Chapter 83 083

-Hey! Hey! Did you get caught? Seriously? Say something!

-Yeah, on purpose. Wadja mean on purpose?

-What about the signal! You said you'll give me a signal! You can't do that if you're in their hands!

-Don't worry, I'll give you a signal.

-Who's gonna feed me if you're…

Snap.

Flappy was disconnected from Seojin. She stared down at the ground with a look of panic on her face.

"…He really got caught?"

It was a bigger shock than Flappy had imagined, losing contact with Seojin, the one who always acted as if there was a way out of any situation. He was the one who helped her gain sentience and kept feeding her valuable magic stones.

"Is he really okay?"

He said that it was okay, and things really turned out to be okay when he said so. That was the reason why Flappy never worried about Seojin, even when he was facing the demon of hell.

'Adventurers don't die anyway…'

All of Midgard's beings knew that. They just returned as if nothing happened after a week's break. However, being restrained was a different matter. Tying up an adventurer without killing them was the perfect counter to their immortality. Flappy frowned in frustration as she thought about that.

'Do I need to do something?'

Flappy always acted blunt and demanded magic stones for every ounce of help she offered, but Seojin was not just a business partner.

'…I have to, I guess. Damn punk, making me all…'

Thinking about it, Flappy was already on her way. There was a lot to look into if she wanted to save Seojin.

* * *

Seojin tried not to show his expression on his face.

'They tied me up real good.'

His vision was dark. The last thing he remembered was a black cloth being wrapped around his entire body. It seemed to be an item that completely blocked all sensation, given that he didn't even feel the vibrations of his body being carried.

'Now I see how much work Ironblood has put into this plan. They couldn't just steamroll me with their higher specs, but they resorted to item effects, which can be applied to lower levels.'

Every player's had their stats normalized in settlements of Level 100 and below if they were above the recommended level. Having over-spec gear affected that too, though not to the same degree

'They must be taking me to the basement.'

Seojin remembered the space that Flappy had found in the basement of Lord's mansion. He had already been caught, so it'd be safe to say that he'd be completely cut off from the outside world from here on.

'Damn it, I feel suffocated. Let's go, hurry up.'

Seojin didn't worry about that at all, however, he wished to get there sooner rather than later… or perhaps it'd be good to see that irritating man named Robert.

He had no idea how much time had passed. A strong light pierced Seojin's eyes following the sound of the cloth being removed. Seojin regained his vision and hearing, so he knew that he was finally down in the space.

Thud.

A sense of shock hammered through him. It looked like the ones who kidnapped him had thrown him down roughly.

'Let's see…'

He had to figure out what was happening. The exterior was nothing special. It looked like a prison cell since it had bars and no windows. There were two chairs and a table in the middle of the room.

"Hm, they want to talk to me here, huh?"

Seojin was the only one in the room. He tried to open the community and friend screens.

SYSTEM – Inaccessible

SYSTEM – Inaccessible.

'As expected.'

It was completely blocked. Seojin flopped down on the chair since no one had come to see him yet.

'Huh, they're gonna make me wait for a while, right? Cliché.'

Leaving prisoners unattended for a long time to loosen their defenses and break their will was a common tactic. Seojin forgot about the time, let go of his impatience, and sorted through the questions he'd thought up along the way.

'They'll come sooner or later. That's why they brought me here after all.'

While there was nobody else around, they also hadn't done anything to Seojin, which meant he still had something they wanted.

Time flowed. He recalled his memories of Dharma and Asgard, combined them, looked at Flappy's status window, and thought about his own stats for a long time.

Eventually, the bars opened and a man came in.

The corners of Seojin's mouth raised.

"Finally. So you're Henrite?"

"Watch your mouth, kid. I've lived at least ten years longer than you."

"You dragged me here yet expect to see good manners?"

"I knew that a couple of hours wouldn't do a thing to this guy. His head is as thick as stone, but hey…"

Henrite sat on the chair opposite Seojin and leaned toward him as if he was curious about something.

"Did you really think that you could fight us alone?"

"Fight? You guys were the one to deal the first blow."

"Normally, people just bow down after getting smacked. Because they know the difference in power."

"Power difference, huh? What is it? Over nine thousand?"

"I'll get straight to the point."

Henrite sighed as Seojin smiled at him.

"Join Ironblood."

