Chapter 7
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Mole on the Shoulder #2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Toasted bread, perfectly crisped on the outside.
Top it with a golden fried egg and thin-sliced ham, then squeeze on some ketchup?
"Yo-r's Omakase, complete!"
Is it okay to have such a luxurious breakfast first thing in the morning?
Meanwhile?
Young master Felix just picked at a few nuts that looked like almonds or pine nuts, and that was it.
Moving around that much and skimping on breakfast like that.
"Young master, you sure you're good with just that?"
You've got to eat properly to keep heart disease at bay.
"Felix! Yor's right!"
Scrape-.
Hammer held out a plate toward Felix.
A plate loaded with thick, long sausages and what looked like red beans.
"You're growing like a weed, so eat up! If you collapse from hunger at a crucial moment, we're all in trouble!"
"Hammer, I'm twenty-three. You think I'm still growing here?"
Felix had his stubborn streak too.
"I prefer an empty stomach before a job. Too much food and it sloshes around inside, getting in the way of movement."
That made a certain sense?
Maybe I overate.
"Hammer, where are we deploying today? With so much quota left, shouldn't we plan for a longer scouting run?"
"Quota?"
I pocketed the uneaten sausage from Felix as I asked.
Hermit, elegantly dabbing her lips with a handkerchief, answered for him.
"You turned over half the Ether from your first sortie to His Imperial Majesty, right? Every unit has a tax quota like that. Ours is ten million a month."
Paying ten million Ether in taxes means earning at least twenty million a month?
No clue if that's easy or hard.
First time with party hunting.
But the real question was this.
"What happens if we miss the quota? Get fired?"
"The unit gets purged! Blessed Ones are premium talent, so they don't just cut you loose. Instead, you're scattered to more efficient units. But!"
Thwack-.
Hammer slammed the table.
"Units full of transfers like that? They usually crash and burn. Bunch of lazy, talentless slackers clumped together!"
"And if it keeps getting purged and still misses quota?"
"Then? Who knows... Never seen a unit that ballsy. Nothing good comes of it, that's for sure. And we don't need to worry about that."
Snap-.
A handkerchief-sized map appeared in Hammer's hand—the same one that had slammed the table moments ago.
Hammer tapped a spot embroidered with what looked like a castle-like building.
"Saw a forecast that the sun's rising at Misceannic University. It'll be up for about twelve hours, so grab what we can before nightfall and bail. Tax goal's two million!"
Gotta earn four million Ether.
About a million per person.
'If Ether trades 1:1 with paper currency, that's a million won daily wage in twelve hours?'
A million won per person per day.
How many Nightlings at fifty Ether a pop?
That's when Hermit spoke up, polishing the glass orb at her staff's tip with her handkerchief.
"Misceannic University—the holy site of ancient magic, right? Hammer, can you route us through spots with lots of old tomes and documents during scouting?"
"You bet that's the plan. Relics from Misceannic U? You mages and your towers go nuts for 'em and pay top Ether. Two million? Piece of cake."
"Ooh! Trading Ether for goods with other folks too!"
Just like trading game items!
It felt so thrilling, even though it made perfect sense.
Hammer clapped a hand on my shoulder.
"Yor, that's where you shine. Rooms with pricey grimoires and magic tools? Locked tight, traps everywhere."
"Leave it to me!"
I glanced at the tattoo on the back of my hand.
「Star Key Lv.1」
If there's a keyhole, low chance to unlock.
My blessing.
Honestly, I was itching to try it out.
A foggy haze brushed past in the gloom.
When I came to, I was standing on some building's rooftop.
"Rooftop start, huh. Not bad."
Hammer sidled up beside me, slinging two massive hammers over his shoulder with a clunk.
One looked heavy enough—two? Impressively sturdy, total respect.
"Clear the perimeter first."
Shing-.
Felix drew his sword from his belt and charged a nearby monster.
—Waaalu-!
—Waloo-!
