Chapter 50
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50
“Who… are you?”
The girl, her eyes bound in bandages, fumbled forward, gauging the distance until she reached the counter.
At a glance, she looked like nothing more than a poor, blind girl tending a quiet shop, but the reality was far different.
Tap, tap-tap, tap-tap-tap.
I drummed my fingers on the counter, creating a steady, rhythmic beat. It was the signal for entry into the underworld.
The moment she heard it, the aura she exuded shifted instantly.
I pulled a black card from my wallet and pressed it into her hand. The girl ran her calloused fingers meticulously over the card before finally speaking.
“It’s been a while. But somehow…”
In that same breath—
Fweeeen.
A sharp, thin line appeared from the shadows, coiling lightly around my neck.
It was a reinforced wire, coated in a fine dusting of razor-sharp magic crystals. These threads were spread like a spider’s web throughout the shop; one wrong move, and they could slice through a man's throat like butter.
I glanced at the single glinting line in the darkness, then turned my gaze back to the blind girl.
‘The gatekeeper of the underworld, Gretel.’
She was an elite assassin raised by Panopticon, the current ruling power of the underworld. She was not someone to be taken lightly.
Kiiing.
Gretel manipulated the wire with a twitch of her fingers as she spoke.
“You seem a little different, Roen.”
Being blind, Gretel identified people by their presence, their scent, and the subtle flow of their mana. It seemed she sensed something within me that didn't belong to the original Roen.
But even with the wire pressed against my jugular, I remained calm.
“Perhaps.”
There was no need to panic. Physically, nothing about this body had changed. The only difference was perhaps the perfume I was wearing. As long as Gretel couldn't read my mind, my identity was safe.
“…”
After radiating a murderous intent for a long moment, Gretel finally withdrew the wire.
Shreek.
“I understand. I apologize for my rudeness.”
The girl returned my card, handing me a black mask along with it. It was a simple thing, shaped like a smooth black egg with no decorations save for two small eyeholes. Enchanted with cognitive interference magic, it would make the wearer's face appear as a blur to others.
I silently took the card and donned the mask. My vision narrowed to the world visible through the small slits.
“…”
Perhaps feeling a flicker of regret for the sudden threat, Gretel offered a piece of information as I adjusted the mask.
“…The atmosphere in the underworld has been tense lately. Be careful not to get caught up in the unrest. Especially around the Durhen district.”
‘A power struggle, huh.’
It was a common occurrence down here. Although Panopticon reigned as the absolute ruler of the underworld, they didn't have perfect control over every sector. Still, even if a faction war broke out, I could at least protect myself. It wouldn't be a major problem.
Ting.
As payment for the tip, I pulled a gold coin from my pocket and flicked it toward her. Despite her blindness, she snatched the coin out of the air with effortless grace.
Gretel weighed the coin in her palm, gauging its value, and tilted her head in confusion.
“What’s this? A tip? And a gold coin?”
She had likely never received a single copper as a tip from the old Roen in her life, so her reaction was natural.
“Yeah. Use it however you like. It’s for the information.”
“Yes. Well… I’ll put it to good use. How strange.”
Gretel couldn't hide her puzzlement as she fiddled with the coin. Of course, I detected no hostility in her voice. Considering what lay ahead, it was wise to build a rapport with her. Until the passage connecting the Izelin Academy dorms to the underworld was opened, I would have to use this entrance. It was better to raise her affinity bit by bit.
After paying Gretel, I headed toward the bookshelf behind the counter.
Rumble.
When I pushed the heavy shelf aside, a staircase leading into the depths was revealed.
Wooooo.
A strange chill and a heavy sense of dark emotion wafted up from the basement. At a glance, it looked like the gaping maw of a demon.
“Be careful on your way.”
“…”
I stared into the darkness of the demonic realm for a moment before starting my descent.
Clack. Clack.
The sound of my heels echoed quietly in the narrow, cylindrical shaft. As I slowly wound down the spiral staircase, I recalled what I knew about this place.
‘The Underworld.’
It was a massive subterranean city built beneath the Union Academy grounds, and also the name of the central power that governed it. This large-scale city extended far beyond the academy, connecting to various islands of the Meteor Archipelago like a giant ant farm. In truth, it was practically its own sovereign nation.
Delving into the city's history would take one back to a time long before Union was even founded.
‘…If I remember the lore, it started 700 years ago.’
I sifted through the Myrillin Saga lore stored in my mind. The Meteor Archipelago, where Union now stood, was once known as the Dark Archipelago. Like the current Western Front, it was a demonic realm teeming with monsters and fiends.
But for that very reason, it was a land overflowing with rare mana stones, precious ores, and alchemical ingredients. Mercenaries and adventurers chasing wealth, bandits and criminals fleeing the continent, and merchants looking to profit off them all flocked here. It was a land of opportunity and a sanctuary for the lawless.
Fueled by their efforts, the underground city began to grow, establishing its own twisted system. Just as the city's prosperity seemed set to continue, the "meteor shower" fell about 500 years ago.
The various kingdoms and noble families of the continent formed an allied army and launched a massive campaign to subjugate the Dark Archipelago, finally claiming a portion of it as human territory. To commemorate that victory, Union Academy was founded, and the islands were renamed the Meteor Archipelago.
