Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Great Deceiver
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[Would you like to accept?]
“What is this!”
Park Seong-hwan, who had been monitoring Lee Shin with a nervous heart, let out a scream.
Things had already gone off the rails when Lee Shin captured the 8th Prince, but this was absolutely unacceptable.
Haipen Gillaim.
Heir of a renowned swordsman family that had pledged loyalty to the royal family, only to be ruined by political power struggles.
Disillusioned with the corrupt regime, he had renounced his knighthood and wandered in search of an illegitimate child of the royal line.
And the original story was that he would succeed in rescuing that child before they were disposed of.
In other words, according to the original story, he was an NPC destined to become a vassal of the 8th Prince.
A loyal retainer who would help restore the kingdom to its past glory and aid the prince in his bloody quest for revenge!
But now, Lee Shin was about to snatch him up.
‘What do I do?!’
Park Seong-hwan’s hands trembled at the variable that far exceeded all expectations.
If Lee Shin had been an ordinary player, he wouldn't have been this worried.
Haipen Gillaim was an NPC with a very upright character.
He was far from the kind of trouble the management team was concerned about.
But with Lee Shin handling him, it became a problem.
To be precise, it could become a problem.
By now, Park Seong-hwan had a firm grasp on what kind of player Lee Shin was.
A player with a thought process so unique it bordered on insane!
He was unpredictable.
There was no telling what he might do.
And yet.
To a player like that… a named NPC with a level over 200 was about to be handed over?
‘No!’
This would make things serious.
It would enable him to cause incidents on a scale incomparable to cross-dressing and preying on beginners.
What he'd done before might at most warrant a post on the forums, but this was on a whole different level.
Park Seong-hwan prayed inwardly.
*Please, refuse.*
But as always, Lee Shin never moved according to the management team's expectations.
‘I accept.’
“Aaaaaaaargh!!!”
* * *
[If the lie is discovered, the other party will become extremely enraged.]
[You could be killed.]
[Are you sure you wish to accept?]
“…?”
As soon as Lee Shin said he accepted, a warning message popped up.
But he had no choice but to accept.
Judging by the overwhelmingly bright gaze in Gillaim’s eyes, it seemed he would keep following even if refused.
‘Can’t be helped.’
He could worry about the consequences later.
Placing his hand on the man’s sword, Lee Shin spoke.
“I accept.”
[You have told a lie while concealing your identity.]
[You have deceived an enemy of a drastically higher level to escape a crisis!]
[This is a great achievement. You have acquired the title, <Great Deceiver>!]
[You have gained 5 unassigned stat points.]
[You have acquired the skill, ‘Deceive’.]
Deceive (Passive)
•Receive a beneficial correction when lying to NPCs.
‘Oh?’
Because the opponent's level was so high, a single lie had earned him a title and a skill.
Before Lee Shin could even finish reading the details, the next message appeared.
[You have accepted the wandering swordsman, Haipen Gillaim, as your vassal.]
[You can now view the NPC’s information.]
[You can now issue commands to him.]
[Your level is remarkably low.]
[Your dignity is remarkably low.]
[Your fame is remarkably low.]
[Your infamy is extremely high…]
[…]
[…Be cautious! Your low loyalty may result in restrictions on your commands.]
[Loyalty will increase as you demonstrate your abilities.]
[Current Loyalty: 5/100]
First off, the loyalty was extremely low.
That was to be expected.
He hadn't shown him anything yet, and in contrast, his infamy was high enough to pierce the heavens.
It was a wonder it wasn't in the negatives.
‘That’s a relief.’
If infamy rose above a certain threshold, some NPCs would become completely unresponsive.
This was mainly true for high-ranking nobles and members of the Church of the Good Gods.
Compared to them, this guy seemed a bit more flexible.
Or perhaps the royal bloodline was so desperately needed that he was willing to overlook the infamy.
It seemed more likely to be the latter, but…
Whatever the reason, it was a fortunate turn of events.
“Your Highness.”
As Lee Shin removed his hand from the sword, Gillaim rose from his kneeling position.
Then, with an uncomfortably bright gleam in his eyes, he said,
“Please, I implore you to right the wrongs of this corrupt kingdom!”
[Haipen Gillaim proposes a quest.]
<Continental Quest - The Revival of the Eteun Kingdom>
Haipen Gillaim, descendant of a master swordsman family.
He yearns for the kingdom's glorious past.
However, the royal family of Eteun is addicted to pleasure, rotten to its very core.
Gather the scattered forces across the continent with him and usurp the throne.
And set the kingdom right!
•Reward: ???, ???
A sudden quest for rebellion!
Lee Shin clicked his tongue.
‘This crazy bastard.’
If he got caught, he’d at the very least get a bounty on his head, and assassination squads would be hunting him day and night.
That was the natural outcome for a low-level player without a guild or party who got on the royal family's bad side.
In short, it was dangerous enough to make him quit the game.
But Lee Shin hid his agitation as best he could and accepted for now.
Escaping the current situation was more important.
Of course, he had no intention of seriously pursuing the quest.
In the first place, Lee Shin had little interest in gathering forces or gaining status.
That was true even setting aside the risk of his lie being exposed.
In other words, he wouldn't do it even if it was offered freely.
The problem was Gillaim.
‘I’ll have to shake him off later.’
His class advancement quest was done anyway, so he figured he could just find a chance to run far, far away later.