These things looked like giant squid, but weirdly, they floated through the air instead of swimming seas.
Pretty sure my old game had mobs like this.
[+300 Ether]
[Octopus Tentacle: Reeks of fish, but chewy texture. Surprisingly popular.]
Octopus!
Right, that was the name.
Three hundred Ether a pop.
Six times a Nightling!
Farming these all day? Quota four mil might be a breeze.
—Waaalu-!
—Waloo-!
—Waloo-!
"See how they swarm after one drops? Yor, hang back. These need level ten to solo. Without you, we're average thirteen—fine."
"Got it!"
Leader Hammer's call, so I hung back obediently.
Boom boom, slash slash, whoosh-flame-boom-!
Hammer led, pulverizing king squids with his hammers; young master Felix diced 'em up; Hermit finished with fireballs.
[+300 Ether]
[+300 Ether]
[+300 Ether]
[+300 Ether]
...
Like rice planting, mowing 'em down?
No room for me.
But standing idle? Nah.
Gotta prove my worth to the party.
Swoop, swoop-swoop-swoop-.
I scooped up the scattered Ether coins and snagged tentacles too.
Rooftop cleared.
I flashed Hammer my bag, heaping praise.
"Heh heh heh, sixty thousand Ether in under ten minutes. Great start! Synced up perfectly. Party hunting's a whole different beast!"
"Killing these chumps? No sweat. Still, Ether coins dropping like crazy today. Lucky break!"
"Coins don't always drop?"
"Nope, usually one per two or three kills."
What? Killing mobs doesn't always give Ether?
Didn't know—Nightlings always dropped for me.
Games made it standard.
Hammer scooped the last coins.
"Thanks to you, Yor? Heard you looped the gallows twice and lived. Guy like that's gotta rub off luck!"
Kuhahaha-!
Hammer's booming laugh got me grinning too, puhehe-.
Hermit prodded wriggling tentacles with her staff.
"Killing mobs and Ether plus byproducts dropping every time? Felt off. Yor's doing?"
"What else explains it? Boss drop? Straight to crystals or engraving scrolls? Quota smashed!"
Crystals and engraving scrolls!
No clue what, but pricey loot, obvious.
Wanna see!
But young master Felix flicked goo from his blade.
"Hammer, no priest means no boss kills for us. Plus Misceannic's cult turf—lingering's dumb."
"Know, know. Just spitballing. Can't even joke around you, Felix."
"We can't take boss monsters?"
Crystals and scrolls flying away, gutted.
Felix answered my dejected question.
"Boss fights are attrition wars. No priest? We can't. Subjugation parties, maybe."
Blessed parties came in two flavors.
Subjugation parties first.
Mostly with a 'priest' for heals, grinding tough foes for top loot.
Second: Scout parties like us.
Thieves in these—skip fights, scour nooks for chests and secret rooms.
Hammer chimed in.
"Boss loot's great, but these 'treasure chests'? Fat rewards too. Why drag a loose-cannon 'thief' along."
"So my role's crucial, irreplaceable—got it!"
First time with a big role like this.
Also got why parties hate 'thieves.'
Street rats on top? Swing dicks wild—basic instinct.
Strike while the iron's hot.
That rat puppeteering from the chef hat.
Ratatouille?
Spot on.
Get cocky, party knifes you.
Not my fate.
"Ahem, I'll strive to be a trustworthy thief."
'Trustworthy' and 'thief' in the same breath?
Felt weird even saying it.
Anyway, Hammer's next words mattered.
"Alright, my Overview Map blessing—check the layout. Treasure chest room right below the roof. Straight there. Gotta give our Yor his moment, yeah?"
"Ooh!"
Sweet!
My left hand's Star Key screams!
We ditched the roof for the floor below.
Entered the treasure room spot—
"What the fuck are you assholes?"
"This is our turf!"
Turf...?
Rough-looking thugs leveled weapons at us.
Wasn't just us in this creepy building!