Riding their momentum, the allied forces attempted to wipe out the underworld—a hotbed of crime—but their efforts were thwarted. Though they had won the surface, the allied forces had suffered immense losses and lacked the strength for a full-scale subterranean war.
Rather than wasting more lives to destroy the underworld, they decided to exploit its power. Thus, a temporary non-aggression pact was signed in exchange for the underworld's cooperation in developing the archipelago. This strange, symbiotic relationship had continued to this day.
‘Well… even if you call it a symbiotic relationship, there’s almost no contact.’
In reality, Union and the underworld existed in parallel, rarely interacting. They had no need to get involved with each other, nor did they want to. An elite educational institution and a criminal underworld were fundamentally different worlds.
However.
‘Someone is always bound to play the gray area between the black and the white.’
There were always those who moved between the two powers, reaping the benefits of both. And I was one of them.
Thud.
Amidst the stale, heavy air, I stopped walking. The spiral staircase had finally ended, and a flat floor greeted me. As I set foot in the city, the floor—caked with layers of old grime—clung to my shoes with every step. It was a visceral reminder of where I was.
“…”
Enduring the unpleasant sensation, I walked forward. The bustling sounds of a crowd grew louder with every step.
Whoosh.
The long, cave-like corridor opened up, and a new world greeted me. Like tiny blood vessels flowing toward a giant heart, countless small alleys converged to form a massive cluster of life.
“Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!”
“Kyaaaah!”
“Kill him! Kill him!”
“Drink! Bring more drinks!”
The air was electric, thick with a feverish atmosphere. Violence and confusion, madness and chaos—and within it all, a fragment of order. At first glance, it seemed like a city ruled only by the strong, but even here, there were laws.
Heukseongchon, the central district of the western underworld, welcomed me.
“Get up! Fight back!”
“Fuck, do you know how much I bet on you?!”
“…”
I looked at the crowd screaming their heads off and shrugged. Even for the underworld, it wasn't usually this chaotic. A quick look around revealed the reason: a boisterous match was underway in the fighting arena at the center of Heukseongchon.
‘This place is exactly like the game.’
I watched the gladiators and the bloodthirsty crowd for a moment before turning away. Betting on pit fights was fine, but I had work to do.
Instead of the arena, I headed for the circular commercial street that surrounded it. The shops lining the street were packed.
Sniff.
Following a fragrant scent, I entered the food district. The savory steam rising from large cauldrons and the sizzling smell of rendered fat made my mouth water. Heukseongchon had everything: eateries, shops for daily necessities, adventuring gear, magic tools, weaponry, and even brothels.
Exploring further, I found the magic tool shops and the street of jewelers dealing in the artifacts I was looking for.
“Give me a barrier magic scroll!”
“Coming right up!”
“Over here! One more recall necklace! Hurry!”
Countless adventurers and mercenaries were swarming the shops, buying up disposable artifacts and scrolls. These were men heading into the undeveloped regions of the archipelago. No matter how much they lived like moths to a flame, life was still precious, making protective artifacts essential.
However, I only watched from a distance. Shops like these had prime locations and many customers, but their goods were mediocre at best.
‘As the saying goes, the best items have to be farmed yourself.’
In any game, the basic weapon shop in town rarely sells rare or precious artifacts. Myrillin Saga adhered strictly to that rule. But there was one exception: a way to unlock a ‘special shop’ through a specific route.
‘The Special Shop Merchant.’
Once you made contact and opened the route, the benefits were immense. That merchant was exactly who I was looking for.
I scanned the bustling street and stopped at a nearby food stall. I lowered my voice and altered my speech patterns.
“Give me three of those.”
“Yes, sir. That’ll be 5 copper each.”
I bought a few sausage skewers slathered in a sweet, mustard-like sauce and continued to wander, chewing on them beneath my mask. After walking for a while, I finally escaped the main street of Heukseongchon, where the noise had been loud enough to make my ears ring.
The atmosphere turned eerily quiet as I entered the narrow alleys branching out into the rest of the city. The alleys of the underworld were a tangled maze, formed organically along natural caves without any planning.
Ting.
I opened the system map and stepped into the labyrinth. I spent the next ten minutes navigating, weaving through the silent, shadowed corridors far from the main thoroughfare.
“P-please… not that!”
A desperate voice made me pause. From around the corner, I heard a girl's plea, bordering on a scream. A rough voice followed.
“The hell you can’t, you bitch. Who’s the one who didn’t pay on time? Hey, grab the stuff.”
“Yes, boss.”
“I’ll pay you back! I’ll pay you back, I promise! By next month!”
“Next month? Don’t give me that shit. There is no next month. Sell the bitch off along with her things.”
“Hey, let go of me! Let go!”
The sounds of a struggle echoed through the alley. From the sounds of it, debt collectors had resorted to human trafficking after a failed collection.
“Hmm.”
This would be unthinkable within Union, but it was a daily occurrence in the underworld. This was especially true for those who didn't belong to a major power like Panopticon or a merchant under their protection.
“Eek! Someone, someone help me!”
Faced with being dragged away, the girl screamed at the top of her lungs. But her cries were cut short.
“Ah, she’s noisy. Gag her.”
“Yep.”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“Let’s go.”
After gagging and restraining the girl, the group of debt collectors emerged from the narrow alley.
And then—
“…What the hell is this?”
“…”
The bastards came face to face with me, standing silently at the alley's entrance.