Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Ambush (1)
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“What business? What kind of business?”
“Oh, come on. Thousand Gold Hall, obviously.”
Ah, Thousand Gold Hall.
They don’t hand out entry tickets to just anyone.
You need talent that catches the eye of the King of Ten Thousand Gold, or to have pulled off some comparable feat, or if neither of those, something on the level of saving the world from ruin, like Jeong Eun-taek did.
Yeah. He might look like a cranky old miser, but in the lore, Jeong Eun-taek saved the world once, twenty years ago.
‘I have no idea what he actually did, but hey, that’s the setting, so what can I say?’
Anyway, a Thousand Gold Hall entry ticket is that rare. In a world where even a certified real estate agent license can make you money, the possibilities with this thing are endless.
“You know I didn’t get this ticket just to run errands, right?”
“Pfft, errands? Come on, I’m talking about something way more fun.”
Tudor flashed an incredibly seductive smile as she said it. Anyone with a weak mind would lose it just from that grin.
Wait. The kinds of things Tudor could do?
Tudor’s Paju’s top broker, and a witch centuries old.
She could pull off plenty.
“I’ve got a rough idea, but no people involved.”
“Ugh, so standoffish. You really won’t do it?”
Ugh, it really was that.
Thousand Gold Hall buys curses.
And Tudor can curse people.
If Tudor curses someone and drags them to Thousand Gold Hall?
It’d go beyond making money—she could start a whole new religion.
But I don’t have time for idle schemes like that.
“Figured you wouldn’t go for something like that.”
“Good thing you know.”
“But if you ever feel like hitting up Thousand Gold Hall, just say the word. Honestly, you could live without money worries now, right?”
Fair point.
Even without joining Tudor’s deviously perfect scheme, there are plenty of ways to make a fortune.
Just collect all the cursed junk that’s hard to dispose of scattered around Paju and haul it to Thousand Gold Hall.
“Not planning to go that often.”
Honestly, too many wild cards.
The King of Ten Thousand Gold eyeing me weirdly doesn’t sit right, and not knowing what Seo Cheon-seul is thinking is unsettling.
Probably only twice more, if I had to guess.
Once to wrap up the task tied to the Signed Loyalty Sword, and the other...
‘Gotta go back in about a month because of Park Kwang-rim.’
Best to time it so I can bundle other stuff in.
“Looks like we’re wrapping up? You heard the gist from the professor, right? Time to head home, I think.”
“Huh? Already? You just got back after two weeks—leaving too soon, isn’t it?”
“That two weeks is exactly the problem. Gotta get home, check the boiler and AC. Think I left a window open. And feed the dog.”
“Man, you’ve gotten so chatty. When you coming back?”
“Dunno? After cleaning up the place, maybe next week?”
“Nooo! You’ve got so much to do.”
“Anything special?”
“You saw it two weeks ago, right? It’s even crazier now.”
“Sounds like you’ve got a lot lined up. I’ll swing by in three days.”
“Mmm, perfect. Three days! Exactly three days. I’ll pick out what to have you do in the meantime.”
“Like I said, no Thousand Gold Hall for a while.”
“Tch, so mean. How often do you get a ticket like this? Gotta use it up fast!”
“...If it was meant to be blown through like that, you think the old man at Geumchon Pawnshop would live so quietly?”
“Oh, really?”
No, I don’t know either.
Just blurted it out, but now that I think about it, it’s weird.
Why doesn’t Jeong Eun-taek, who loves money so much, use Thousand Gold Hall more?
With Geumchon Pawnshop’s position, he’d have been buying up cursed junk in Paju and dumping it there ages ago.
Anyway, that wrapped up my chat with Tudor nicely.
I’d come into Vasilisa pretty late to begin with. Outside, it was dark enough no cars were running.
I decided on the fastest way back to my ravenous mansion. Dial one of the few numbers saved on my phone.
A short ring, then a laid-back voice.
~Heya~! What’s up?
“You working today?”
~Need a ride? I’m in Geumchon-dong right now—where you at?
“Geumchon.”
No long wait—a white SUV with the Paju Call Van logo pulled up.
“Heya~! Where you been all this time?”
Jang Hyun-deok, the blond young punk with a bright smile plastered on his face.
“On a business trip for Tudor.”
“Ah, gotcha, business trip.”
“Home first.”
“This late? Heading to such a sketchy spot?”
“...It’s my house.”
“Ghosts come out!”
“Pretty much cleared it out. No ghosts or anything.”
Come to think of it, who knows what happened while I was gone.
Something might pop up, but no need to confess that.
The car took off, steadily heading to the haunted house—separate from Jang Hyun-deok’s nonstop grumbling.
“Ugh, what can ya do. If not me, who’s gonna look after the wizard?”
“Yeah, yeah, you’re the only one. Touching.”
