Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: The Back Alleys of Kramis (2)
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The knight, Janson or Hanson or whatever his name was, now had a face the color of dirt.
“Ahem, I seem to have been mistaken. It’s our policy not to interfere in the disputes of commoners, only nobles. You’re on your own.”
It seemed he’d decided it was best to back off.
“V-Vice-commander Janson?”
“Hah, someone might get the wrong idea. Do I know you? Come on, everyone. What are you doing? We’re leaving.”
Unlike his leisurely entrance, the knight quickly tucked his tail and ran.
Right now, Apeid was my priority, but I’d have to drop a hint to the lord later.
About a corrupt knight.
“Well, now that the nuisance is gone, shall we continue where we left off?”
I took a step toward Apeid, but far from drawing his sword, he stumbled backward with a look of terror.
“I-I didn’t realize you were the Pioneer… This is entirely our fault. We will compensate you.”
“You were so quick to draw your sword earlier, though?”
“How could someone like me possibly stand against the Pioneer? I don’t know what came over me. Please, have mercy…”
“Is that so? Then first, get on your knees.”
He knelt before I even finished my sentence.
It was just a taunt; I hadn't expected him to kneel so obediently.
With so many people around, how could an underworld boss bend the knee so easily…
It killed the mood.
Of course, that didn't mean I was going to just let it go.
“I am truly sorry.”
“You know, the ones who only say sorry with their words are always the ones who stab you in the back later.”
Leaving loose ends is a foolish thing to do, after all.
“I… I will compensate you. I will offer compensation that will surely satisfy you, Pioneer. Just please, spare my life…”
“Oh? Well, let’s hear it.”
“Then, would it be alright if we moved to a different location?”
I hesitated for a moment, but it didn’t seem like a big deal, so I agreed.
He could be setting a trap, and his other subordinates might be waiting, but I wasn’t particularly afraid.
I could just smash through it all.
“If that’s what you prefer.”
“Then, may I stand?”
I nodded, and Apeid rose to his feet, leading the way.
We entered a shop called Oofteli, adorned with images of dice and roulette wheels.
I had imagined a shady gambling den, dark and filled with smoke, but the inside was remarkably clean, bright, and glamorous with all sorts of lighting.
It felt more like a casino than an underground gambling hall.
Countless people were gathered around card and roulette tables. It was truly a pathetic sight.
“This way.”
We descended a flight of stairs and arrived at a metal door.
A sign read ‘Authorized Personnel Only.’
As we entered, I saw piles of gold coins in a corner, and a few men who were sorting the money bowed their heads at the sight of Apeid.
“Welcome.”
“Lord Apeid? Who is this man…?”
“Watch your mouth. This is none of your concern. We have important matters to discuss, so don’t let anyone inside.”
“Ah, yes. My apologies.”
He opened an inner door, and we passed through a corridor to another door.
Inside was a room with a sofa and a desk, feeling somewhat similar to the lord’s chamber, but the materials and furniture were far more extravagant.
“Is this your office?”
“It is. Please, take the seat of honor.”
He gestured for me to take the main seat on the sofa and sat down beside me.
“So, about that compensation?”
“Of course, we will provide whatever you desire, but before that, would you perhaps be willing to meet our boss?”
Boss?
I was a little surprised.
It seemed there was someone above this guy.
“Is there a reason I should?”
My curiosity was piqued, but he’d already led me to this place; I couldn’t just let myself be dragged around.
“You’ll find him much easier to talk to than a subordinate like myself. And to be honest, our boss has been wanting to meet the Pioneer for some time.”
…?
Something was suspicious.
“It hasn’t been long since I became the Pioneer.”
The Pioneers before me were Tae-soo and the guild’s vice-master, Chil-seong.
They must have had dealings with the Alliance while leasing the land in the guild district, so they could have met him anytime if they’d wanted to.
“Well… we had heard there was a Pioneer in the Golden Lion Guild, but our boss had no interest in them.”
“Is there something different about me?”
“Not all Pioneers are the same, you see. He said he had no need for some bottom-feeder Pioneer who couldn’t even get an audience with the lord…”
He wasn’t wrong, but it was a bit unexpected.
