The Tutorial Boss Gifts Equipment
I read the Lord's official document once more.
We shall purchase all red materials in their entirety.
We shall spare no necessary support.
"They sure know how to wrap it nicely." I rolled up the parchment and tucked it into my coat.
"You pick up on something?" Borudo asked, setting his hammer down on the workbench.
I knew the value of red materials well enough. The amount I'd gathered was what it would take four A-rankers to collect—and even a noble would bleed money buying it all up. The fact that they hadn't specified a price in the writ already reeked of intent.
It could mean they're leaving room for negotiation...
"Nobles aren't gonna negotiate fair with commoners like us."
"Figured as much."
Nobles saw commoners as lesser beings, something other than human.
"Still, not a bad offer." If I could buy some favor in the process, I'd gain a powerful backer that money alone couldn't secure. Darko was a prime example. The guy was a half-baked C-rank adventurer with zero real combat experience— the kind who'd lose to a D-rank in a real fight. Yet he'd been handpicked as a sword instructor over far worthier candidates purely because of noble influence. Challenging Darko's appointment was tantamount to defying the nobility. No adventurer wanted to poke that timed bomb when their own neck was on the line.
Even I hated tangling with nobles. Back in the day, I'd have taken it without a second thought, but things were different now.
I'm not planning to let them fleece me quietly. Now that I knew so much, there were plenty of angles to push—and above all, to get Elena safely to the ending, even if just barely, I needed to stockpile growth resources.
The writ promised no skimping on necessary support. That was the hook. Sure, if it cost money, the lord would get stingy—but in times like these, there was one cheap commodity with real value: manpower. And the lord would grin ear-to-ear at providing that.
After leaving my requests with Borudo, I stepped out of the forge. Afternoon sunlight poured down on the street.
The lady's birthday, huh. That event was a good milestone for gauging the game's storyline progress. In-game time flowed nothing like reality, so I had to calculate constantly. Fine-tuning the schedule gave me headaches, but the big events made it easy to pin down the broad timeline.
The lady's birthday. The red materials collection event. This adult game capped Chapter 1 with those.
"Mister, coming back from the smithy?"
On my way to the guild, Elena spotted me and approached. Fresh from team training, her clothes clung sweat-soaked to her body. I held out the bundle slung over my shoulder.
"Here. Found it on the way."
"What's this?"
She took the bundle, felt the armor inside, and her eyes widened.
"This is armor?"
"Ogre leather armor set."
Elena unwrapped it and inspected the light armor, flipping it over, running her fingers along the seams, checking the finish. She'd handled similar gear before; she knew how to appraise it.
"This must be crazy expensive, right?"
"Yeah, it is."
"Why give it to me?"
Leather gloves, arm guards, greaves, and boots—all a matching set from the same material. She hugged it to her chest, lips pressed tight, looking up at me with overwhelmed eyes, like she was holding back words.
"Don't get the wrong idea. Losing you would cost more than some gear, that's all."
"I won't."
Her face said she totally was.
"Try it on. Tell me if anything doesn't fit—I'll have Borudo adjust it."
"Yes!"
Hugging the gear, Elena headed back to her inn.
The next morning, sunlight slipped through the window cracks. I got out of bed, cracked my neck—pop pop—and thought,
Today's the day Elena leads her party to hunt orcs.
I poured water from the bottle the inn kid had prepared into a basin, washed up, and was dressing when a knock came.
Knock knock knock.
Who could it be? None of my visitors knocked so politely and waited.
I finished dressing and opened the door. A neatly attired man stood there—clearly a highborn lackey. Sharp black suit, black coat, stiff hat, white gloves. Every piece screamed luxury fabric. In this city, that outfit meant one thing.
The lord's valet.
Valets were the nobility's face. He waited calmly for me to appear—that poise turning leisure into dignity, the mark of noble breeding. Even without a title, as noble blood, he outranked a commoner like me; I couldn't treat him lightly. Sending a valet meant the lord sending him was serious.
The valet bowed.
"Pardon the early intrusion. The lord wishes to meet with you personally, Eck."
"The lord wants to see me? In person?"
"Yes. We request your presence at the Lord's Castle this afternoon. If the timing doesn't suit, we can arrange accommodations on our end."
I'd figured the writ was the end of it, but a personal meeting? Why? No reason jumped out. Maybe to tighten the reins in person—but even an A-rank like me was no match for the lord's knight order, all A-rank powerhouses empowered by him. No need to recruit me specifically.
"What time this afternoon?"
"We'll send a carriage at three."
He bowed again and left with crisp footsteps.
The carriage dropped me at the Lord's Castle main gate, where a servant waited. A middle-aged man in a black suit bowed.
"This way, Eck."
I followed him inside. Candelabras lined the corridor walls, red carpet underfoot. Wind magic kept the stone halls fresh.
First time here even as Eck... wild. Walking a game map in the flesh—it really hit home that I was inside the game.
The servant stopped at the parlor, knocked twice, and opened the door at the response.
"Please enter."
No lord inside. Instead, a woman sat demurely, sipping fragrant tea. Around Elena's age. Red hair pinned up, not a dress but tailored riding attire—active for a noblewoman. Two cups on the table. Her maid guided me to the empty one.
I knew her instantly.
Lijet...
Lijet van Leator. The lord's only daughter, pampered jewel, Chapter 2's main villainess. She meddles to stunt Elena's growth, harbors deep inferiority toward her. Ends up trapped in some deep dungeon as a monster broodmother for life. Elegant lady on the surface, but a one-off character discarded after her arc—such a waste.
Meeting a Chapter 1 no-show villain felt surreal.
"Have a seat."
Lijet gestured to the opposite chair. I'd prepped for the lord, not her—my lines flew out of my head. I sat.
"I'm Lijet. Father had urgent business, so I'm standing in. Bear with it."
"Why would I mind the lord's daughter coming herself?"
"Smooth talker."
She lifted her cup, pinky out, sipping refinedly.
"Straight to it: I hear you're demanding manpower instead of a low price for the red materials."
"That's right. Problem?"
I'd asked for minimum profit on price, plus a mage, alchemist, and their facilities. Hiring them personally would cost more than the forgone profit. With the world unstable till peace, access to experts beat cash.
"Yes."
"Mind sharing why?" What's this bold girl's beef?
"Why not demand a companion?"
"Companion?"
"On Red Moon nights, monsters go berserk, new ones spawn. You plan to collect that much alone in such evil times?"
"Yes."
I answered firmly.
"Impressive confidence." Her skeptical gaze belied her words.
"But since it ties to my birthday, I can't just trust and hand it off. I want to rule out risks."
Lijet dabbed her lips with a handkerchief and rang a small bell—ting.
The door opened; an armored knight entered.
"This is Knight Barie. She'd give her life for me. Send her with you on Red Moon, and we'll meet all your terms."
"..."
I eyed Barie steadily. Game character too—loyal to Lijet, but secretly sniffing her clothes for jerk-off sessions.
"She can tag along, but she'll follow my orders."
"Saying Barie's not up to it? She's excellent—worthy of my name."
"Not that. Red Moon forest is a maze unlike normal. Ignore my lead, and even a knight might never return."
Lijet's brow twitched.
"That's insulting to Barie."
"If you're entrusting it to me, order her to obey."
Or send her solo if you hate that.
Lijet sighed and yielded.
"Barie, I know it's upsetting, but follow his orders."
"As you command."
I smirked inwardly in victory.