The Eternal Waters of Boa

The shopkeeper’s hand already clutched five gold coins. I’d made full use of my high Agility stat. Naturally, I had no intention of taking them back. That was why I activated Sleight of Hand.

“Eeeh? R-real gold?”

“Is it not enough?”

“N-no! The stir-fried deer is only one silver, and even the Green Fragrance Soup isn’t cheap, but it’s just twenty silver! Five gold is far too much!”

From his expression, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠real problem bothering the shopkeeper was something else entirely. He deliberately avoided mentioning the drinking water.

“The water supply is the issue, isn’t it?”

“Well…… The water provided to the shop is strictly limited. There’s only enough for business, and if I do anything suspicious, I’ll suffer severe penalties.”

It wasn’t unexpected. Given the river’s unique properties, a monopoly system like this was entirely plausible. Considering the caliber of the gamblers living in the southern forest, they could have easily handled even a nightmare wolf. They probably had their own specialized hunting methods I didn’t know about.

“I see.”

In any case, the core problem remained unsolved. The “severe penalties” the shopkeeper mentioned likely ranged from water restrictions to all sorts of harassment. The locked door with no signs of life inside had been a hint. Unless the shopkeeper was directly involved in crime, that lock was probably meant to protect his family. A shop of this size could easily afford a magically reinforced lock.

“How about this? What if I make it so they can’t impose any penalties at all?”

“You mean you, sir?”

Time was running out. The Green Fragrance Soup buff only had seven minutes left. I decided to use my cheat key to speed things up.

“I’m known as part of the Black Dragon Room. You won’t have to worry about any penalties.”

“I-if it’s the Black Dragon Room, they’re known as a ruthless foreign group that even this place can’t touch……”

“Yes. They’re a cruel and powerful guild that the foreigners here could never hope to handle. That’s why there won’t be any penalties.”

“I’m terribly sorry for my rudeness. I’ll prepare everything right away.”

“Good.”

The shopkeeper would eventually realize I’d said I was known as part of the Black Dragon Room, not that I actually belonged to it. But for now, this was enough.

“I’ll head to the fountain first. The food was excellent.”

“Of course! I’ll see you later!”

The shopkeeper rushed into the kitchen and began barking orders at his staff. With that, the water supply issue was resolved. Now it was time to make the Green Fragrance Soup buff permanently mine.

“……So it was you. The hunting dog Seogwang sent. I never expected you to walk right into my hands.”

“Hah. Well. What’s all this about?”

Eden was genuinely bewildered by the current situation. He had planned to discreetly deal with the upper ranks of Boa Village for the VIP, but everything had already been cleaned up on its own.

“I’m genuinely curious—why do you all look like this?”

The person Eden was looking at was the guild master of the Black Society, a subordinate of the Black Dragon Room. He was the same level as Eden—upper seventies—and the de facto strongest player in the village. Because he was directly tied to the Black Dragon Room, he was inevitably an enemy of the VIP.

“I was going to pick out a few people, including you, and take care of them myself.”

Both Seogwang and Cha Eun-kyung had their own information networks. Eden was in a position to access all of it, which meant every piece of information about high-level players staying in Boa Village was stored in his head.

“So you’re asking why ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you’re the only one left after everyone else killed each other.”

They had all been slaughtered by the man before him—the Black Society guild master. Signs of a massive battle were everywhere; all sorts of objects lay shattered around them.

“Normally I wouldn’t bother speaking to a Seogwang hunting dog, but I’ll tell you out of respect for your sincerity in offering your neck.”

“Thanks? I’ll listen, so go ahead and speak comfortably.”

The Black Society guild master downed a potion with trembling hands and continued.

“The city hall’s a mess, and you caused quite a scene at the south gate too, didn’t you? Because of you, a high-ranking member of the Black Dragon Room came here personally.”

“Ah, I see.”

The VIP’s smokescreen operation had worked perfectly. Since the mission was what it was, it had drawn the attention of the local players. Fortunately, his quick thinking had created a good synergy.

“The Black Dragon Room does not forgive mistakes. Even so, that person gave us a chance to redeem ourselves. Within one hour, the strongest among us—the last one standing—would take your head and be forgiven.”

“……Is that so?”

“Kuk. Whether it’s because they’re the Black Dragon Room or not, that person even predicted why you came here and visited personally. I’ve already taken care of all your assassination targets with my own hands, so your head is naturally mine.”