If he couldn't do it alone, he could get some help from Kilgeo.
‘…Tsk.’
…He really hated the idea, but the man would be useful.
According to the NPC’s introduction, he was a legendary assassin in his prime.
As Lee Shin meticulously formulated a plan in his head, he said,
“Let’s move for now.”
“Yes. Your Highness…”
“Call me Lee Shin.”
“…?”
“It’s an alias. I still have many enemies, so we must always be cautious.”
“Ah…! Indeed. A fitting name for an adventurer from another world.”
After giving a plausible reason, Lee Shin began walking side by side with Gillaim.
As they walked, he checked the messages he had skimmed over earlier.
‘Check NPC information.’
Haipen Gillaim
•Class: Swordsman
•Level: 201
•Loyalty: 5/100
•Skills: Advanced Swordsmanship, Haipen Family Secret Sword Arts
•Among knights, he possesses talent that is second to none…
‘!’
Lee Shin’s eyes widened.
The low loyalty was a concern, but that wasn't the important part.
A level that rivaled a ranker!
And secret sword arts on top of that.
He should have known when the man was cutting down knights like radishes, but as expected, he was an incredibly strong NPC.
If used well, he would surely be an enormous help to his growth.
However.
[After a long period of wandering, he has finally found a master to whom he can dedicate his sword.
But be warned!
He is a man of upright character. He wishes for you to righteously restore the nation.
If your actions do not meet his expectations, his loyalty will drop rapidly.]
Lee Shin shook his head at the subsequent message.
A personality that gave him a headache just by reading about it!
He was exactly the kind of NPC he hated.
It didn't matter how strong he was.
It was obvious that with a high probability, he would be the type to say,
‘Oh! A village in distress.’
‘Look, an adventurer in danger…’
‘The villagers are suffering under a wicked lord…’
……
‘…Shouldn't we help them!?’
An NPC who would just spout such nonsense and hand out useless quests!
For Lee Shin, who enjoyed swindling other players and naive NPCs, he was a cancer.
Just the thought of it was suffocating, and Lee Shin’s eyes narrowed.
“Is something wrong?”
“…It’s nothing.”
In the end, the plan remained unchanged.
He would get rid of him somehow, later!
Having firmly resolved himself once more, Lee Shin now checked the new titles, skills, and items he had obtained.
First, the titles.
Royalty Killer
•When facing those of noble blood, you are immune to status effects.
Incarnation of Malice
•When attacking, there is a certain chance to inflict additional damage proportional to your infamy score.
•This title is given to the user with the highest infamy on the server. You will lose the title if your infamy score is surpassed.
‘…Can it even be surpassed?’
Lee Shin made a sour face.
His infamy was already over a million.
Anyway.
He wasn't sure if he'd ever have a use for Royalty Killer, but Incarnation of Malice had a very good effect.
Damage proportional to his infamy stat!
The exact numbers weren't written, but it was a title effect granted to only one person on the server.
It was worth looking forward to.
Besides, its true value lay elsewhere.
It was the skill he checked next.
Mark of Malice (No Grade)
•Continuously consumes infamy to leave an irremovable mark on a target.
•The caster can track the mark’s location.
•While the mark is maintained, the target and caster’s experience and item drop rates are fixed at -99%.
•Number of designatable targets: 0/1
“…!!”
Lee Shin’s eyes widened as he checked the skill he received as a special reward.
Someone who played the game normally might see this description and wonder what kind of skill it was…
But Lee Shin, who enjoyed the game more wickedly than anyone, instantly understood this skill's reason for being.
‘A skill for making someone quit the game!’
It was a skill that was practically overflowing with malice!
Which made it even better.
This was the kind of skill Lee Shin had always wanted.
The moment he read the description, he had already thought of dozens of ways to use it.
‘So the skill turned out well.’
Finally, Lee Shin examined the items.
Among them, the one that concerned him most.
Conglomerate of Malice (Summoning Item)
•An egg formed from a dense mass of malice. It requires time to hatch.
•The time required for hatching is reduced as you commit evil deeds.
•Time remaining: 119:23:47
•Grade: ???
‘A summoning item?’
An egg that took 120 days to hatch.
In short, it meant he had to actively commit evil deeds to hatch it, not just wait.
Normally, this would have been an easy condition, but things were a little different now.
His infamy was already high…
And there was no way Gillaim would stand by and watch him commit more evil.
‘…….’
Lee Shin glanced at Gillaim before looking away.
Then, he opened his status window again to check the legendary class quest message.
He hadn't been able to check it properly before because everything had happened so fast.
‘Check quests.’
[Quest Complete, <Qualification of a Salseong>]
[Your class will be advanced upon completing the quest.]
[Currently, most of the secret skills have been lost. Follow the trail of the previous Salseong to…]
But before he could finish reading the message.
“By the way, Your Highness. No. Sir Lee Shin.”
“Hm?”
Gillaim, who had been looking somewhat uneasy for a while, approached and asked.
“I have a question.”
“What is it?”
“Why is it.”
And it was the very question Lee Shin had been worried about most.
“…that you smell so strongly of blood?”
Lee Shin used the plan he had prepared for just such an occasion.
First, he quietly moved near the Tower of Penance, making sure they weren't seen by any soldiers or knights, then…
“You’re here already? As expected of the one I acknowledged…”
He pointed at the waiting Kilgeo and shouted.
“…It’s all because of him!”
“…!?”