Chapter 87 087

The Churai Islands will be added to your journal.

You have obtained three stories. "Storyteller" Achievement Enhanced

Excellent Storyteller: All stats increased by 25%.

Achievement Unlocked: The Importance of Experience.

* Increases all skill durations by 100%.

"Preview" system unlocked.

Registered Story - The Churai Islands: It was a set of exquisite islands, made only for the vacations of adventurers. It would've been just like that if, not for the demons…

The third story was finally registered and the impact was amazing.

"This is crazy…"

He received a twenty-five percent boost to his stats along with a ten percent increase in duration.

'If I time things right, I might be able to maintain stanceshift permanently in the future.'

Seojin had a total of three stances. The duration of each was ten minutes, and the cooldown was sixty minutes each. So, if he obtained a total of 100% increase in the duration of his skill, he would be able to keep a stance on at all times.

'Crazy… so crazy…'

Of course, that would only be possible after obtaining a few more stories for his journal. Still, it seamed feasible enough.

"Well, I've done a lot of things."

He had completed a World Quest, completed his bonus quests to the maximum, and fulfilled the request from the King, as well as delivering a good, firm strike to Ironblood.

'I don't know what that preview stuff is… anyway…'

Reading the part about the story with a smile, Seojin moved on to his next task.

Letter Sent. ETA: 3 Days, 0 Hours.

He sent a letter to the royals, full of stories that would likely cause the Minister of Finances to die out of pleasure. And with that, he had truly 'completed' the Churai Islands.

"Now, time for some peace."

At long last, Seojin was able to enjoy some free time. Odie's trio also disappeared, saying they had to grind and level up, and none of the other players could see through his makeup pack. He'd also blocked Kiri and Bigfoot.

Seojin threw himself into bed once he entered the resort.

"Dude, you look spent. Are you all done now? You're done, right?"

Flappy flew over to him, drooling, which reminded Seojin of his promise.

"Good job, Flappy. You really saved me this time."

"Yes! Good! You really are a human I can trust."

Seojin tossed him a top-grade magic stone. No matter how much she blabbed on about not being swayed by food, a "top-grade" magic stone was bound to make her eyes greedy.]

"Omnonom. Oh, by the way…"

Flappy swallowed a bite of the magic stone and poked Seojin in the head.

"Why did you let'im go? Isn't he the mastermind of evil?"

"He is."

"Exactly. I thought you were going to beat the life out of him. The other humans were pretty pissed off, y'know? If you'd just let things go the way they were…"

Seojin shook his head.

"No, things would've ended there. People would swear at him for a while and he'd sweat just enough to fix his shitty image, but that's it. I can't beat him with such a simple method."

"Why?"

"My guts will explode if I try and eat them all at once. They've been focusing on bulking up for the last year and they're so damn big. And humans, when in a group, aren't so simple to deal with."

Flappy, the greatest contributor of beating Ironblood this time, asked as she munched on a top-grade magic stone.

"Just get that Robert and it's over, isn't it? From what I'd seen, a group with a clear leader would disband if their leader is dealt with."

"That's true, if he wasn't an adventurer that is."

"Ah, right. He doesn't die. Now, that's one picky matter to deal with."

Ironblood was Robert, and Robert was Ironblood.

Although this didn't apply to the lower-level members of the union, just looking at Henrite was enough to gleam that there were severe restrictions in gameplay for the members.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that he was holding the guild's lifeline, as his minions would literally have to kill their characters and take a week off if Robert ordered them to do so.

That being said, Ironblood would crumble if Robert were to disappear as well.

'That's easier said than done, though. That wouldn't do any damage other than leaving a small flaw in his fame. The rich can bury most issues with their money, even in real life.'

Robert only seemed reluctant when Seojin demanded one hundred thousand gold, which meant that if he really wanted to, he could have produced that amount of money. Seojin was sure he could pull out even more than that if he thought he was in real danger.

'I feel like we're playing a different game.'

So, with that, Seojin was just satisfied to have delivered a good blow. Robert would have no choice but to keep his word as he'd signed the contract too. Taking out three of Valaran's most profitable fiefs would do visible damage to Ironblood' wallet.

'I also received fifty thousand gold. Not too shabby considering this was only the first step.'

Robert would upload another post on the community, saying that he didn't do anything but would take moral responsibility. Fifty thousand gold was enough to cover such a half-baked apology.

'I'll have to do something then… there's the Strategic Planning Department too, and people will get suspicious since the compensation was so big.'

Public opinion was on Seojin's side, which meant that minor problems weren't worth pondering in advance.