Very few people knew that Tae-soo had never met the lord.
Among the Golden Lion Guild’s executives, only Tae-soo, Chil-seong, and myself knew.
That meant these guys had an informant in the lord’s castle.
Was it that vice-commander from earlier?
I had thought of them as neighborhood thugs, but now I was seeing them in a different light.
“Um… he has far more authority and knowledge than I do. I believe he could be of great help to you as well, Pioneer.”
I thought about it for a moment. Since I was already here, it wouldn’t hurt to meet him.
“Is that right? Fine, I’ll meet him. Bring him here.”
“Please wait a moment.”
As he spoke, he went to the desk and pressed something. A bookshelf behind it rotated, revealing a hidden passage.
Wow, I’d only ever seen things like this in movies…
It was fascinating, but I didn’t let it show.
Apeid went inside, and about ten minutes later, I heard footsteps approaching again.
“So you’re the new Pioneer? It’s an honor to meet you. A pleasure.”
“You’re quite young for the master of the criminal underworld.”
I replied nonchalantly, but in truth, I was a bit startled by her appearance and voice.
I had thought she was an exceptionally pretty man, but her voice was unmistakably a woman’s.
Looking closer, she was indeed a woman.
She looked to be in her late twenties, with short brown hair and a small, slender face.
“A woman’s age isn’t always what it seems, you know? Anyway, I heard there was an unfortunate incident due to a mistake on our part. I’d like to apologize for that first.”
She bowed her head deeply.
“With just words?”
“Of course not.”
With her reply, she took a pouch from her clothes and placed it on the table.
*Thud—*
The sound was quite heavy, suggesting a significant sum.
“It’s 300 gold.”
Money instead of equipment…
It certainly wasn’t a small amount, but I was slightly disappointed.
“I have plenty of money myself.”
“If you don’t like money, is there something else you desire?”
“Hmm, is that something I should have to think about?”
“Now that you mention it, you’re right. Then shall we discuss compensation again at the end and move on to another topic for now?”
She smoothly changed the subject despite my potentially awkward question. I couldn’t afford to underestimate her.
“Let’s. I heard you wanted to meet me. What’s the reason?”
Frankly, I was more curious about why this woman wanted to meet me than about the compensation.
“Before I answer, please excuse me for a moment. Apeid.”
“Yes, boss.”
“You may leave.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Apeid looked at least twenty years older than her, but he was incredibly respectful.
Once Apeid left, the woman approached and sat on the sofa to my left.
“Come to think of it, we don’t even know each other’s names. You can call me Misha. And you, Pioneer?”
“Oh Hyeon-ung.”
“I see.”
“Now that we know each other’s names, let’s get to the point.”
Nodding, she stared intently into my eyes.
“What are you doing?”
Was she trying to use her feminine wiles?
She was attractive, but not my type.
It was just uncomfortable.
“Your eyes are very clear.”
“Enough with the pointless chatter. What is your objective?”
“My objective is singular. In fact, it’s my very reason for living. I desire the destruction of this world.”
Destruction, out of nowhere?
Is this some kind of delayed teenage angst?
“I don’t quite understand what you’re talking about.”
“You asked me to get to the point, so I suppose I cut it too short. I’m also one of the Summoned.”
She didn’t seem ordinary, but a Summoned…
I’d have to be on my guard.
For a Summoned to have retained her memories meant she must have stopped on or above the 70th floor.
“I don’t see what that has to do with wanting to destroy the world.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, what floor have you reached?”
“The 52nd floor.”
I expected her to be a little disappointed, but I was wrong.
She looked impressed.
“Oh? I thought I’d have to wait at least three more years. You’re at least three years faster than the Summoned from my turn.”
“So what is it you want to say?”
“I can’t tell you the details because of the angels’ restrictions, but I gave up on the 81st floor.”
I was shocked.
Not only was she from a much higher floor than I expected, but I had heard that quitting was only possible every ten floors.
Besides, at the 81st floor, she could have stopped just one floor earlier and become a duke. Why…
“You look quite surprised.”