"And you can decide that?"

"Consider yourself lucky that the union master is interested in you. We can start a clean slate if you do that, and I promise…"

Henrite suddenly went into a sudden rage and scratched his head angrily before glaring at Seojin.

"Why is he being so generous to you?"

"Because I'm good?"

"What's the point of being capable when you're such a piece of shit? It's not we're looking for a part-timer at a local dollar store."

"It's the union master's job to think about that, not yours."

Henrite's brows flinched.

"Oh, so you're already picking a side? You're a scary one."

"The stronger the side, the better. Even idiots wouldn't be on your side."

"I was hoping that you'd refuse."

Henrite put out a piece of paper, which was the similar magical contract Seojin used in Berne.

The CONTRACTOR in the contract was not Robert, but the Ironblood Union, and of course, Seojin was the CONTRACTEE.

"Sign it. Not many of our men have been given such generous terms."

Seojin scanned the contract and put it down, causing Henrite to frown in disbelief.

"Is that it? You brought me all the way here for this?"

"You're being too cheeky."

"If this is how you're gonna act, I'm not working with you. Do you think I've been playing games to see the likes of you?"

Seojin shook his head to emphasize his frustration.

"Bring me the union master. I'll sign it after seeing Robert's face."

The game began now.

* * *

Henrite was speechless. He had no idea what the brat was thinking or the basis of his confidence. That was because he was a completely different person from Seojin.

"You want to see our union master?"

"Yeah, and I won't lift a finger before then. Contact him first."

"He's not the someone that anyone can easily…."

"You know I'm not just anyone. I cleared the World Quest twice and I'm still Level 50. I rebuilt Berne before you guys took over it and cut off Erzebet's funds. I actually came here to cut another fund that funnels straight to you guys."

Seojin threw something onto the table.

"Do you know what this is?"

"This is…"

It was a gilded letter and Henrite recognized a seal on it almost immediately. It was the seal of the King of Valaran.

'…He has a connection with the King?'

"I bet you guys don't even have any contact with the King yet, do you? Heck, if anything, I think he rather hates you guys."

It was true, as the King was angry that Ironblood was gaining control over the nobles of the kingdom.

"Read it."

Henrite couldn't resist. With a gulp, he opened the letter and checked the contents.

'…Damn it.'

Henrite barely managed to hide his shock. The King was entrusting Seojin with a special mission to investigate the corrupt nobles and make the royal treasury full again.

"It's a hidden class quest. The one that completes it becomes a Royal Inspector. I haven't accepted it yet, though."

"…The Churai Islands would've been a walk in the park if you used this."

"That's why I'm a pro and you're not. A pro doesn't show every card up his sleeve. I'll serve as a connection between you and the King. We can throw some useless low aristocrats as bait, and we… yeah, we'll win some scores for the King."

"…You're not just anyone, I'll give you that."

"Is Ironblood short on manpower or something? Why is someone dull like you in such an important position?"

Henrite had nothing to say because he actually had thought that Seojin was great from the beginning. He was just angry because such a great talent was hostile toward him.

"I like you, except for the fact that you're rude."

"No homo bro, did you tell your union master yet?"

"'…I could bury you right here."

"You wouldn't have come this far if you were that decisive, would you now?"

Henrite sighed.

"Wait, I'll contact him."

Talking with Seojin was a fight he'd lose either way. Seojin was great, even beyond Henrite's expectations. The talent of such a man would definitely help Robert's "plans to go to the mainland." On top of that, his potential would soar even higher with the support of Ironblood.

-Sir, it's Henrite.

-I'm watching.

-The kid wants to see you in person, saying he won't sign it before he does… let me tell you what we talked about.

Henrite sent a private message to Robert and reported everything that had happened.

Robert sent a quick reply.

-He wants to raise his own value.

-That's what I thought, too, but I don't have a good feeling about this one… I'm telling you as a member of Ironblood. It's really not personal.

Robert remained quiet for a moment, causing Henrite to worry that he had offended him by stating his opinion, before sending a reply.

-Good swords are dangerously sharp. I'm on my way.

-W-why don't you send him a message first?

-That's… okay. My line is open, right?

-I only blocked that brat's line. You can just send him a friend request.

Robert didn't reply, but from Seojin's reaction, Henrite knew what was happening. He smiled with wide eyes open as if he was interested as hell.