“Uh, hmm. I must’ve looked pretty weak.”

“Seogwang is just a bunch of famous trash from a small country, isn’t it? You’re an assassin representing them, so you must be decent, but compared to the countless assassins from a great nation, you’re nothing special. Kukuk.”

“True. It’s well known that Chinese rankers are stronger than us.”

“Good that you know. Then obediently……”

“No. I have no intention of offering my head obediently. I’ve decided I want to teach you the lesson that showing only what you know is dangerous. And for the record, I’m not even an assassin specialist.”

According to the information Eden had gathered, Seogwang was a guild that deliberately hid its claws and concealed its strength. In other words, they strictly limited important information and only showed 30% of their power to the outside world.

“And the guild called Seogwang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠isn’t part of the Black Dragon Room. It’s not some insignificant underling guild that you can look down on.”

Shhhhh……!

“I heard there’s someone in the Black Dragon Room who uses a technique similar to mine.”

Eden coated his sword with his signature energy—Black Blood Demonic Qi.

“Compare it after you come back to life. You’ll be the one taking responsibility, after all.”

Eden brought down his sword, fully imbued with Black Blood Demonic Qi, onto his opponent. He mixed in the full power of his unique Shura techniques.

“So this is the protective technique of a great nation. How pathetic.”

Even though the Black Society guild master had slaughtered the village’s strong players and rapidly gained experience, it was impossible for him to withstand Black Blood Demonic Qi in his current less-than-perfect condition.

“Kuhak! Why is the energy so strong!”

“Then farewell.”

Crunch.

Eden drove his sword into the man’s shoulder and sliced diagonally. The Black Society guild master died instantly without any resistance.

Blood gushed from his entire body—his head, and even the wounds of the already-dead man. Eden desperately tried to contain the erupting blood qi while biting down on a potion.

“……I really overdid it. The young lady’s going to scold me. Cough!”

Eden barely managed to suppress the blood qi and limped out of the arena.

I arrived at the fountain, the symbol of oppression that represented Boa Village. Strangely, the long line that should have been packed with players had disappeared.

“Hmm.”

Aside from a few merchant NPCs, there was no one around. But gathering information could wait.

With the buff’s duration almost over, it was time to seize the opportunity. Thud! I used Gale Rush to leap right in front of the fountain. Below it, water was beginning to pool, rippling gently.

I didn’t know where the players who had been lining up and guarding this water had gone, but either way, I was grateful. I reached out and scooped up the collected water to drink.

As expected. Eternity had risen.

The increased Eternity automatically selected the water buff for permanent duration. I quickly manipulated my status window to swap it with the Green Fragrance Soup buff, making that one permanent instead.

The masterpiece Green Fragrance Soup buff had become completely mine. Just this alone secured +10 to all stats, with physical and mental resistances as a bonus.

“Hmm.”

Still, there was something disappointing. I hadn’t only received this one cooking buff.

Cooking buffs could be applied in duplicate by grade. Plus, their durations were all different. In other words, as long as I had enough buff slots, I would never have to worry about running out of buffs. Stacking similar buffs to enhance specific effects was an added bonus. For example, consuming multiple servings of seasoned stir-fried deer could maximize leg strength and running speed.

“With this, the original goal is achieved. But……”

I sensed that something had changed. Originally, the scenario was supposed to have the ruling player faction of Boa Village gathered in front of the fountain while I posed as a dignified Black Dragon Room executive and farmed experience in a party.

“……Something’s wrong.”

For now, I approached a nearby merchant NPC and asked.

“I have a question.”

“P-please spare me! I’ll give you all the money I have!”

This kind of thing was always familiar. Starting with Bella, plenty of people jumped to conclusions on their own. So I continued with what I had to say, as kindly as possible.

“Do you know where all the foreigners who were here went?”

“Hup! If you mean the foreigners of this place, they were dragged off to the Fist Technique Guild.”

“The Fist Technique Guild?”

“Yes. It’s that building over there. It’s been empty ever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠since the master died.”

Interesting information. I handed the merchant ten silver on the spot.

“Thank you! Actually, there’s something else I heard……”

“Oh. What is it?”

“I heard that all the executives, including the Black Society, were ordered to gather at the Archery Guild. It’s another empty building.”

As expected of ten silver—150,000 won was more than enough to serve as a generous tip.

“Thank you for the valuable information.”

I had obtained intel that valuable experience points were gathered at the ownerless Archery Guild.