“Much of what you’re saying is different from what I’ve heard. I was told you can only stop your progress every ten floors…”
“You can stop in the middle if you make a deal with an angel. But you have to give up the benefits you get every ten floors, and there are other restrictions. That’s why I’m in this state now, isn’t it?”
This was completely new information. I was glad I’d decided to talk with her.
“Do you want to destroy the world out of resentment for not becoming a duke?”
“That’s part of it, but it’s not the only reason. It’s a combination of…”
A black energy materialized from thin air and clamped itself over Misha’s mouth as she spoke.
“What was that just now?”
“It’s one of the damn restrictions the angels left behind.”
Misha answered, her brow furrowed.
“It seems they prevent you from disclosing information about the Labyrinth.”
“The restriction is specifically on information about the 81st floor, so I can give you information about the other floors.”
It seemed things changed drastically from the 81st floor onward.
Of course, the 81st floor was what I was most curious about, so it was a bit of a letdown, but information seemed better than a unique item or two, or even money.
“You can’t mention it at all?”
“No. When you get to the 81st floor, you’ll understand why I’m saying this. Anyway, I swore that I would get my revenge on the angels who did this to me.”
The way she said it with a sweet smile was somehow chilling.
“So that’s why you wish for destruction?”
“Yes. As the first step toward that destruction, I plan to destroy the system of this city, Kramis. Could you lend me your help?”
Destroy the system?
“Are you planning to kill the lord and stage a rebellion?”
“That’s not realistically possible. The average knight under the lord’s command is probably on par with a level 300 Summoned. The vice-commanders and commanders are over level 400.”
Neither the knight I met earlier nor the ones in the lord’s castle had seemed particularly threatening, but their levels were higher than I thought.
Among the Summoned, no one had even reached level 200 yet.
“Then what are you planning to do?”
“This isn’t a bad deal for the Summoned, either. I’m going to get all the Summoned out of Kramis.”
Get the Summoned out?
“You know why the Summoned can’t leave Kramis, don’t you?”
“Isn’t it because of the lord’s orders?”
I answered with what I had been taught, but Misha tilted her head.
“Hmm, that’s not wrong, but to be more precise, it’s because they enter a contract the moment they arrive in Kramis.”
“A contract?”
“When you were summoned, didn’t you register your identity at the administrative office and receive an identification card?”
“I did.”
“The process of creating that ID card is the contract.”
She explained that when registering for the ID card at the administrative office, you offer a drop of blood, which seals the contract.
The moment you leave Kramis for more than a week, you supposedly bleed from every orifice and die.
During the basic training, I had heard that the administrative office could magically summon you if you didn't pay taxes or tried to resist, but I knew nothing about a penalty for escaping.
Come to think of it, there were guards and patrols at the Kramis gates, but a high-level Summoned could easily escape.
So this was the reason they didn't.
I wonder if Tae-soo knew about this.
“Hyeon-ung?”
“If such a contract exists, how do you plan to help the Summoned escape?”
“You just have to destroy the medium of the contract.”
“Are you suggesting we attack the administrative office?”
“No. The medium for the contract is in the lord’s castle. The Crystal Tablet. It’s a rather large crystal stele, but you’ve probably never seen it.”
I had certainly been to the lord’s castle three or four times, but I had never seen anything like that.
“And you want me to destroy it?”
“Yes. The only one who can move about the lord’s castle with relative freedom is the Pioneer.”
“And why should I do that?”
It might be because I was the Pioneer, but the lord had rewarded me well and provided many conveniences; he’d been quite favorable to me.
Even before I accepted the Harpy Queen’s request, he had knowingly overlooked the Boots of Enhancement.
The butler definitely felt like a pawn of the angels, but the lord seemed slightly different.
“Of course, I’m not asking you to do it right now, nor am I asking for free.”
It seemed she was about to offer a reward, but my mind was already half made up.
She may be from the 81st floor, but what could a mere underworld boss offer?
No matter how good the reward, I saw no reason to betray a lord who had been so favorable to me.
“If you destroy the Crystal Tablet, you should be able to easily obtain about 10 billion contribution points, you know?”
That was, until I heard Misha’s answer.
The exchange rate between contribution points and Jewels was 10:1.
With 10 billion contribution points, I could buy the Orb of Wishes.