually came back with results, unlike those people.

'Can I trust him…? No, I have to.'

The vigilance committee's rules failed Gemini and from the moment Seojin proved his worth, the rules were not for her to abide by anymore.

"It was the Erzebet Alchemist Guild that wanted the fragments of darkness. As for the client of the Amber Peral, it is the master of the Thieves Guild."

"Thieves Guild? The ones in charge of rogue adventurers?"

"That's right."

'That's unexpected.'

He couldn't believe that a guild established by such an iconic class had submitted such a request. Upon hearing that, Seojin decided to make his estimation of the Amber Pearl's value around five times larger.

'The more random it seems, the bigger the reason behind it.'

It was a general rule that NPCs who taught skills or were in charge of class changes only did certain actions, nothing else. Yet, this happened.

"Do they know that I completed the contract?"

"They will soon."

"Gotta contact them first, then. All right, I want to finish this one only."

Seojin pointed at one of the papers.

Irregular Contract Received.

Inactive Quest: The Footsteps of The Legendary Blacksmith

Quest Complete.

Overwhelming Result! Perfect Outcome! Bonus Added!

Rewards: N/A.

Obtained: Large amount of EXP

"Damn, it's unfair!"

Seojin had finished an irregular contract with an overwhelming result, and all he got was a bunch of useless experience. Seojin had already risen nearly five levels, but he would've preferred to get it in the form of an EXP pill instead.

"Gemini, keep this in mind. Ironblood who bullied you over that incident will no longer be able to come into Erzebet."

"…Is that so?"

"The Church of Luna itself is the one preventing them, so you don't have to worry for the time being. And before the restriction expires…" Seojin spoke with flames in his eyes. "I'll kick their asses one more time so that they won't step foot in Erzebet ever again. I swear that I'll repay you for trusting me."

* * *

Erzebet was no longer the land of opportunities, as evident by the fact that Seojin had cleared all of the hidden contracts but did not receive a fair reward.

So what now? He had to take back what was rightfully his.

"Commander Shamir." Seojin stormed into the commander's office and glared at the man's sly face.

"Greetings, adventurer. I've already heard of your achi—"

"Sit down. Don't talk before I tell you to."

Shamir did exactly so in the face of such an overwhelming presence. Seojin was already in his threatening stance.

"If you want to talk about the reward—"

"Don't talk before I tell you to. Is this that hard to understand?"

"N-no, sir."

Shamir's mustache twitched. Seojin looked straight into his eyes without taking a seat.

"Right now, I am going to go appeal to His Majesty with a letter that details everything that happened here. Gemini will be my messenger. She could be the perfect witness since she went through it all."

"How dare you mention His Majes…."

"Shut up. His Majesty knows my name. He will certainly be interested enough to read it when an accomplished adventurer such as me sent him that letter. Of course, I'm telling you this now because I'm open to negotiation. And if you open your mouth one more time without my permission…"

He showed Shamir the letter that he had already written.

"The negotiation's over. Nod if you understand.".

Shamir nodded with a horrified look on his face. He realized that everything Seojin told him was true as soon as he heard his words, from Seojin being dead serious to the King remembering his name. However, Seojin went a step further.

"You'd better stop doing that right now."

Shamir flinched and froze right before ringing a bell under the desk. Seojin continued calmly, but coldly.

"You see, Luna's fanatics and assassins from Ironblood are after my life right now. If I think for a moment that it's no good, I'm sending this and it's game over. Or what? Would you like to go down with me?"

Seojin twitched his lips as Shamir shook his head desperately.

"Okay, I'll give you a choice. You can either be a victim who succumbed to tyranny, or a traitor and a running dog of evil. You only have one shot, now talk."

"I-I don't know what you mean…"

"I told you to talk, not bark bullshit. There's plenty of evidence to prove your connections with Ironblood. I'll change the question if it's too hard for you. Do you want to live or die?"

Shamir's eyes shook violently as he made a quick judgment. He must have seen a lot while climbing to the top of the militia. And by the time Shamir opened his mouth again-

"…I'd rather live."

- his voice was much calmer.

"Good decision. You must have made up your mind, judging by the look in your eyes, huh?"

"I've seen a lot as I cli…"

"Shut up."

Seojin couldn't give him the false sense of equality here. They were on the same boat, but Seojin was the captain, not him.

"…I've made up my mind."

"Okay, if I see you acting weird even once, you're dead. Try me if you're curious."

"I won't."

Seojin had already left the chamber by the time Shamir answered. Flappy followed him from behind.

"Wow, yawl wuz scary."

'That's the type of guy I need to keep my leash tight on."

"Are yawl rilly gunna appeal tuh thuh king?"

"I will, but I don't intend to die with him. Don't worry."

"I don't think it's anythin' tuh worry bout. Do yawl want may tuh keep mah eyes on the guy?"

Flappy was cooperative this time, perhaps she too thought that the situation was urgent.

Seojin shook his head.

"Just keep your eyes around me like usual. He won't be too problematic."

"If ye say suh."

Flappy flew into the air. From now on, she was the most trustworthy safeguard and Seojin would be able to identify and avoid fanatics and Ironblood early on. Soon enough, Seojin arrived at his destination.

Entering: Job Guild Area

You can acquire and train in the skills of each class.

Find a suitable guild master.

The Job Guild Area was a place where the major classes, such as warriors and wizards, honed their skills. Of course, it also served as various facilities that sold common class equipment. Seojin looked around for a while before striding into a pub located in a dark back alley on the outskirts of the area.

'So, this is the Thieves Guild. I like their theme.'

The three major guilds, Warriors, Wizards, and Archers, even had nice signs, while the Thieves Guild was in a gloomy corner, perhaps for the sake of their theme. It was a shabby pub. The devs even inserted a small gimmick where players had to go in and say a password, but such cheap information could be found everywhere in the communities.

"Welcome, what would you like to order?"

A relatively neat-looking bartender greeted Seojin. Seojin replied, staring at the display case behind him.

"Second row, the one on the far left."

"Dragon's Roar, is that right?"

"The one hidden behind it, the taste of alcohol changes when the light is on."

The bartender's kind smile disappeared as he examined Seojin's movements with keen eyes.

"…You're not a nightwalker. I'm afraid it'd be tough to enjoy it."

"It doesn't have to be for me. I'm here to use it."

The bartender's smile returned as soon as he heard Seojin's words.

"Ah, you're a customer. Let me guide you."

"I don't want to deal with a small fry, bring the guild master here."

"…You are quite straightforward."

"Profit first, ego last. I thought that was the principle of this guild."

The bartender's smile remained as if he was waiting to see what Seojin had brought.

"Your guild master doesn't seem to fire the clueless ones, right? Looks like he's kinda generous."

"Fortunately, he is."

"If you say so."

Seojin took out the object without hesitation and it shone. The Amber Pearl. The bartender's eyes changed as soon as he faced the brilliant color.