“Such a half-hearted reply?”
“Expecting too much.”
Barely calmed the grumbling, but his chit-chat kept going.
I’d suspected for days now that Jang Hyun-deok wasn’t driving for cash—he was trapping customers in the car to yap endlessly.
“You know how crazy things have gotten lately?”
“Crazy how? Politics this time?”
“No, no. The dark side of things.”
Night, shadows, underground, the back world, alleys, the underbelly of daily life, mythic incidents, hands from beyond the veil, fixers’ hour, monsters’ turf... Everyone calls it something different, but it’s all the same.
Cthulhu mythos beings tangled in surreal events.
Or lunatics who deliberately dive into them.
“Two weeks ago, Vasilisa was crawling with fixers, wasn’t it?”
“Two weeks? Ugh. These days, it feels like a whole different neighborhood every day.”
To me it was a few hours ago, but two weeks passed.
“Yesterday? Someone said they saw a massive bat or giant bird flying over Unjeong Station.”
“Yeah? Makes sense—fixers buzzing means boom time for you too, right?”
“Haha, yeah, pretty much. I’m such a diligent driver. Got busier thanks to it. So, uh, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way...”
Why’s he hemming and hawing like that for bad news?
“What?”
“If our schedules line up like now, I can come anywhere. But if not, I might not make it.”
Phew, false alarm. No biggie.
“Got it. I’ll call someone else if you’re busy.”
“Ah, you know I’m not trying to ditch you, right? I’ll give you some uncle contacts later. Mention my name—they’ll hook you up.”
“Nah, I’ll just go out on days you’re free. Gotta be you.”
“Ugh, what kinda crazy talk is that?”
Jang Hyun-deok let out an awkward laugh, and I played along.
No, which Paju security taxi driver would play chauffeur for these lame errands this often if not you?
“But doesn’t the Triad hook you up with a driver?”
“Triad?”
“Yeah, the Triad. Aren’t you bros with one of the bosses?”
“Who’s bros with who?”
“Eh? Weird. Word’s all over. One of the Triad bosses... that Blue Tiger guy?”
“Cheongho?”
“Yeah, that’s it. Cheongho. What kinda name is that? Heard you’re tight with him. Some at Vasilisa say you’ll be a Triad exec soon.”
Park Kwang-rim said something like that recently too. How’d that rumor spread?
“Nah, just bullshit.”
“Eh? Then why—”
I clapped Jang Hyun-deok on the shoulder.
“Hey, slow down a sec.”
“Huh? Oh, sure.”
Jang Hyun-deok’s a pro, believe it or not.
He panicked a bit but glanced at me and eased off the gas right away.
“Something weird nearby.”
“Gah! Ghosts? More ghosts?!”
So rattled he nearly dropped the wheel. No crash, but...
“Hey! Lane! Stay in your lane!”
“Whoops, right!”
Not just drifting—nearly ate the guardrail.
The car swerved like it was attempting a sudden U-turn.
My body slammed left, then right, like ice in a shaker.
Ugh, my back... Take back the pro thing.
“Not ghosts... Around here, people are way more dangerous than ghosts.”
This area’s nothing special except my 150-year-old haunted mansion at the end.
Daytime, maybe, but this late? Nobody comes here by mistake.
Yet fifty big clumps of mana gathered?
“Lights off first. Advance a bit.”
“Got it. But wizard, this is...”
“Yeah. Combat rates from now on, not standard. Advance.”
“Roger.”
Jang Hyun-deok followed orders.
[Remote Detection]
[Transparent Detection]
[Trap Detection]
[Mana Detection]
[Curse Detection]
I extended my senses to scope the mana signatures.
Human, definitely.
Weapons they’re carrying.
Mana honed by long training.
Humans with killing intent lurking near my mansion.
“Not amateurs. Fixers?”
“Fixers? Oh man, they think your place is abandoned and are raiding it?”
“...”
Wanted to smack him, but it might really be that.
They were focusing their malice in one direction.
Right at the ravenous mansion. My house.
‘Ugh, what now? Random encounter?’
Price of owning prime real estate.
Just like I took the mansion from Heo Joo, other NPCs might try to take it from me.
And one more thing. I sensed something special.
An item infused with abyssal mana. Like those ghoul sorcerers from before.
‘At least cultists. Not right in the head.’
Their leader started revving up mana.
Huh, what’s that guy doing?
Fiercely burning, aggressive mana.
That bastard prepping an attack spell at my house?
“Ambush.”
Nice and clear—makes my job easier.
“Jang Hyun-deok, floor it.”
“What’re you gonna do?!”
“What else? It’s my house—gotta defend it.”
“Protect my baby too!”
“Shit, fine!”
Vroooom!
Engine roared as speed climbed. I rolled down the window, prepping my spell.
No clue what they planned for my place, but first strike wins.