'I've got more important things to think about…'

Personal Information: Robert.

He unlocked this functionality while carrying out quests in Berne. Thanks to this, he was able to look into Baron Bolton's private life, and ultimately managed to persuade him with a few words.

The feature played its role again this time.

"Search keywords: income, profit, fief."

Query Complete.

1. Shahav.

2. Tayman Lake.

3. Merrychild.

…

'All of that fuss was for this.'

Seojin grinned upon seeing a list of the most profitable fiefs related to Ironblood.

'I'm glad there's a search function, or else I'd probably have to waste the entire day searching by myself. I'm sure he'll never see it coming.'

Seojin had asked Robert to meet him in person from the get go; that he wanted to be compensated in person. However, that didn't work, and he had just managed to bring Robert into his playing field thanks to this opportunity.

'Thanks to that, I was able to get this contract.'

There should've been a reason why Robert accepted Seojin's request. He should've guessed that Seojin didn't know the importance of various fiefs under his practical rule.

If he were to find out that Seojin had access to a feature like this, his eyes might pop out of their sockets.

'It's a bit disappointing though…'

Incomplete information due to difference in League

Incomplete information due to…

He couldn't see detailed information such as the exact profits or method. The system had mentioned a lack of something called League, so it must have been his level or fame that was lacking.

'It'll all be revealed one day. If Robert can hold out until then…'

Grinning in excitement, Seojin ignored Flappy, who was looking at him like he was a freak, and logged out.

* * *

"The money?"

"We sent ten thousand gold in cash and forty thousand worth of items to him."

"Good job, you may leave."

The man bowed and left after reporting to his superior. He was Henrite's new replacement.

'Fools need fantasies…'

Henrite was a role model for undertreated members of Ironblood, as he was simply able to climb the ranks because he'd shown loyalty to Robert. He was both overpaid and allowed to enjoy overwhelming power.

Since he was gone, Robert was obliged to present the low-ranked guild members with a new role model.

-Henrite sacrificed himself for me. I provided him with the best consolation and spare no support if he makes a new character, also…

First of all, he made sure that Ironblood would take care of their own, even if they went down. He also emphasized the "opportunity" that the guild members had by replacing Henrite with an even more loyal subject.

Ironblood was not shaken.

Ironblood could never be shaken.

He believed so, and he acted so as well.

However, Robert couldn't help but be taken aback at a report he heard.

"Did you say Shahav? Are you sure?"

"Yes, sir. The information fee was twenty-seven million won, and the source was the same as before. I'm sure that Seojin is leaking his next moves intentionally."

"…Good work, you may leave."

Robert rubbed his face. He really hadn't expected Seojin to choose Shakav of all places.

'Does he know? Or… maybe he chose such a desolate place to see how I'll react.'

Everything became uncertain whenever that man was involved, which was something that Robert had never experienced before. Everything had gone just as he designed for the past year… but now this?

'There's no way he knows anything. That's not something a user who's never been there can know. He'll only see an endless desert, he's… just trying to provoke me by taking a gamble.'

Robert assured himself with that probability. Seojin must have been trying to provoke him in a very basic, simple manner.

'He'll continue to act out like this if I respond, but if I stay calm…'

He had a headache. His pride was hurt from the fact that such a kid was giving him headaches.

'How should I react? What if he finds the secret out?'

At that moment, he hit the desk in a fit of sudden realization.

'There's no need to bet on either outcome if I can make a move now.'

Seojin would be heading to Shahav, but right now, he still must have been on the Churai Islands. The contract he'd signed stated that he couldn't interfere with Seojin once he moved to a new settlement, but…

'But technically… he hasn't chosen Shahav yet.'

Seojin had made a mistake and Robert just had to exploit it. He finally regained his composure.

'All you'll see is nothing but a desolate desert.'

* * *

Flappy squinted at Seojin as he checked out of the Churai Islands Resort.

"Yer returning to the three crossroads? Why?"

"I left something behind. It's on the way to Shahav too."

"Can you even go back there It shouldn't be possible to go back if I remember correctly."

"I have this."

Pass of Morgan Feriah.

* You may return to The Three Crossroads.

It was an item that had been sitting dormant in his inventory for a pretty long time. He had obtained this pass from Morgan Feriah when he received a sub-quest from him.

Flappy grumbled with a disappointed look on her face.

"Gee, why are you going to such a place? That place is a friggin' desert. What is this? Your adventurer's sense of duty or som'n?"

"Of course not."

Seojin laughed.

"There's something I have to take, and I have personal business with someone there."